Are you someone new with chickens and want to raise some? If yes, you better kick off with some friendliest chicken breeds.
These critters will not only offer meat and eggs but they will also shower you with love and affection. In most cases, these feathered friends are calm, docile, and chatty making good chicken pets.
Friendly chickens are non-aggressive, easy to raise and pose no threat to other flock members and kids. They are cuddly and do not mind being help on the lap.
So, what are some of these friendliest chickens out there? In this article, I am going to take you through some of the calmest chicken breeds.
Let’s roll!
Silkie chickens
Silkies are some of the sweetest and friendliest chicken breeds you know of. These fluffy buddies are gentle, quiet and calm in nature.
They trace their ancestry in China, Asia. These feathered friends are very unique because on each foot, they have five toes just like Dorking chickens.
Silkie chickens are available in different recognized color varieties like black, blue, partridge, splash, buff and white. Their skin and meat are all dark but not as dark as that of the Ayam cemani roosters.
These chickens have a crested head with a fancy hair do just like female Polish chickens have. The feathers lack barbicels and thus have a fluffy feel.
The comb, wattles and earlobes are all small and mostly dark in color. Eye color is dark while the beak is short, broad and of grey or bluish in color.
Silkie chicken is one of the calmest breed you know of. Even the roosters are super calm, friendly and love to be held on the lap because they are naturally cuddly.
These chickens are the best to keep as house pets because they are not a threat to your kids. Female silkie hens are excellent layers of 2-3 small eggs per week.
Their eggs have a cream or tinted eggshells. The hens get broody very easily and this interrupts their laying pattern.
They hatch well make wonderful moms to their chicks. Most Silkie keepers use them to foster young of other chickens and game birds like quails and pheasants.
Cochin chicken
Cochin is another friendly chicken breed worth considering. These birds are Asiatic chickens tracing their ancestry in China where they were known as Shanghai chickens.
They are fluffy chickens with a bulk of dense feathers covering their entire bodies plus the legs. They make a good cold tolerant chicken breed thriving well on cold areas.
Cochin chickens are available in recognized color varieties like Silver laced, Golden laced, White, Black, Buff, Partridge, Barred, Blue and Brown varieties.
These chickens are lazy, love to eat and will spend most of their time hanging near their coops. Cochins are good dual purpose breed as they can offer both meat and eggs.
They have single combs that are red in color just as the wattles and earlobes are. These birds are large and dense feathered.
Female Cochin chickens are faithful layers of about 150-180 large eggs per year. These eggs have a light brown egg shell color with the inside egg being white with a single yellow yolk.
They get broody easily, sett well and make some of the best chicken moms. Cochin hens will not mind fostering the young of other hens and game birds.
A mature Cochin rooster weighs about 11lbs while the hens weigh 8.5lbs. These chooks are very calm, docile and make good pets.
Serama chickens
Serama chicken is a small bird that is classified as a bantam. These friendliest chickens trace their origin in the province of Kelantan, Malaysia.
They are small birds and this has made many regard them as the smallest chicken breed on the planet. Serama chickens have a V- shape with the wings held loose near the ground.
These birds have single combs that are red in color. Earlobes and wattles are also red with the combs and wattles in Serama roosters being large.
Their legs are yellow and featherless. On each foot, there are four well-spaced toes with short claws. Eye color is bay while the beak is yellow so is the skin color.
Serama chickens are available in different recognized color varieties like wheaten, Black, Blue, White, Gray and Chocolate.
These birds are very docile, calm and friendly. They make good pets and pose no threat to your kids or other backyard chickens.
Female Serama chickens are faithful layers of about 200 small eggs per year. These eggs are have a brown, light or dark eggshells.
They tend to go broody easily and make prudent mothers. Their small size will limit them from sitting on a large clutch of eggs and can afford to hatch five or six chicks at a time.
The eggs take about 19 days to hatch meaning that they will hatch earlier than other hen breeds on the farm.
Jersey Giant chickens
These huge birds are one of the friendliest chicken breeds that I know of. They are big in appearance and their size can easily scare away your kid.
They trace their ancestry in the State of Jersey. Here, farmers wanted a large bird that could offer enough meat for roasting as per the demand.
Dark Brahmas, Langshan and Black Java chickens were crossed to come up with Jersey giant chickens. After a short while they were common on almost every poultry farm replacing the White turkeys that were used for meat.
However, today the case is different and they are considered rare by the Livestock Conservancy after they were replaced by other fast growing chickens.
They are available in three recognized color varieties which are Black, Blue and White. Jersey Giants are heavy chicken breeds with roosters weighing 14 pounds while the hens weigh 11 pounds.
These chickens have single combs which are red. Earlobes and wattles are also red in color. The legs are clean and free from feathers. Legs and skin are yellow.
They have compact and well packed body feathers making them cold tolerant just like their cousins Orloff chickens.
Jersey giants are mellow birds and will not harm your kids. They are friendly and cuddly for those who do not mind handling a heavy chicken on their lap.
Female Jersey giant chickens are good layers of between 2-4 eggs per week. This translates to about 200 large brown eggs per year.
However, Jersey hens seldom go broody and make awful mothers. If you need some chicks, be ready to power on your egg hatcher or use Cochin bantams to hatch some for you.
Red sexlinks chicken
Red sexlinks chickens are some of the friendliest and most modern chicken breeds in the poultry world. They are specifically developed for egg production and are for sure laying machines.
Most hatcheries have developed their own name for different red sexlinks strains they produce. Most common sexlinks chickens are the Cinnamon queens, Bovans brown, ISA Browns, Red star chickens, Golden Comets, Goldline and Gold star chickens.
Red sexlinks chickens are very calm and docile birds. The roosters are known for being extremely docile and are the kind you can trust with kids.
These chickens are cuddly and love attention and tasty treats like Brussels sprouts and mealworms. They do well in small and in mixed flocks when integrated with other chickens.
Most red sexlinks chickens are small in size and do not make good meat birds. However, these chooks are laying machines and in a year, they will lay a clutch of 300-330 large brown eggs.
Sexlinks hens rarely get broody but instead dedicate most of their time laying those large brown eggs. The good thin with them is that they reach maturity early and at 19 weeks old, pullets start to lay their first egg.
However, because of the large number of eggs these chickens lay, their reproductive systems are worn out and exhausted within 2 years denying them a long lifespan.
Speckled Sussex
The Speckled Sussex is one of the friendliest chicken breeds worth raising. These feathered buddies trace their ancestry in England.
In the UK, these chickens were caponized, fattened and sent to the restaurant where their juicy meat was highly valued.
Their feathers are white-tipped on a dark mahogany base that separates the white tips with iridescent overtones of green.
When these chickens free range in the woods, their patterns gives them a good camouflage and are less spotted by predators like hawks and possums.
They have a horn colored beak and a single comb. The comb wattles and earlobes are red in color. Their featherless legs are white so is the skin.
On each foot, there are four well-spaced toes giving them much needed stability and balance. Eye color is reddish bay.
These chickens are super hardy and will do very well in cold weather. They are very calm, chatty and docile chooks with a friendly pet nature.
They are not rowdy and rank low on the pecking order posing no threat to other flock members. Speckled Sussex chickens prefer to roam and range on wide areas looking for seeds, insects, weeds and those tasty grubs under the leaves.
Female speckled Sussex chickens are faithful layers of 4-5 large brown eggs per week. They will lay continuously and only take a break during molting season.
The speckled Sussex hen will get broody easily and make a sweet mom. Mature roosters weigh 9lbs while the hens weigh 7lbs.
White Leghorn
White leghorn chickens are very popular for being prolific layers of white shelled eggs. They are egg machines and I would only compare them with Golden comets and the Cinnamon queen hens.
These chickens trace their ancestry in the Tuscany region of Italy. They are available in several color verities but white is the most common.
Leghorn chickens either have a single comb or the pea type. The pea combed were specifically developed for the cold Northern States in the US where winter common.
White leghorn combs are red either pea or single so are the wattles. The earlobes are white while the eyes are red or orange in color.
Their beaks are yellow so is their feet. On each foot, there are four well-spaced toes with short claws. Leghorns tolerate confinement and can be allowed to free range but bear in mind that these chooks will sometimes fly and roost on trees.
These chickens love to explore and will sometimes fail to return to the coop to roost. When confined, ensure they have a large space because they get bored easily and turn on feather picking.
To keep your hens busy, hang a cabbage head to keep them busy pecking before night falls. Female leghorn chickens are faithful layers of between 300-320 large white shelled eggs in a year.
On an egg scale, an average leghorn egg weighs about 55g. The hens rarely get broody so don’t expect some leghorn chicks from them.
An egg incubator or broody chickens like Yokohama hens and female Buff Brahma chickens can hatch some for you.
Buff Orpington chickens
These dual purpose and friendly chicken breeds trace their ancestry in England where they were developed by Cook.
Mr. Cook was a dedicated chicken breeder and a hobbyist who wanted something new after the hen fever.
Buff Orpington chickens are available in different color varieties like Buff, Black, Cuckoo, White, Blue, Speckled and Mottled.
They were sometimes listed as endangered by the Livestock Conservancy but since 2016 they were removed.
Orpington chickens are very calm, docile and friendly chooks. Due to their docile nature, they make good pets and are not a threat to your kids and other flock chickens.
They are cold hardy and will do well in areas where temperatures plummet. These chickens have a broody tendency where they sett well, hatch and make sweet mothers.
Buff Orpington chickens exhibit a medium single comb with well-marked peaks on it. The comb, earlobes and wattles are red.
Eyes are copper brown while the beak is somehow pinkish. The skin is white in color so are the legs. The feet are free from feathers and have four well-spaced toes on each foot.
Female Buff Orpington chickens are excellent layers of 200-280 large eggs per year. The eggs have a brown shell with the inside egg being white with a large single yolk.
Rhode Island Red chickens
This is an American chicken breed and the official bird of the State of Rhode Island. These chickens were developed after crossing the Malay with brown leghorns.
Initially, the aim was to have a dual purpose chicken breed but this has since changed and is now kept for eggs.
The comb is either pea or single depending on the strain. Combs, wattles and earlobes are deep red in color.
Eye color is orange while the beak is reddish bay. The legs are clean and free from feathers with four well-spaced toes on each leg.
Their skin is yellow, so are the legs. On the legs, there is a reddish hue on the toes and shanks. An average Rhode Island Red rooster weighs 3.9kgs while the hens weigh about 2.9kgs.
Rhode Island Red chickens are cold hardy and will be fine in cold weather. However, these chickens are not heat tolerant and will suffer under hot weather.
These chickens can be aggressive when confined in a small space but they are very friendly with humans.
They love attention and will prefer to accompany you as you go on with your daily chores.
Rhode Island Red hens are faithful layers of 5-6 eggs per week. This translates to about 300 eggs in a year. The eggs are medium to large with a light brown egg shell color.
The funny thing with these chickens is that at the beginning of the laying season, the eggs are small but gradually grow big towards the peak.
Salmon Faverolle chickens
The Salmon Faverolle chicken breed traces its ancestry from a small village called Faverolles, France. They are some of the friendliest chicken breeds with a chip-munkish appearance.
Faverolle chickens are said to have been developed after crossing the French Rennes, Houdan, Brahma, Dorking, Malines and the Flemish Cuckoo chickens.
Although there are no kept records about these fancy chickens, it is believed that there are other chickens that were used.
Salmon Feverolles have a beard making their faces broad and fluffy. They have small single combs that are tucked in thick head feathers.
Comb, wattles and earlobes are red in color. Eyes are bay while the beak is of horn color. Their bodies are broad, deep and full making them have a huge appearance.
Their legs are white and well feathered. On each foot, there are five well-spaced toes. The skin is white and the back is broad and almost flat.
Salmon feverolles are very calm and docile birds. They love attention with all their hearts and will not mind sitting on your lap or taking a nap on your bed.
These chooks are very talkative and will chat back like they understand your language. The roosters are non-aggressive and pose no threat to your children.
Faverolle hens are faithful layers of between 180-200 medium sized eggs. The egg shell color is light brown while the inside egg is white with a yellow egg yolk.
These chickens are not very broody and are not the type you would trust to get some baby salmon feverolles.
Australorps
Australorp is a darling chicken that traces its ancestry from Australia. They are found in different color varieties like Black, Blue, Wheaten and White.
In the Black Australorps, the body has solid black feathers, a single upright comb with well-marked points on it.
Comb, wattles and earlobes are deep red in color. They have dark legs that are clean and free from feathers.
On each foot, there are four well-spaced toes with short claws on them. They have an upright stance with the tails held high.
The beaks are dark so are the eyes. These chickens are classified as heritage breeds meaning they can breed naturally and thrive on free ranging.
These chickens are generally calm and docile. They love human company and will often run to you especially if you are the type that hands treats like watermelon and cilantro.
They are good when integrated with other backyard chickens. Free ranging is one of the best ways to raise them because they love to forage and look for their own meals.
These chickens are very hardy. Since they are heavy in weight, they can tolerate and do well in cold weather.
This does not disqualify them from living in hot climate areas. They were bred in a hot region and will be fine and continue laying under the summer heat.
Australorp hens are faithful layers of about 250-300 large eggs in a year. Their eggs have a brown egg shell color but not chocolate brown like those of a Cuckoo maran hen.
They rarely exhibit the urge to get broody and are not reliable for some Australorp chicks. Because of this reason, these birds make nasty moms and dedicate most of their time laying.
Brahma chickens
This giant chicken breed traces its origin from the United States. These chickens are available in different color varieties but the APA only recognizes the Dark, Buff and Light varieties.
Giant brahma chickens are huge and heavy birds. They have a fluffy plumage with feathers covering the legs completely.
They are hardy and make some of the best cold tolerant chicken breeds. Brahmas are not deterred by weather and will continue to lay even during winter.
These chickens are very calm and docile. Their huge size can easily intimidate you but the personality is sweet and mellow.
Brahmas pose no threat to you and your chickens. These are the kind you would keep as chicken pets because they are cuddly and calm.
Female Brahma chickens are excellent layers of 3-4 medium brown eggs per week. The hen will get broody very easily and make a good mom.
Final Thoughts
Some friendliest chicken breeds have extended this love to other chickens and game birds. Bantam Cochins and Buff Silkie hens are a perfect example.
Keeping these chickens is good and fun. They will not only provide you with meat, eggs and love but they will utilize your kitchen scraps and leftovers.
Some of your extra fruits and vegetables like cucumber, raisins and carrots make good treats. I cannot forget that my birds enrich my garden with their droppings.
These chickens will also free range on the backyard adding color, and taking care of those notorious weeds and noisy crickets.
Do you raise some of the friendliest chicken breeds? Share your thoughts.
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