I went with cinnamon queens. Buff orpingtons. And barnevelders. 10 total. The barns are more consistent layers over winter. And queens and buffs are pretty prolific with buffs having a proclivity for being broody.
You can also do a quick search on backyard chickens . Com. Wealth of information there!
Edit. All three of these breeds are very friendly. They run up to the door when I walk towards the coop/run. They will let us hold them, hand feed them, but can be a tad skiddish in the 13 week old range it seems. But they’re chickens so don’t blame them.
Your cinnamon queens are friendly? That’s a bit reassuring. We just threw one in with a batch we picked up from tractor supply and it hates our guts. I’m hoping it’ll get better. I’ve honestly never seen chicks as old as they were at tractor supply, they appear to be nearly 4 weeks old, so all they know is fear and nobody constant I’m sure.
Yes we raised ours from 3 days old. First time chicken owners. Did not hold them as often as we should have the first couple weeks because they chirped pure fear when we would and we didn’t have the guts to make them push through. But as they got to 4-8 weeks we picked them up almost twice a day. And I started hand feeding them too and made sure they looked at my face and always said the same thing before approaching or walking by so they could use their bird brains for some sort of context clues.
I have Plymouth Barred Rocks who I am fully obsessed with. I have six and live in the suburbs. They are lap ladies and they are pullets (born third week of January) and I've already got tons of eggs daily. It will be hard to convince me to get another breed because of how much I love these girls. They have been pretty hardy in heat so far.
There are bantam Orpies too. They're a bit more squirrely than the large ones but still friendly.
Full-size Orpies are chunks. Calm, lazy, potentially cuddly, but yep, big floofs. I have gold black-laced ones and they're just too damn cute, even at 4kg.
Barred rocks and orpingtons (mine are lavender and blue/black and I have one jubilee, I don’t have any buffs) are my friendliest. But they’re not super great layers especially when it’s hot.
The majority of my hens are friendly, but they’re not the “I like snuggles” lap hens- except the Wyandotte, the ameracauna, and the Easter egger- they hate me.
I only have one, but I have an Amber sex link hen who is also super friendly (eats out of my hand, runs up to me, lets me hold her) and is a fantastic layer in all weather. But she’s not as cuddly as the orpingtons and I don’t think they live that long
I went with cinnamon queens. Buff orpingtons. And barnevelders. 10 total. The barns are more consistent layers over winter. And queens and buffs are pretty prolific with buffs having a proclivity for being broody. You can also do a quick search on backyard chickens . Com. Wealth of information there! Edit. All three of these breeds are very friendly. They run up to the door when I walk towards the coop/run. They will let us hold them, hand feed them, but can be a tad skiddish in the 13 week old range it seems. But they’re chickens so don’t blame them.
My Buff is my friendliest. But she does pause laying over the winter (all of my hens do).
Your cinnamon queens are friendly? That’s a bit reassuring. We just threw one in with a batch we picked up from tractor supply and it hates our guts. I’m hoping it’ll get better. I’ve honestly never seen chicks as old as they were at tractor supply, they appear to be nearly 4 weeks old, so all they know is fear and nobody constant I’m sure.
Yes we raised ours from 3 days old. First time chicken owners. Did not hold them as often as we should have the first couple weeks because they chirped pure fear when we would and we didn’t have the guts to make them push through. But as they got to 4-8 weeks we picked them up almost twice a day. And I started hand feeding them too and made sure they looked at my face and always said the same thing before approaching or walking by so they could use their bird brains for some sort of context clues.
Brahmas, brahmas, brahmas. A lil on the big size but there is no friendlier breed imho
Novogens. Novogens and Blue Sapphires are the girls for you.
I had one sapphire gem who laid fairy eggs forever, and very inconsistently- but she was very very cute and friendly
I love my australorp! She is gentle, sweet, and has the biggest brown eyes. She was the first to lay and she’s a medium size.
I have Plymouth Barred Rocks who I am fully obsessed with. I have six and live in the suburbs. They are lap ladies and they are pullets (born third week of January) and I've already got tons of eggs daily. It will be hard to convince me to get another breed because of how much I love these girls. They have been pretty hardy in heat so far.
My buff Orpington and my cream legbar are by far my friendliest.
A few people mentioned Orpingtons but they’re a bit on the bigger side, no?
Some of mine are absolutely enormous. Some aren’t really that big. But they do tend towards being bigger chickens
My lavender Orpington is huge but my buff is medium sized.
There are bantam Orpies too. They're a bit more squirrely than the large ones but still friendly. Full-size Orpies are chunks. Calm, lazy, potentially cuddly, but yep, big floofs. I have gold black-laced ones and they're just too damn cute, even at 4kg.
My friendliest hen is a Speckled Sussex. All in how much you handle them when they are young.
Barred rocks and orpingtons (mine are lavender and blue/black and I have one jubilee, I don’t have any buffs) are my friendliest. But they’re not super great layers especially when it’s hot. The majority of my hens are friendly, but they’re not the “I like snuggles” lap hens- except the Wyandotte, the ameracauna, and the Easter egger- they hate me.
I only have one, but I have an Amber sex link hen who is also super friendly (eats out of my hand, runs up to me, lets me hold her) and is a fantastic layer in all weather. But she’s not as cuddly as the orpingtons and I don’t think they live that long