Favorite Chicken Breeds
What are my favorite chicken breeds based on demeanor, cold hardiness as well as egg laying capabilities? Well I have finally taken some time to answer this often asked question! This is my personal experience and obviously what I love about a breed might not be what interests anyone else, but I will go ahead and share my picks for top chicken breeds as a chicken enthusiast!
First, we love our Salmon Faverolle! Peach was one of our first chickens and is our little french lady. She is very docile which has always made her a favorite for our children. She is easy to catch, an excellent layer, and the rooster favors her as well. She is not the brightest of chickens but we can overlook that since it really is part of her charm. I like to think of her as the ditzy blonde of the bunch. She never knows how to get back inside the run, she is often in her own world, and she is far too trusting. (as a blonde I’m allowed to draw comparisons) Peach lays light tan colored eggs and does well in the cold.
Sweet Peach
Our Favorite -Peach our Salmon Favorelle
Next, I would say our Plymouth Rock chickens are my favorite. They are reasonably friendly, very curious and will follow me around to see what I am up to. They do not mind being handled but one of ours will peck at faces so you need to be careful when kids are handling them. That is probably not specific to the breed but worth mentioning as it might be part of their curious nature. I also think they are beautiful to look at with their black and white barred plumage! Poppy and Polly lay light brown eggs and are cold hardy. These two have continued to lay well for us throughout the winter which has kept us from needing to buy grocery store eggs. Plymouth Rocks are also the most widely kept chickens in the United States so you can’t go wrong with this popular breed.
Polly-Barred Plymouth Rock Chicken
Curious Breed - a little obsessed with faces
Poppy-Barred Plymouth Rock Chicken
I am also partial to our Black Copper Marans, Juno and Luna respectively, because they lay the most beautiful chocolate brown eggs. We routinely find them far from their coop, off on their own, foraging. I often look out the windows to see them out and about which always makes me smile. Juno specifically is a little sassy when she lays eggs and doesn’t want anyone around, but her squawks make us laugh. They don’t mind being handled and are reasonably friendly. They also do well in the cold, and are the first to roost at night.
Black Copper Marans have beautiful plumage. Luna has a green iridescent coloring.
Luna’s coloring and black eyes earned her her name
Juno is a black copper maran with more copper/orange coloring mixed in with her black. She is sassy when laying an egg so the boys like to sing…”we don’t talk about Juno no no…”.
Let’s talk about our Ameraucanas. Canyon and Tulip are our two blue egg layers and we love the variety this brings to our egg collecting. They are also the wildest of our bunch, the hardest to catch, and sometimes get a little too far away when out free ranging. They stray from the group and on more than one occasion, I have had to go see if they came back to the coop after letting the rest of the flock back into their run for the night. They were favorites of the boys when they were chicks, but they have never been easy to catch. I actually thought Canyon might be a rooster for awhile because of her energy level, but she does in fact lay eggs. Ours do not have combs or waddles which make them well suited for the cold in my opinion. (less risk of frostbite). However if you are looking for cuddly easy to catch chickens, well this might not be the breed for you. The blue eggs make them a nice addition to our flock even if they are a little wild.
Tulip-Ameraucana
Canyon-Will not let anyone get close to her. Super flighty but she lays blue eggs so we forgive her.
We also have a White Leghorn and she laid eggs all winter last year! Cookie is our dust bath diva and although I’ve seen that they have a nervous temperament, that has not been our experience. Cookie is mellow and easy going. She is also well loved by our rooster! Leghorns are known to be productive egg layers and this has definitely been our experience. She lays whiteish eggs.
I would be remiss without mentioning our Buff Orpington. She tolerates human interactions and is nice and fluffy making her well suited for Montana weather. Ginger is our queen bee and and at the top of the pecking order. Seriously do not mess with her at meal time. She keeps the younger chickens in line and is quite bossy which is funny to watch. Orpingtons aren’t the best layers but they do produce large eggs.
Our rooster is a Lavender Brahma (at least that’s what we think he is). He is very friendly specifically for a rooster and also quite mild mannered. He doesn’t spend a lot of time crowing. We mainly hear him in the morning or when he needs to alert the ladies. He celebrates their egg laying by singing along with them, but other than that, he is not a noisy roo. The Brahma breed is known to be friendly so if you want to take a chance on a rooster, perhaps this is the breed to go with!
Cookie-Our White Leghorn. An excellent layer
Ginger-Our Buff Orpington and Queen Chicken
Big Poppa-Our Lavender Orpington Rooster
Mom and Dad
We also have two Sapphire Gem Chickens who are the prettiest girls! We call ours Lavender and Gem and they are a bit more rare which is what drew me to them at the feed store. I love a lavender/blue chicken and these do not disappoint. They are friendly, good egg layers, and cold hearty which is everything you want in a chicken! They slide under the radar a bit because they are not trouble makers, they don’t wander too far, they always come back to the coop on their own, and they don’t cause pecking order problems.
Lavender-Our Sapphire Gem. Look at those pretty blue/grey feathers!
Gem-Our Sapphire Gem and pole dancing queen.
Lastly we have a Phoenix Bantam named Ducky. Ducky was one of our fist chickens and is fast, hard to catch and is a treat monster. She doesn’t love the cold, but tolerates it and is a decent egg layer. This is probably the one breed I would not buy again because she is small in size and I worry most about her when the temperature drops, but other than that, we enjoy her spunky personality.
The one breed that I will always be leary of is the Polish Top Hat Chicken. Although they are hilarious to look at, both of ours ended up roosters and both of them were aggressive. I can’t speak to how they are as hens, but I am not sure that I would personally take that risk again. However, I do know chicken keepers who have loved their Polish Top Hats so maybe we were just unlucky.
Ducky-Our Phoenix Bantam
Dolly-Our Polish Top Hat. I still have nightmares about this rooster. RIP Dolly
Clearly we keep a wide variety of chickens and have had wonderful experiences with the breeds we have for the most part. Chickens all have unique little personalities. Some like to be handled more than others, some are adventurous and curious, and some are laid back and chill. However if you want tame chickens, your best bet is to handle them as often as you can. Chickens can recognize up to 100 faces so it doesn’t take much for them to recognize and remember you as their keeper. They tend to be quite fond of the person who feeds and waters them and of course anyone who brings treats is a friend.