There are many factors to consider before choosing a particular chicken breed for your backyard or poultry farm, but you can never get it wrong if you add friendliest chicken breeds to your flock.
Imagine this scenario, you beckon to your flock and they come sprinting at you with great joy as you also approach them. This rarely happens as chickens generally feel a little uneasy about the human presence around them. But with the friendliest chicken breeds, the case is quite the opposite.
Pet chickens make great additions to your coop because of their unique attributes and the multiple purposes they tend to serve.
It has been well established that people keep chickens for various reasons, while some do it for commercial purposes, others might do it for other reasons, including companionship and friendship.
Therefore, if your own priority is not meat and egg production, growth speed, size, or aesthetic (for those raising for shows), the friendliest chickens might just be what you need. The question then becomes, how do you guarantee that a chicken is friendly?
Well, as is the case with most pets, your attitude towards your flock will go a long way to mold their character and temperament, irrespective of the breed.
It goes without saying that a good background in raising friendly chicken breeds will come in very handy.
How Do You Identify Friendliest Chicken Breeds
Figuring out the friendliest chicken breeds can be a bit tricky just because not all breeds are made the same. While you may want to consider the egg and/or meat output of your breed, it’s important to factor in its disposition and tendencies.
Therefore, before settling for a breed of your choice, you should consider how they will interact with other members of the flock, as well as chickens of other breeds.
Also note that there’s a power hierarchy into which each chicken falls, this makes them conform to something called pecking order.
Friendliest chickens are usually docile around other chickens, however, they can easily turn on their aggressive side when being bullied, this is to prevent themselves from becoming injured by other hostile members of the flock.
Some breeds are generally sweet and gentle, while others are loud and flighty, which highlights the unique personalities of the individual chicken breeds.
Granted that noise isn’t always reflective of a bird’s personality, but it has been proven time and again that the most quiet breeds usually turn out to be some of the most friendly.
Other factors that come into play when you’re looking for the friendliest chicken breeds are broodiness and mothering ability.
Breeds such as Silkies and Cochins are more apt to go broody, and abandon everything to hatch their own eggs and mother their chicks, this makes them to be quite aggressive at such periods.
Meanwhile, the flip side is that some of the broodiest chicken breeds are also best mothers, so this leaves you with an option of a trade-off.
To cap it, if you’re playing with the idea of raising pet chickens, also consider how easy it is to train them.
Know that a chicken doesn’t need to be aggressive and flighty before it’s considered intelligent, even though those two traits can sometimes correlate with intelligence.
Tips For Raising Friendliest Chicken Breeds
Now that you know how to identify friendliest chicken breeds, another equally important thing you need are the tips required to train your flock to be friendly.
In this case, much attention should be paid to the breed you choose. Not all friendliest chicken breeds exhibit the same character, and this is why you must be flexible in the manner you handle your flock.
Some breeds are naturally more inquisitive than others, which suggests that they will be more interested in being friends with you. Some, by nature, relish being picked up and cuddled, while others are quite the opposite.
However, whatever breed you’re goin for, there are some measures that you can adopt, which will help you create a good bond between you and members of your flock.
Maintain Calmness Around Your Chickens
Chickens are highly sensitive creatures and they have instantaneous reactions to the slightest of movements around them.
To create a bond with them, maintain a soothing voice, stay calm, refrain from making sudden movements or loud noises as these can easily set them off. If you’re not the only person that interacts with them, ensure that others also adhere to these rules.
While you can get away with occasional loud noises, you will scare your chickens away if you make that a regular habit.
Friendly chickens make great additions to your coop because of their unique attributes and the multiple purposes they tend to serve. Apart from providing rare companionship, they can also be a source of delicious eggs and meat.
Give Your Chickens Treats
It will interest you to know that chickens, like every other pet and people, have a craving for treats.
A treat in this sense means a break away from the normal tasty morsel that usually comes with their food. Mealworms, chopped lettuce, and scrambled eggs are some of the great ideas for best treats.
However, while at it, you might want to start with petting your chicken’s chest because they don’t really enjoy having their heads petted.
Handle Your Chickens Regularly
You should learn to handle your chicken regularly, apart from building trust and mutual understanding, this also helps them to get familiar with being handled, held, and hugged.
This is super important especially if you want to start raising your chicken from a very young age. Spend time around them, hold them every day even at times when you’re not feeding or handling them.
Warn Your Chickens
Notify them in advance before approaching their coop or pecking area, don’t just storm into their spaces, they may perceive it as a threat.
Start to walk when you’re a short distance away and keep talking so that they’re aware of your presence.
Chickens rarely pay attention to happenings around them and you could catch them unaware and scare them.
Allow Them To Free Run
You’re running the risk of rendering your chickens reclusive and antisocial if you constantly keep them away from people.
Allow your chickens to live around humans and other animals, the exception to this is if they’re a serious flight risk.
Ensure that they free-range about the garden, talk to them, spend time with them and get them used to your company.
Don’t Overdo It
You should measure your interaction with your chickens with great care. Remember that your flock will expect from you in the future the same level of interaction you’ve exposed them to now.
They get easily conditioned to the amount of time you spend with them, unless you want to dedicate two hours of your time every day petting your birds, you shouldn’t spend this much time with them to start with.
Going by these insights, I expect that by now, you’d be eager to meet your best friendliest chicken breeds, so don’t let me keep you waiting;
1 Buff Orpington Chicken
Let’s set off with one of the cutest and all-purpose breeds around, the Buff Orpington Chicken.
If you’re looking for a chicken that can do literally everything, Buff Orpington is your best bet, and I’m not overstating it.
They usually come in large sizes, and can grow up to 8-10 pounds. Which means they offer you as much meat you can get out of any chicken.
Not just that, Orpingtons also have the capacity to produce eggs in large quantities, you can easily get 288 eggs out of them in a year.
If you’re into show birds, or love showing off your bird pets, this breed is just the most apt for you. Their beautiful feathers and stance can offer a great spectacle for chicken enthusiasts at poultry shows.
Overall, they are a very friendly breed, and need a lot of attention. Orpingtons enjoy being hugged and cuddled, so if you’ve kids that love to pet chickens, why don’t you consider bringing this doting breed into the family fold.
Let me also add that they love food, and enjoy treats. These pretty gentle breeds are laid-back, however, once they perceive a threat, you would see our friendly feathered friends bolting.
Above all, they are a low-maintenance breed, and generally easy to care for.
2 Cochin Chicken
Get yourself a Cochin and you have one of the biggest and most friendly chicken breeds in your coop.
With a big frame and beautiful feathers, Cochin looks like a breed you just want to give a bear hug, but be mindful of their weight, which can tip the scale at 11 pounds.
However, you need not be scared by their gigantic looks, Cochins are peaceful and gentle creatures. They enjoy being petted and sitting on your lap can mean an extra treat to them.
Like most other friendly chickens, they’re docile and susceptible to bullying by dominant and assertive breeds, so Cochins require your protection.
If you want egg-laying chickens, Cochins are not for you. They’re more prominent for their fluffy feathers and friendly character. However, they can easily go broody and are highly protective of their chicks.
Another interesting feature of this breed is their ability to mother another bird’s eggs and foster their chicks, which make them the best mothers in the chicken world.
3 Speckled Sussex Chicken
Here comes the Speckled Sussex, arguably the friendliest chicken breed you’d ever come across.
Known for their friendly and welcoming nature, Speckled Sussex derived their name from their reddish-brown feathers with black and white ‘speckling.’’
These beautiful chickens come in fairly large sizes, and even though they’re not particularly high layers, they can give you 250 eggs in a year, which is not a bad return for a doting breed.
Sussex are attention-loving birds, very curious and always quick to check out a new situation.
With these birds, you’re guaranteed great companionship because they can follow you around and even talk to you just about anything and everything. And yes, Sussex love to be held, stroked and talked to, and get along very well with kids which makes them an all round family bird.
However, like Cochins, they can get easily bullied by other aggressive breeds, so they might need your protection.
4 Silkies Chicken
Silkies are a unique chicken breed because of their soft, fluffy feathers that feel like silk when you give them a hug.
They come across to you looking more like stuffed animals than a chicken, which makes Silkies one of the cutest breeds.
This breed is quite friendly and would most likely cuddle up to you, so if you ever see one, then you’re in for a great treat.
Apart from their fairly large size and calm temperament, other unique features of Silkies are the fifth toe on each foot, and some have ‘beards’ which almost totally cover their faces, while others are beardless.
Silkies are adorable owing to their bright earlobes and appear very appealing to children.
5 Wyandotte Chicken
Wyandotte is another chicken breed that can serve a dual-purpose, so they are usually large in size.
This chicken is generally calm, gentle and docile, although some accounts say Wyandotte can sometimes be a bully to other breeds.
That said, they’re doting and won’t give you any trouble. They easily get along with kids so they don’t pose any threat to your little ones.
They have beautiful feathers and don’t mind being confined, which makes them a great addition to your backyard farm.
Furthermore, they produce good meat and are good layers, they can give you 200 eggs in a year.
6 Australorp Chickens
Let’s talk about this lovely gift from Australia. Like the name suggests, Australorp is a medium-sized Australian version of the western Orpington breed (“Austral-or”).
Australorp chickens are most known for their egg-laying prowess, which means they’re dual-purpose birds.
They’re excellent layers of light brown eggs and could produce around 250 eggs each year. If you’re also looking for a meat chicken, Australorps can offer you quality meat.
They can be laid-back and make you think they’re not friendly when you first meet them, but that’s just because they are shy creatures.
Australorps are calm, gentle, peaceful and content with being confined, they are a great option for pet chickens in backyard flock.
7 Faverolles
Anyone that has come across Faverolles will tell you about their friendly and sweet nature. However, while those are great compliments, these birds are much more than that.
To start with, they’re beautiful and desirable all at the same time. Faverolles’ feathers are wonderfully coloured which make them aesthetically pleasing and their fluffy looks will compel you to give them a hug.
This breed is so gentle and social with not just other people, but also with other chickens, and can easily get along with kids.
However, they can get easily bullied by other aggressive and dominant breeds, so you might want to think twice before adding them to other flocks.
Faverolles can give you a fair number of eggs each year. With this breed in your coop, you can be sure of 200 eggs in a year.
8 Jersey Giants
As their name implies, Jersey Giants are typically big chicken breeds. They weigh around 15 pounds and are able to stand at 26 inches, which ranks them higher among the larger breeds.
However, notwithstanding their huge frame, Jersey Giants are one of the friendliest chicken breeds ever. They’re often referred to as gentle giants due to their calm and docile nature.
Their friendly nature is not limited to just humans, they would most likely get along with other pets as well.
Unlike most docile breeds, Jersey Giants are strong and can’t be bullied. They are capable of standing for themselves even in front of predators.
Did I also tell you they are a dual-purpose breed? Yes, Jersey Giants can offer you 200 eggs each year and are great at producing meat.
9 Rhode Island Red
The Rhode Island Red is another lovely chicken breed to have in your coop.
Even though they’re thought of as being egg layers, Rhode Island Red chickens are a friendly and docile breed.
They’re one of the easiest birds to keep, gentle and love being held and cuddled, which makes them a good pick for your pet-loving kids.
This breed enjoys human company and get comfortable being touched, and the good thing is they’re also friendly with other members of their own flock.
Rhode Island Reds cope very well with being confined, but they also enjoy running down the yard and forage for tasty threats.
They’re cold hardy and can survive any climatic condition, so why don’t you get this lovely, rugged breed for your coop.
Bonus Picks: Other Friendliest Chicken Breeds you should consider
Even though we’ve recommended for you the best friendliest chicken breeds you can get, it’s important to state that the list is long and inexhaustible.
There are some other friendliest chicken breeds out there that didn’t make it to our list but they can also be great addition to your flock, check them out below;
- Barbu D’Uccles
- Barred Rock
- Brahma
- Golden Buff
- Plymouth Rock
- Polish
- Red or Black Star
- Sebright
- Sultan
- White Leghorn
As we close this out, let me emphasize that you can never get it wrong with friendliest chicken breeds. Whether you’re just getting into poultry or you have been in the game for ages, you should know there are more than one reason for you to add this breed to your flock.
They’re not just good for friendship, some breeds can also produce healthy amounts of eggs while some offer you the best quality meat, so they can serve you whichever way you desire.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Opinions are actually divided over this, different backyard chicken owners will tell you that a chicken’s disposition is largely influenced by its unique personality and environment rather than their specific breed of genetics.
Also, it’s important to note that chickens tend to be aggressive when they’re broody and their nest is disturbed.
Having said that, Silver Laced Serama and Malay chickens are widely regarded as the most aggressive chicken breeds. The latter mainly due to the fact that they’re raised for cockfighting.
While it’s possible to train your chickens to be friendlier, also note that aggression in chickens is caused by various factors.
Some breeds are naturally more aggressive due to environmental, behavioral and genetic factors, while others have friendly dispositions and are good at other things.
However, one of the easiest ways to make your chicken friendlier is to give them food.
Make sure you feed them well and give them some treats, hug them and make them feel comfortable around you.
Even though preferences may differ from person to person.
Your disposition towards your chicken might condition them to be the best pet ever. While another person may find it difficult to get along with the same breed.
Meanwhile, there are some breeds considered to make the best pets and they include; Golden Campine, Partridge Silkie, Golden-Laced Wyandotte, Australorp, Easter Egger and Speckled Sussex.
This can be somewhat subjective and is strictly down to personal opinions. Some chickens are widely considered the prettiest and they include; Silkie, Barnevelder, Frizzle and Welsummer.
There are a lot of chicken breeds that are good for your backyard flock, some of them are Buff Orpingtons, Bantam Leghorn, Bantam Araucana, Dark Brahmas, and La Fleches.
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