5 Best Chicken Breeds for Families with Kids By Lisa Steele
Fresh eggs are a joy to cook with - and so much better-tasting than store bought eggs - and of course the main reason why so many families are deciding to add a chicken coop to their backyard these days. Besides, raising a small flock of chickens in the backyard is a family activity that everyone can share in and enjoy together.
Even very young children will love to help collecting eggs, refilling feeders, and chasing the chickens out of flower beds. Children of any age can help pick out some favorite chicken treats at the store and then have fun tossing them to the flock.
Older kids can be assigned more difficult chores such as helping to haul water buckets and bales of straw or bags of shavings, be assigned to coop cleaning duties, and be given the responsibility of letting the chickens out each morning. And everyone will have fun thinking up names for the chickens!
Anyone with kids who is considering starting a flock of backyard chickens should choose from some of the more “kid friendly” chicken breeds. Each breed of chicken does have a distinct personality and temperament, and choosing docile breeds will result in a calmer flock of hens that your kids can have fun petting, holding and interacting with.
Faverolles: French faverolles are one of the most docile chicken breeds. Their gentle nature makes them a perfect fit for a family flock. Faverolles lay pale cream-colored eggs and are adorable hens with feathers on their feet and puffs of fluff on each cheek.
Buff Orpingtons: Buff Orpingtons are a great kid-friendly breed. They are on the large side, but not so large as to be intimidating to kids because of their sweet docile nature. They are a beautiful golden color and lay brown eggs. Buff orpingtons also make excellent moms to baby chicks.
Australorps: Very similar in size and temperament to Buff Orpingtons, Australorps are their solid black cousins. Australorps lay large, pale tan eggs and are also great layers and moms. Australorps are also a notoriously calm and friendly breed.
Cochins: Cochins are another chicken breed that works well in a flock of kid-friendly chickens. They are large chickens, but extremely calm and laid-back. They come in blue, black and white and lay large light brown eggs.
Easter Eggers: Although Easter Egger chickens aren’t the friendliest, they are a fun breed for families with kids to raise because true to their name, they lay all different colored eggs from green to blue to pale pink. While an Easter Egger hen likely won't want to sit on your kids’ laps or be carried around the yard, it's worth having one or two in your flock just for their pretty colored eggs.
Lisa Steele is a 5th generation chicken keeper and the author of Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens Naturally as well as several other books devoted to raising backyard flocks. She lives on a small farm in Maine with her husband and flock of chickens, ducks and geese. Dubbed “Queen of the Coop”, she is currently hosting Welcome to my Farm on CreateTV. For more information visit www.fresheggsdaily.com or connect with Lisa on Instagram.