5 Great Chicken Breeds We Love Keeping + One We'd NEVER Keep Again

[@harriettejensen479]

I raised chickens for ten years and had the following breeds: welsommer, austrolorp, speckled sussex, ameraucana, lavender orpington, double laced barnvelder. The Austrolorp were beautiful (I had 4) and I would have kept them, but I got sick and couldn't care for them. They were easy, good natured, and laid big eggs often. The Speckled Sussex was my favorite. She was calm, let me pick her up, laid well, and was really pretty. The Americaucana was my chicken "character". She went from being low on the pecking order and then moved up as the breeds changed over time. She also was very flighty, both in temperament and actual flying. I often had to get her out of a tree that was near the coop. She didn't "escape", just liked the tree. The Lavender Orpington was beautful and calm. I didn't have her long because of my illness. The Double-laced Barnvelder was just plain beautiful. Each of her feathers was like a multi arched window in browns and blacks. She was also a good layer but not especially friendly. I actually loved having chickens, but had to give up raising chickens because I was unable to keep them safe. No matter how high the fence, or even when I netted the top of the whole run, Brer Fox and Mama Raccoon were able to penetrate the defenses. I live not too far from a very large regional park that has all kinds of critters, some of them very large, and when food is scarce, they raid chicken coops. If I had it to do over again, I would have a cement floor in the chicken coop, deep litter and a very sturdy wooden and hardware cloth frame with a top as that seems what it would take to keep the chickens safe in my area. As I am now 82 and arthritic, I would have to get someone to build that for me. BTW, I never had any complaints from the neighbors. I only had 4 chickens at a time (the city's limit), no roosters, and placed my coop as far from any neighboring buildings as possible. It also helped that several neighbors had chickens of their own.

[@awakenacres]

I live in Michigan zone 6. Sometimes hot summers, sometimes extremely cold winters. During an especially extreme winter the only roosters that didn’t suffer frostbite were the Brabanters and a golden laced Wyandotte and Ameraucana. Those would be my favorites for cold hardiness. My friendliest hens have been Brabanters and buff Orpingtons. Cold hardy hen award goes to my dark Brahma hen. She’s calm but aloof. My broodiest hens have been Ameraucana and Sumatras. My meanest hen is a golden penciled Hamburg. My Meanest rooster is a barnevelder. Prettiest eggs is my black copper Marans. My salmon faverolle is a fluffy sweetheart. I’ve had too many breeds to mention them all. And each individual chicken has their own unique personality.💕🐓

[@awakenacres]

I love my salmon faverolle and so does the rest of my mixed flock!

[@oldchickenlady]

I live right in the middle of the U.S., have been around chickens my whole life and been raising my own flock for over 35 years. I agree with you on the Australorps! I would like to suggest Dorkings. They are amazing. They lay a white egg nearly every day unless they are broody or molting. They are the best mother hens I have ever had. They are extremely hardy and long lived. My last girl is7 or 8 years old and still laying. She went broody twice in 2023 and raised two healthy clutches of chicks. She takes care of her own business, doesn't cause problems or start them. She is the most alert to hawks and always warns right away. All in all, they are a lot like the Australorp but come in beautiful colors. I got mine from Sand hill Preservation because he breeds for great quality, not fancy show birds. He has a Dorking/speckled Sussex cross I would like to try. Just an old chicken lady's opinion!!😁

[@gtromble]

Last year I got my first chicks from Burns Feed. I got 2 Golden Laced Wyandottes, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Light Brahmas and 2 Blue Andalusians (a last minute sub for what I had wanted). One of the Wyandottes and one of the Brahmas were cockerels (not intended). The Brahma rooster was quite aggressive. The hen was aggressive too, and she suddenly died at about 6-7 months of age. There had been some egg pecking, which disappeared when she died. So my Light Brahmas were a problematic pair. My favorites turned out to the the Blue Andalusians. They are good flyers, which could be an issue in some settings. They were the first of the chicks to fly, and one was the first hen to lay eggs. They've been more at ease with me that the others, letting me pick them up, sometimes flying up and landing on my arm or shoulder. I've hatched 19 eggs with the Wyandotte rooster as father, and the Wyandotte - Buff Orpington cross is particularly pretty - very gold hackles, a little reddish over the central body, and a bit of green in the tail. Q. What chicken breed is the most physically fit? A. The "Buff" Orpington.

[@judywood4530]

When my son had a mixed flock, it was the barred rock that I really enjoyed they, They were inquisitive and clucked softly almost continuously.

[@mariagordanier3404]

I sure love their clucking. I want to cluck right along with them.

[@lwjenson]

This was super super helpful! I am looking to get chickens sometime in the next few years, and this was really helpful. I would love to hear more about your experience with other breeds as well.

[@rebeccawatson9284]

Thanks for the insight! I was going to try salmon favorelles. Sounds like I'm going Ameracauna and Brahma! Lol.

[@justyves]

Ruth rocks! Very informative. Thanks!

[@rowentree3999]

We raise Blue and Black Copper Marans for their excellent egg quality. They are hardy, but are not particularly friendly. We also raise Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. They are friendly and go broody easily, so they are our mother hens. We also have several other breeds, including a Light Brahma. I agree that they are hardy and calm. 3 paddock rotation with some garden access. Northern California, Zone 8b.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

We got a Cuckoo Maran last year and her personality is similar to your copper. She makes the WEIRDEST noises and is what I would describe as "aloof" but she lays great!

[@rachelwebber3605]

The pebbles in the feet isn't just a Brahma issue, or just a feather footed chicken issue. I think it's something that can affect any breed. We had a Red Sexlink who ended up with bumble foot because we didn't notice a rock had gotten stuck in one of her foot pads and we had to do some minor in house surgery on her to get the rock and staph infection out. She made a full recovery in one of our bathrooms, and then wanted to be a house chicken for the rest of her life. Our oldest hen was a Barred Rock or Plymouth Rock (hard to tell which) who was queen of the roost for about 13 years! She stopped laying at around age 8-9, but she was such a good lead hen and kept the flock safe and running on time that she was worth the extra feed. On the other hand, we no longer get any type of Sexlink or Rhode Island Reds because they have too much Leghorn in them, meaning they lay eggs like a champ but get sick really easy and don't make it far past 4-5 years old. That high turnover rate made it really hard to have a strong and consistent flock culture, and that seems to have made them more vulnerable to predation and stress behaviors like pecking and egg eating.

[@heenanain]

How interesting, i have never heard of flock culture. I have just got 6 rescue hens to add to my existing 2 and I think this was a mistake:( it is stressful for everyone and most of them are really mean. Next time i will raise from day old chicks.

[@hendyappleton5701]

I had to start my flock over again this year, so I went with two each of my favorites: Orpingtons (lavender because that's what they had), Australorps (blue because that's what they had), Amerucana, and Speckled Sussex. They're all just great, calm birds and good layers. The Speckled Sussex, in particular, have been great mothers for me in the past. I will never have another Barred Rock - they've consistently been unfriendly at a minimum, down to outright vicious to other birds and to people. And no leghorns - too nervous. I have too much mud to have any feather-footed birds. I've had so many predator problems (hawks during the day; raccoons, skunks, rats, possibly a bobcat at night) that I've altered my chicken-keeping plans. The girls now have a proper floored 4x6x4 "box" for nighttime roosting attached to an 8x16' run for daytime. I've just moved the new birds from the brooder to this setup. Once they're settled in, I'll let them free range for a few hours every day. I hope one of them is a roo, but if not, I'll adopt one from the inevitable "I'm in city limits and can't have a rooster!" cry for help in a few months. If I get babies this fall or next spring, I'll keep a few and start a rotation of birds between a moveable small chicken tractor (to be built) and the big pen so I can put a few birds in places where I need tilling or pest control or just to mow some of my field.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Good luck with your new flock! Your new plans seem like you’ve got them off to a great start!

[@permiebird937]

I've had chickens since 2001. My favorite hens have generally been Amerucana/Easter eggers. I love their gregarious personalities. I had one Fleur, who would hop up onto my wrist if I held it out for her. Australorps are great birds as long as you don't get one who likes to yell. We had one that when my daughter, in her late teens would listen to metal, that hen would try to out yell the singers. I have a barnvelder, she lays light brown eggs, but she seems to have this cycle of lay for a few weeks, then go broody for a couple months, then start laying again, then broody, rinse and repeat. She is the second hen I had had do this. I've had 2 small breed hens, but not any banties. I loved my gold spangled hamburg, she was an amazing flyer, but not terribly destructive when she hopped into a garden bed.

[@joannewolfe5688]

I have had Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Australorps, and an "unknown" breed I got from a friend (will not do that again). If you plan to have a rooster, by all means choose a Barred Rock, as they tend to be fairly mellow. I actually had the tamest, sweetest rooster ever (Barred Rock), but I did get him from a specialty breeder that only sold very mellow roosters. I have had the BRs in SW Virginia and Nova Scotia. I have had the Buffies and Australorps in Nova Scotia. The advantage of BRs is that they are dual-purpose -- meat and eggs. However, that means they don't lay as many eggs. I'm about to get chickens again in VA and plan to get Buffies as I love their calm temperament and that they go broody. I also like that they have a small comb which makes them a little hardier in winter. The one breed I would NEVER get again are Australorps, as I found them to be quite aggressive in a mixed flock. In fact, I'm going to avoid mixed flocks from now on. I'll either have Buffies or Barred Rocks. As far as hawks not killing large chickens, I beg to differ. If they are hungry enough, hawks will attack just about anything. In an unusually harsh Virginia winter (I live in the Blue Ridge) I had a hawk kill a large rooster -- breaking its neck with one hard dive. True, the hawk could not carry it off, but would have eaten it in place if I had not come along immediately after the kill. I did not blame the hawk as it was a "hungry winter", I actually helped the hawk get out of the fenced area (it was semi-trapped) and buried the rooster. I did not let the hawk have the rooster because I knew it would return for more.

[@pattimatson678]

Just found your channel. Delighted to find someone near us.

[@dianaschmied7092]

Great video. I have been keeping chickens for about 15 years, the last 3 years here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and previously in the Memphis TN area. Here on the Gulf Coast I have/had a small flock of ISA Browns (initially 4, and now down to 1 and I currently have 5 Americana/easter egger chicks in a brooder who will go out there in about 2 more weeks). Our yard is a standard neighborhood 1/3 acre lot. Our coop is in an enclosed run/paddock within a fenced backyard - also enclosed on the top because we have lots of hawks, bald eagles, owls, raccoons. The ISA Browns are amazing layers - they lay every single day, rain or shine, hot or cold -- usually 7 days a week. They are very calm, very quiet -- my neighbors didn't even know we had chickens, but not much personality. They start laying VERY young and early. On the downside, they don't have a long laying life -- only 3 years or so, and they don't live very long -- evidently the prolific laying wears them out I guess. When I got them (during the Covid emergency) they were the only breed that I could find. At this point 3/4 years later, only one remains and I am replenishing my flock with my favorite breed - Ameracaunas, because I love their looks, their individual personalities, and their colored eggs. Because our run is covered I don't have to worry about them flying over the top and in my experience escape artists are usually lured back to the run easily with some scratch or treats or just their curiosity about what's going on.

[@deborahcoyle7612]

Ruth, I love your descriptions of the different breeds. This was so informative. I can’t wait for the day I can have chickens.

[@tthappyrock368]

We had Buff Orphington, Barred Rock, Gold Lace Wyandotte, Gold Star, Rhode Island reds, and Americanas. One of the Gold Star hens laid jumbo eggs daily (as long as my hand is wide so 4-5"). She wanted to be a house chicken and would seek any opportunity to get inside! They got along with each other well and were a lot of fun to watch!

[@amberemma6136]

FYI- leg color does not dictate egg colors. Ear lobe colors are more accurate but also isn't going to tell you a specific color. It will tell you if the egg will be white, brown, or blue but isn't 100% accurate, some breed dont fit into this standard. Yes, heritage breed "Ameraucana's" have slate legs, a hybrid/mutt chicken called an "Americana/Easter egger" xan have any leg color and do lay colored eggs (blue, green, olive, pink) but they do not breed true and they are not a recognized breed. I LOVE salmon Faverolles! And they are an endangered chicken species so i am breeding them for the sustainment of their species. They are so sweet, but i think breed strains also play a huge role in the quality of your birds, hatchery quality are not going to be the best quality when it comes to production, egg size, bird size, temperaments, personality, etc. if you find a good breeder that is selecting breeding stock for those specific qualities then the bird you end up with will be of much higher caliber then what youve experienced. Personally, i wouldn't cross of a breed if ive only ever raised hatchery stock of that breed bc in my opinion you are not truly experiencing the qualities that breed has the potential for for stock that comes from hatcherys or your local feed store

[@stephaniebartelt7357]

I kind of love your videos but I have to say I adore my one remaining little Salmon Faverolles. Esther was historically the lowest on the pecking order, yes, and maybe she doesn't lay all that many eggs though they are the prettiest shell pink color -- but she is by far the happiest to see me. Now that her sisters have gone to the big coop in the sky, her beard has grown back in after being groomed or pecked out for years. Now she is happily on equal footing with the two chicks (one Egger, one Orp) we got and they toodle around my yard together in coastal/riverside Massachusetts. I let my birds free range if I'm home and can watch them. I personally would lean toward non-floppy combed birds in the future because even though it doesn't typically get that cold in Massachusetts (I'm originally from Wisconsin), we had a snap this winter that frostbit the tips of her comb, while my pea-combed little Egger's was just fine. Also, none of my other birds ever had this problem, but she collects sand/dirt/manure in the webbings of her toes. I push it out/extract it, she forms it again. And her claws need cutting sometimes. She's a little high maintenance. But I love her and she comes when I call her!

[@stephaniebartelt7357]

I will say I loved my Speckled Sussex girls, but the Cuckoo Marans was very aloof, which was a bummer considering how very pretty she was. I have my first mail order chicks coming: 3 little Bielefelders. Can't wait!

[@amygard236]

During my 10+ chicken years, I've always steered clear of the bigger birds in fear of a bigger feed bill, but now that I will soon have a ~3,000 sq ft woodland run for my small flock to forage, the raptor deterrent factor is pretty appealing (though I do suspect this only goes so far, as when I was in Portland I had a tiny Cooper's Hawk take out 2 sizeable hens - it just ate them in place). The breeds I've worked with are Cubalaya, Silver Lace Wyandotte, Red and Gold Sex Link, Ameraucana, and new this year: Barred Rock. The Cubalaya and Wyandottes I had tended to brood and the Wyandottes did not give many eggs (though I don't know how old they were - they were rescues). The Sex Link are my favorite so far. They're laying machines, good temperment, rarely broody, and pretty hardy. Not sure how they do on foraging but we'll soon find out!

[@kristab1638]

We loved our australorp. She was very calm, the easiest one for me to pick up, and productive and kept everyone in line. We also had wyandottes and an Easter egger. They had a 12 by 12 run but we'd let them roam when we were in the back yard. We're in zone 5 so chose these breeds because they are hardy. They had no problem with the cold even though they didn't care for the snow. Lol

[@MyHumbleNest]

I have four Sapphire Gems (I think barred rock origin?). The two I raised from chicks are sweet and loving, follow me, fine with being held. The two I adopted, are offish with me but not aggressive in any way, still great with kids. Our Opal has became Vocal Opal because she sings the egg song every time one of the ladies lays as well as when she does, but generally quiet birds. Very tolerant of our cold winters (0degrees not uncommon). They are in 90% shade during out 90 degree summers. Mine are in urban enclosure. No broodiness in the last year. They two originals started laying eggs at 16 weeks! Large, light-brown eggs.

[@mamaknitte_r]

We have Buff Orpingtons, Black Autralorps, and Americaunas. Your experiences are pretty much exactly the same as ours. We do have tons of predator pressure though. Not sure if it's our location. But bears have broken off the side of their coop with a cub making it into their run to help themselves to their feed, raccoons are often seen on the top of their run trying to break in, and swooping owls and hawks are a surprisingly frequent thing. But so far we haven't lost a chicken in the years we have had them! We have lost eggs and chicken feed though.

[@kylemartin832]

We love our Barnevelders, lay cool eggs and birds are low maintenance.

[@clem304]

This is great, I'm also in PDX and my Silver Laced Wyandott and Partridge Rock are doing the best so far. I am pretty disappointed in how my French Copper Moran has done, she just doesn't deal with the wet weather as well.

[@jdsfrisco]

Excellent recommendations. Thank you.

[@alexkunnen]

More chicken videos please!!!

[@niamha301]

Thank you so much, this was very helpful. I've always been fond of the Brahma with its giant size. So when we get some chicks I will make sure to create plenty of perching spots so the feet can stay as clean as possible in our rainy Ireland😅

[@darthfiende1]

We have a half acre suburban backyard in Colorado and free range our girls on half of that with a mini pig and cats coming through. We got Easter eggers, Australorps, and black copper marans for our first flock last year because I wanted lots of colors and dual purpose possibility. The Easter eggers are our favorite of those as they have the most gregarious personalities and lay the most consistently. The others are good layers and pretty hardy but don't stand out as individuals. We're getting olive eggers and jubilee Orpingtons this year.

[@jeanc.65]

That was really helpful, thank you

[@erminschadich1544]

Hi over there, Thank you for your video. I am a chicken breed enthusiast and did some work with it. You have given a good overview over breeds. I can confirm my experience is simillar to yours, One thing I can with Faverolle is that it is hard to breed them as mortality before hatching is very high. Maybe some lethal gene is responsible for it. However, one I need to say that chickens can be dangerous to humans esepcially to children even if they look tame. I know some cases where something bad happened that is why I am saying. If man is careful, there should be no problem. I did not have problem but I was careful. Apart from it, just keep going on. cheers

[@alexandraderry7086]

This is all so interesting thank you for this. I was wondering how your austrolorp does in your flock

[@alexandraderry7086]

I’m in a climate of southern Alberta with cold winters (-20 to -30 c) with lots of wind and hot dry summers.(foot hills/close to mountains) I am looking for quiet, friendly good egg layers for backyard flock for our family. I have found that the breeds of browns, like bovan browns, are good eggs, I would also like Wyandottes, Austrlorps, and cream leg bar (but that last one may be too loud). ❤

[@ablthomas37]

I have had a pair of australorp and they line up with your experiences. I currently have a buff orpington and she is very friendly with me and will want to stand on my arm or shoulder but she and the other one I've had ever the top chickens in my flock. Not overly aggressive but definitely in charge. The chicken breed I'm hesitant to get again is laced wyandotte. I have only had one but she was the meanest chicken I have even known she came very close to killing her flock mates and was just a miserable chicken to have. The chicken breed I've been very surprised by how much I've liked them are my pair of white leghorn. They are definitely not the tamest chickens but they are fairly easy to catch even when i'm free ranging them in my back yard and they calm down as soon as you grab them. I think this is part becausei raised them form two day old chicks and spent alot of time with them and have handled them regularly. They produce constantly all year for me. I like in Tucson Arizona and chicken will normal not have too much of a decrease in egg production in the winter in my experience but when it get 100° plus they can dramatically reduce there production but my leghorns just keep on going. I would recommend having at least a pair of them. My girls are always with each other and seem to stand up for them selves better when together.

[@julie-annepineau4022]

Just got 3 lovely barnyard mix hens this weekend! I wanted to start with adults to get to understand them before I went for chicks. Very tame birds, I think their father was a orpington and maybe a Rhode Island Mom? I am hoping to get chicks thru the summer and this helps me decide on breeds, thanks

[@petervanlaeke19]

I love independent thinkers like yourself, though I’m probably on the other side of the economic thinking line. I held chickens for many years but grew tired of the rats that came with them. Now I focus on cool plants and a couple of cats.

[@johnjoseph7490]

Any advice on breaking the broodiness? We usually put her in a dog crate but it sounds like you have other methods.

[@catharinephoto]

I hope you will share the pattern of that kind of scarf you are wearing!

[@mlissawetherell2382]

I love orps and brahmas but also isbar and ccl (cream crested legbar) who still occasionally lays at 7

[@faithbooks7906]

I have only had two breeds Buff Orpingtons which I really liked but now we have Red sex link or Golden Buff (Meyer Hatchery calls them that). I am in an urban setting and keep only 4 chickens clandestinely because my county has ridiculous requirements to own chickens. Three out of the 4 Buff Orps were killed by a fox while we were away. The 4th chicken that survived terrorized the new red sex link chickens I bought from the farm where we buy our meat. I wound up giving her away to a farm/retreat center someone from my church runs. So now we just have the red sex/golden buffs. They are better egg layers than the Buff Orps but they are more skittish. I do really enjoy having chickens but we have fox, raccoons. Hawks and coyotes and skunks. Even though we are urban we back up to a ravine so all the critters live back there! We only free the chickens from their run in the late fall/winter when someone can watch them. I really don’t have a system for incorporating them into the garden except when I clean the coop I dump the wood shavings into the compost bin but then I just sort of forget about it. I really to work on composting for real!

[@kellinomnom]

Plz, there is no link to the duck vid. Thank you!

[@venus9930]

Can i ask were did you get the buff or lavender orpington ?

[@growinghome9891]

This made me laugh so hard for some reason. lol i thought I was the only one on the anti favorelle train! Mine have always been the “dumb ways to die” chickens! But it’s been a few years since I’ve had one, so when I was thinking of what was the worst breed, I had forgotten all about these dumb dumbs.

[@catharinephoto]

My brahmas are more white with ring of black around neck. I love australorps (my rooster was “Russell Crowe.” I don’t like anything 0:04 with auracana in it such as Easter eggers . Too flighty and hide eggs.

[@UwU-Crew]

I love Jon Cena, she is so gorgeous.

[@dfhepner]

I don't have an opinion on chickens. But never put pineapple on pizza, that is just wrong.

[@livinginthenow]

If putting pineapple on my pizza is wrong, I don't want to be right.

[@joannewolfe5688]

Disagree: Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza is the BOMB.

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

I prefer kimchi on my pizza, so I'm sure the haters are gonna come for me now. LOL

[@dfhepner]

@@ParkrosePermaculture 😂

[@ebybeehoney]

I am in 6a. My yard is VERY wet when it rains, but during drought my yard doesn't need the watering other yards do. I'm still designing my urban garden and planting every year. I really want honeybees. But have been thinking about quail in an aviary. A friend has been encouraging me getting hens but my dog is not going to leave them alone so they would have to stay separated and protected.