Top Chickens for Egg Laying and Pets

Chickens are fun and entertaining animals and make great pets. Along with having your own fresh, organic eggs everyday, you have the chance to learn about these interesting birds. North American breeds are widely available through feed stores, breeders, catalog and online dealers and your neighborhood chicken farm. Here are our picks for the top producing and the friendliest, plus interesting egg types available.

Click here for DIY plans for building a chicken coop

Top egg producing chickens

• Leghorn –White eggs

Leghorns are a lightweight chicken originally from the Tuscany region of Italy. They were brought to the US in 1853 and have become the top commercial laying chicken in this country. They can lay 280 eggs per year, and do not need excessively large amounts of feed to be this productive. They tend to avoid humans and are not friendly as pets.

• Rhode Island Reds – Light or dark brown eggs

These large chickens were developed in Rhode Island in the mid 1800’s. They have a dark, rich red color with red single or rose combs. Although they can be friendly, they can also be flighty if not handled as young chickens. They can get annoyed and be aggressive towards children and strangers.

They can produce around 250-300 eggs per year, making them some of the most productive laying hens available. They are not ‘broody’, a term that means they are protective of their eggs or chicks.

Top friendly chickens with good egg production

• Australorp- Medium brown eggs

This breed combines good egg laying with friendly disposition. They will hop or walk up to your legs looking for attention. Can be held and petted easily, they like the attention.

• Easter-Eggers- Large eggs in green, blue, or pink

A cross between North American breeds, this hen resembles Araucana chicken, which produces blue eggs. Easter-eggers will produce eggs everyday, with different colors. They are friendly and like attention.

• Faverolles- Large eggs in cream, pink and brown tints

These chickens originated in France and are widely used for exhibition. They have feet with five toes, also beards and tufts of feathers on the head, ears. They are typically a light brown/ cream color. The hens are good layers and are very beautiful pets.

• Plymouth Rock- Large brown eggs

Common Plymouth Rock chickens are barred, a striped black and white appearance, or white. They are large chickens and are usually tame and docile with handling. They are hardy in cold temperatures, so make excellent backyard chickens. They have a longer life span than many other breeds.

• Sussex- Medium to large creamy brown eggs

A friendly personality makes these chickens great pets and easy for children to handle. They are good egg-layers, with around 240-260 eggs per year. The ligher color hens tend to be better producers. Hens are not overly broody or protective with regular handling.

Depending on your needs, these are the top picks for backyard chickens. Of course there are many breeds, colors, types and sizes of chickens available and many people enjoy exhibiting chickens at a show.

However, for your backyard chicken coop we recommend choosing a breed from this list. These birds are hardy, good egg producers and many make tame pets for children and adults.

These are the plans I settled on:

They really worked for me and I got the chicken coop I wanted within my budget and my building skills. I highly recommend you check out Building a Chicken Coop.

Bill Keene's book is the ultimate guide to planning and building your own coop in your backyard. In includes drafts of plans, dimensions, materials lists and sources to everything you need to build a sustainable chicken coop.