As a chicken mama, I’m sharing my three favorite chicken breeds.
I think chickens make great pets for kids, especially if it is their first animal on a hobby farm.
Your kids will learn responsibility with feeding, watering, collecting eggs, and coop cleaning.
Chickens were one of the first farm animals we added to our hobby farm back in 2007.
If I remember correctly my boys were around six and four when we first brought some home.
My youngest son loved chickens and all sorts of birds.
He actually had plans to become a chicken farmer when he grew up and had a small business selling and gifting eggs to family and friends.
If you’re curious, as a now adult, he has yet to become a chicken farmer, lol.
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When you’re looking at chicken breeds, there are a few things to consider, like how many can you handle and what you want them for.
You should be providing each chicken with 10 square feet of outdoor space and about 3 square feet inside the coop for each bird.
We have a 10×10 chicken coop and try to keep a limit of under 15 chickens. Our purpose is basically for pets and a manageable amount of eggs.
This is just a standard measurement, and you may want to consider more space depending on the size of the chicken breed you choose.
I have had a handful of breeds on my hobby farm over the years, and these are my three favorite chicken breeds and they are all kid-friendly.
MY TOP 3
KID-FRIENDLY CHICKEN BREEDS
# 1 THE WYANDOTTE
The Wyandotte is a beautiful chicken, with a nice clean appearance and golden legs. Wyandottes come in many colors like black, buff, blue, gold, and silver laced.
Males weigh in at about 8-9 lbs. and the hens weigh around 6-7 lbs.
Wyandottes are good egg producers and will lay about 3-4 eggs per week. Eggs are medium size and have a cream to brown color.
In my experience when it comes to the Wyandotte, they are a friendly breed, especially when they are handled from a young age.
They are not necessarily a lap chickens, but they are friendly enough to handle and pick up.
My boys really enjoyed having Wyandottes, and they were easy for them to handle.
# 2 THE BRAHMA
The Brahma is a larger chicken and can weigh up to 12 lbs. They come in light, dark, and buff coloring.
I really like that they have feathers on their legs, but the feathers can get dirty.
It’s a good idea to check their leg feathers often to make sure they do not have any infections or issues with their feet.
You can easily clean chicken feet by soaking them in warm water if ever needed.
Brahma chickens are very hardy and will provide eggs, even throughout the winter months.
Eggs are medium-sized and brown in color, and like the Wyandotte, they lay 3-4 eggs per week.
Brahma chickens are very easy to catch and handle. You can follow them from behind, and they will squat down so you can pick them up, or at least that is what ours usually would do.
The Brahma is not as fragile as some other chicken breeds and I consider them one of the easiest chickens for beginners and children.
# 3 THE SILKIE
Silkies are known for their unique features, and one of my favorites is their turquoise earlobes. So pretty!
They have a fluffy appearance because they lack barbules in their feathers, and underneath all that fluff is a blackish blue-colored skin. Which you will notice if they ever need a bath.
Silkies also have one, two, three, four, FIVE toes! The average chicken only has four.
The silkie is not the chicken for you if you are looking for a ton of eggs.
asks for one egg, I will use two silkie eggs.
Silkies are calm and gentle by nature. You can even keep them in the house.
If you want silkies to be fun pet companions that you can easily pick up or catch, you will still need to spend quality time with them.
Even silkie roosters tend to be very friendly. They have a sweet-sounding crow, and on my hobby farm, they have never shown aggression.
We have a rooster named “Wolf” who likes to visit us on the front porch for treats. Wolf does come indoors on occasion for photoshoots. He’s pretty fun.
Another fun reason I adore the silkies is that they make great mamas and their chicks are so small they fit in the palm of your hand.
Next time you’re considering kid-friendly chicken breeds, I hope you will remember the Wyandotte, Brahma, and Silkie.
They are my three favorite chicken breeds and I think you will enjoy them.
XOXO
Emily
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