Chicken breeds for children: which will work best with your family?

Chickens are a wonderful way for kids to learn about responsibility for other living things - and to know where their morning egg comes from!

Which chicken breeds are good for children? Pin for later.

But finding the right breed (or breeds) to fit in with your family can be daunting, especially if you're new to poultry keeping.

To avoid costly mistakes, the child-friendly aspect needs to be combined with a knowledge of which hens will do well in your type of home and your part of the world.

On this page I'll help you find the ideal hen for your family.

How?

You'll find here links to breeds which are particularly suited to children of different ages.

If you have very young children, consider getting a bantam sized chicken. Not every breed has them, but they're small enough to be kind to little ones' hands, and not so scary as some of the large breed hens.

Don't discount roosters, either, if you're planning to have a flock of at least ten hens. They're very valuable in terms of guarding their ladies, and they're not all mean! There's a link to my articles about male chickens at the bottom of this page.

Click on any of the links or pictures to go to an article with details about the breed, its history, personality - and how many eggs to expect!

The Light Sussex

Curious and ultra-friendly, the Light Sussex is a good choice if you have children who won't be phased by a large breed chicken.

They're good at dealing with cold climates, equally at home in large areas or smaller runs, and excellent foragers, so good if you're on a budget.

As a bonus, they lay large, pinky-brown eggs almost all year round.

Red Stars

Link to information about the Red Star chicken

If your children love their eggs, this is the chicken for you!

Gentle, friendly, funny and always curious, the Red Star is one of the best egg layers ever - and she'll keep laying through extremes of weather.

Kids will love watching them try to fly - but would you see this as a problem?

Silkie chickens

Link to facts about the Silkie chicken breed

Silkies are one of the most popular chicken breeds for children of any age - they're especially good for little ones.

Fluffy, cuddly, sweet natured, exceptionally good mothers of chicks, and they absolutely love to be handled - they see themselves as a lap-chicken! How perfect is that?

But you need to make sure your weather is right for the Silkie - not every climate is.

The Speckled Sussex chicken

Curious, chatty, friendly - the Speckled Sussex is a very sociable breed who loves to be part of any family group.

Her beautiful feathering will particularly appeal to older children who need to look "cool" in front of their friends.

They're naturally good listeners as well as talkers, so they make ideal therapy companions, too!

Chickens that lay lovely coloured eggs

Which breeds produce colourful eggs? Link.

If your children's main concern is having chickens who lay beautifully coloured eggs, so that your egg basket is always pretty, take a look at this article.

It covers pale brown and chocolate brown, white, blue and green eggs from different breeds.

And I look at whether there's such a thing as a black chicken egg!