Best Chicken Breeds for Beginners

by Erin Snyder
New to keeping chickens and finding breed choices overwhelming? This guide features 12 of the best chicken breeds for beginners; whether pet chicken or egg-laying, these breeds are a great place to start.
#1 Easter Eggers
Easter Eggers may not be an actual breed, but they’re one of the best chickens for first-time owners. This mixed breed doesn’t breed true, so you never know exactly what your hens will look like.
Like their name depicts, Easter Eggers lay eggs in a wide variety of colors, ranging from cream, brown, and blue, to green. On average, hens produce four to five large eggs weekly.
Easter Eggers are friendly, sociable, active, calm, and get along well with other chickens, although they can be bullied by more aggressive breeds.
#2 Speckled Sussex
Speckled Sussex hens are friendly, interactive, energetic, and happy. They also enjoy carrying on animated conversations with their owners.
Sussex should pose no problem for the novice, unless they become bored. If bored, they’re known to get into mischief. However, the breed tolerates confinement well when provided with mental stimulation and a spacious coop and run.
Hens are excellent layers, averaging four to five medium-sized eggs weekly. Egg production rarely decreases over the first four years of their lives.

#3 Silkie
If you’re looking for a sweet and gentle chicken that loves to snuggle on your lap, then look no further than the Silkie. Even though they’re the only bantam breed to make the list, these small hens pack a lot of heart and personality into their small bodies.
Silkie hens commonly go broody, and make excellent mothers. When they aren’t brooding chicks, hens average two to four small white eggs weekly.
While they don’t not pose personality problems for the novice, Silkies are more prone to certain health conditions than other breeds. Before acquiring Silkies, be sure to learn how to help prevent health problems from arising in this delightful breed.
#4 Golden Comet
One thing that sets these chickens apart is that they’re considered a sex-link (meaning you can tell the sex of a chick by the color of its down upon hatching). No two Golden Comets look alike, with each hen sporting beautiful golden-red and white feathers.
Golden Comet hens are active, quiet, sweet, friendly, and love interacting with humans. They make a wonderful addition to any flock and should pose no problems for the novice.
Golden Comets are excellent layers, averaging five-plus large brown eggs weekly.
#5 Barred Plymouth Rock
Barred Plymouth Rocks are endearing chickens with quirky personalities. Friendly and curious, Barred Rocks enjoy interacting with their human families. However, these hens don’t enjoy being snuggled as much as some of the other breeds.
Excellent producers of light brown eggs, hens average four to five large eggs weekly.
They often go broody, so if you’re looking for a standard-sized hen to hatch and raise chicks, Barred Plymouth Rock hens are an excellent choice for the job.

#6 Buff Orpington
Soft feathers and a sweet personality make this chicken one of the most commonly kept breeds in backyard flocks.
Buff Orpington hens are sweet, friendly, and people-loving, making them an excellent choice for novices and families with small children. While these chickens can grow to be quite large, Buff Orpingtons really are gentle giants at heart.
Buff Orpington hens average three to four medium-large light brown eggs weekly.
#7 Black Australorp
With their sweet faces and gentle, dark brown eyes, it’s hard to resist the Black Australorp. Australorp hens are curious, friendly, and sweet with their human families, and are an excellent choice for the novice.
Some Australorps strictly observe flock hierarchy and may bully hens that are lower in the pecking order, so be sure to keep an eye out for this behavior.
Black Australorps are reported to be excellent layers, averaging five-plus large light brown eggs weekly.
#8 Cochin
A true gentle giant, Cochin hens can grow up to be as big as 10 pounds! While a chicken that big may sound intimidating, Cochins are quite sweet, loving, and family-friendly. They enjoy being picked up for a cuddle, and have no personality disadvantages for the novice.
Due to their heavy feathering, this large breed requires extra attention to keep them clean and free of external parasites, and protect them from predators.
Cochin hens are good winter layers, averaging four medium-large brown eggs weekly.
#9 Wyandotte
Wyandottes are a great choice for the novice, as these beautiful chickens are friendly, full of personality, and enjoy interacting with their human families, including small children. These hens can be quite chatty though, so they may not be the best choice if you have close neighbors.
Wyandotte hens are good egg layers, with each hen averaging four to six medium-large light-brown eggs per week.
#10 Rhode Island Red
The Rhode Island Red is an iconic hen, with her gorgeous red feathers and large, single comb.
Rhode Island Red chickens are friendly, intelligent, curious, and calm, and enjoy interacting with their human families While they offer no problems for the novice, some individuals are more likely to peck their human handlers and need to be trained out of this habit.
Hens are dependable layers, averaging four to six large, light-brown eggs weekly.
#11 Ameraucana
An ancestor of the Easter Egger, Ameraucanas are another great breed for the novice. Ameraucana hens are docile, easygoing, calm, affectionate, and enjoy being petted and held. With their sweet personalities, it’s easy to see why so many backyard flock keepers fall in love with this unique breed.
The hens are good egg layers, averaging four to six medium-large eggs varying in shades of blue.
#12 Brahma
Another gentle giant, Brahma chickens are a delight to own. Hens are easygoing and friendly and make wonderful additions to the flock for families with small children.
A Brahma’s personality should pose no threat for the novice. However, like the Cochin, Brahmas are heavily feathered and require extra attention to keep them clean and free from external parasites, and protect them from predators.
Brahma hens are decent layers, averaging three to six medium-sized light-brown eggs.
Chickens make a wonderful addition to the family and the backyard. Whether You’re a novice researching chicken breeds for the first time or a veteran chicken keeper, these 12 breeds are the perfect addition to any flock.
Erin Snyder and her family have raised chickens and ducks for nearly two decades. She is passionate about all things poultry, but is especially interested in poultry nutrition, predator protection, egg-laying disorders, and helping chickens live their best lives well into their golden years. You can follow her chicken adventures on her newly hatched Instagram page.
Originally published in the June/July 2025 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.