The 10 Best Chicken Breeds Picked by My Pet Chicken Staff

Are you looking for the best chicken breeds to add to your flock? The chicken expert staff here at My Pet Chicken have put together this list of top chicken breeds we recommend for your backyard flock! Read the top ten chicken breeds that our expert staff love and adores!

Silkie Bantam Chickens - Best Chicken Breed

Of all the best chicken breeds, the Silkie Bantam is the most popular and most loved. They're the lap dog of the chicken world, complete with hair-like plumage and a lovely temperament. They are calm, easy to handle, and a favorite choice as a pet for children!

Silkie hens make excellent mothers and are even known to adopt baby ducks if given a chance! You can expect them to lay about 100-120 small cream eggs yearly or 2-3 per week. Since they go broody often, their egg-laying is often interrupted and inconsistent.

My Pet Chicken offers Black, White, Blue, Buff, and Splash Silkie Bantam baby chicks for sale.

Orpington Chickens

Orpington chickens are big, friendly, good-laying, dual-purpose birds originally developed in the UK. Orpingtons are the only way to go for many small farms and homesteaders! They're cold-hardy due to their fluffy plumage and are also at the top of our list of Best Chickens for Cold Weather.

They are wonderful mothers, and nothing is more charming than seeing a mother Orpington, and her fluffy new baby chicks peeking from beneath her wings. The Buff Orpington is the most popular of all varieties of Orpington--a pretty, bright, pale "buffed" copper color striking as eye candy against a green lawn.

Our Customer Service Representative, Judi, says this about Orpington chickens - "They are the ultimate "all around" chicken - they have sweet personalities, they love to lay eggs, and they make great mothers to boot!"

My Pet Chicken offers Buff, Blue, Lavender, Chocolate, Black, and Jubilee Orpington baby chicks for sale.

Cochin Chickens - Best Chicken Breed

Cochin chickens are known worldwide for being big friendly balls of fluff and feathers, and they're a staff and customer favorite! They don't lay exceptionally well but are popular because of their calm, sweet personality and fantastic mothering qualities.

Cochins became famous in the 1800s when this Chinese breed was given as a gift to Queen Victoria of England, who absolutely adored them.

Our Customer Service and Fulfillment Manager at My Pet Chicken, Jordana, says this about Cochin chickens - "These are the most docile birds I have ever had in my flock. They make fantastic photography models, get along with everyone without ending up at the bottom of the pecking order, roosters are friendly and social, and they are just so adorable with their little "pants" (feathered legs)."

My Pet Chicken offers Blue/Black/Splash, Partridge, White, Black Frizzle Bantam, and Mottled Bantam Cochin baby chicks for sale.

Polish Chickens

Polish chickens are an exceptional and unique breed of chicken with their huge bouffant crest of feathers and v-shaped comb. The Buff Laced variety is a favorite among the staff at My Pet Chicken!

Egg laying is varied in this breed - some lay well and some very poorly. Polish are sweet, beautiful exhibition birds and can be good layers in the backyard flock. They are tame, but their behavior can be wacky since their crest limits their vision.

My Pet Chicken offers White Crested Splash, Buff Laced, Golden Laced White Crested Blue, and White Crested Black Polish baby chicks for sale.

Speckled Sussex Chickens - Best Chicken Breed

The Sussex has it all: they are excellent layers of tinted or light brown eggs and lay right through the coldest weather. They forage well and are friendly and easily handled. Their curious nature means they will often follow you around the yard if they think they can beg for a treat from you.

The "speckled" variety has plumage that gives them camouflage from predators, too. Many tend to get more speckles after each successive molt, so they get prettier with age.

Our Customer Service Representative, Mimi says this about the Speckled Sussex chicken - I love the Speckled Sussex personality and appearance. They are sweet, great for families, and beautiful to boot.

My Pet Chicken offers Speckled Sussex baby chicks for sale.

Ameraucana Chickens

Ameraucanas are one of the best chicken breeds since they have a sweet temperament. According to our staff, they are friendly with kids and make excellent pets!

Ameraucana chickens lay pretty, light blue to greenish-blue eggs about 3-4 times a week. Their fluffy cheeks and beard give them an adorable appearance.

My Pet Chicken offers Lavender, Blue, Black, and Splash Ameraucana baby chicks for sale.

Brahma Chickens

Brahmas are BIG birds. They're so much larger than most other breeds that they may end up near the top of your pecking order by default.

Brahmas are so gentle and make great pets. They are quiet, cold-tolerant, and absolutely huggable! While not a power layer, you can expect three or so medium-sized brown eggs from this bird per week.

My Pet Chicken offers Light, Dark, and Buff, Brahma baby chicks for sale.

Wyandotte Chickens -Top Chicken Breed

Wyandotte chickens have been voted one of the best chicken breeds because they are beautiful and productive birds for the home flock. They are a favorite amongst staff and backyard flock owners for their dependable egg-laying, easygoing nature, and cold hardiness. They tend to do well when either confined or able to free range.

Wyandotte chickens have a heavy body, which makes them an excellent dual-purpose choice, and a small rose comb makes them perfect for cold climates because they are not prone to frostbite. The hens are hardy, energetic, and faithful layers.

My Pet Chicken offers Silver Laced, Golden Laced, Columbian and Blue Laced Red Wyandotte baby chicks for sale.

Buckeye Chickens

The Buckeye chicken breed is considered a threatened breed that is worth preserving! They are also the only chicken breed of the American Class to have been developed by a woman in -- you guessed it -- "The Buckeye State," Ohio.

The Buckeyes are incredibly docile and can go broody. Their relatively large size and small pea combs make them good winter layers and very cold hardy. They are fair layers of brown eggs year-round and have a reputation for being good mousers.

Our customer service representative, Cathy, says this about Buckeye chickens - "I like that the Buckeye is a dual-purpose chicken breed that does well in the cold and heat (with shade.) They are friendly, protective roosters, and the hens are good layers and brooders."

My Pet Chicken offers Buckeye baby chicks for sale.

Marans Chickens

THE chocolate egger breed — the Marans chicken! This breed is a must-have for those who adore a colorful egg basket!

Our Marans are bred chiefly for egg color, with an additional view toward hardiness and the breed standard. You can expect your Marans chickens to lay an egg anywhere from dark brown, to deep reddish-brown, to medium brown with many dark speckles. Marans make wonderful pets, too - they are hardy, calm, and quiet and bear confinement well. They are said to be good foragers without being TOO destructive to your garden.

The darkest eggs you receive from your lovely Marans hen will be her first egg, and the eggs will lighten ever so slightly with each egg, up until her annual molt. After that, you will once again see her darkest egg.

My Pet Chicken offers Black Copper Marans, Blue Splash Marans, Blue Copper Marans, Blue Cuckoo Marans, Blue/Black/Splash Birchen Marans, Golden Cuckoo Marans, Silver Cuckoo Marans, and Wheaten Marans baby chicks for sale.