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8 Best Chicken Breeds for Small Backyards

Top 8 Chicken Breeds for Small Backyards Blog Cover

Although we always love doing these articles, this particular article is incredibly difficult to do since there are so many wonderful breeds out there.

If we missed out some of your favorite breeds – sorry! We had to eliminate some of ours too.

When shortlisting the best chicken breeds for small backyards we used the follow criteria:

  • Space requirements
  • Noise factor
  • Egg production
  • Friendliness
  • Low maintenance
  • Breed cost

The key words used here are small and backyards, so with that in mind – here’s our top 8 chicken breeds for small backyards!

P.S. We’ve also done other lists including: 10 Breeds of Chicken That Will Lay Lots of Eggs, and 7 Chicken Breeds That Do Well in Cold Climates.

8 Best Chickens for Small Backyards

Easter Egger

Rooster Easter Egger Chicken
Young Easter Egger Rooster

OK, so Easter Egger isn’t a ‘breed’ technically, but we picked this one for egg color variety!

The Easter Eggers can lay various colors (one color per bird), anywhere from brown to blue to green or pink!

They are a hybrid bird created from the same foundation stock that produced Araucanas and Ameraucanas; they are then crossed with another breed to give a variety of egg colorations.

Easter Eggers are a very friendly bird even with children. They are described as sweet, docile, quiet, curious and calm by their owners.

They are winter hardy to most climates and also tolerate heat very well.  They are good all-rounders in many respects. Although they enjoy foraging or following you around the yard, they do well enough if confined to a coop.

Hens will grow to around 6lb and should lay around 4 large, colored eggs each week.

Buff Orpington

Buff Orpingtons

Buff Orpingtons have a steadfast following. They are quite regal and very gentle hens.

They are a bit larger for standard birds, but most of that is feathering.

The feathering is prolific and fluffy – underneath all that fluff is a hen that in reality, only weighs around 7lb!

They are the poster girl for backyard hens; calm, cuddly, docile, and quiet. They do well with kids, so are ideal for a family situation.

Buff Orpingtons will lay 200-280 large brown eggs/year, which is 4 or 5 eggs per week.

They can be a bit on the broody side, but they make great mothers to their brood.

If you are getting Buff Orpingtons, read Buff Orpington all you need to know.

Australorp

Australorp Close Up

Australia’s answer to the Orpington!

This lovely bird comes in several colors but is usually seen in black; other color varieties generally cost more.

The feathering is not as exuberant as the Orpington but has a beautiful greenish iridescence in sunlight.

They have a similar personality to the Orpington – sweet, calm, docile and friendly. They often become family pets and enjoy cuddles. They enjoy human company and often become attached to their human.

Australorps were originally raised as a dual-purpose breed with hens weighing in around 7lb.

They are very good layers and will lay between 4-5 light brown eggs weekly.

They do occasionally go broody, but if you want to raise some chicks they make great mothers. In addition, they are both cold and heat-hardy.

Nothing much fazes them weather-wise, even snow!

They enjoy foraging in the yard but will tolerate confinement pretty well.

They are quite happy to have a small amount of supervised forage time daily as they enjoy being active.

If you’re considering getting Australorps, read our comprehensive care guide here.

Salmon Faverolles

Salmon Faverolles
Salmon Faverolles Chicks

Salmon Faverolles are becoming increasingly popular with very good reason – they are a fun chicken!

They are a riot of fluffy light brown/salmon-colored feathers – including their legs and feet!

Their personality has been described as exuberant, curious, friendly, docile, and interactive. They always want to know what you are doing and help if they can. Faverolles are not the brightest star of the barnyard, but they are adorable.

They are also unique in their looks, with a beard, muff, feathered legs, and five toes! All of this combines to give you a chicken that makes you smile.

Created as a dual-purpose breed, they are good egg layers contributing 4-5 light brown/cream eggs per week.

Although they do bear confinement, well, they are fun to watch foraging as they race around the yard, often bumping into each other!

They are great with kids as they love to be held.

They are also very talkative but not loud or overly noisy – you can’t stay grumpy for long if you have Faverolles in your flock!

Dominique

Dominique Winter Chicken

The Dominique is an old breed that is now considered “watch status,” according to the American Livestock Breed Conservancy.

However, it has slowly been coming back from the brink of extinction, which is great because they really are a super little hen.

The Dominique was America’s first chicken! Its exact origin is unknown, but this thrifty little bird helped the colonists survive the harsh new territory they inhabited.

They are a good forager, although they will tolerate confinement very well. It is not a demanding bird – very calm and human-friendly. They are also quiet and unobtrusive.

It is a medium-sized bird with beautiful barred (cuckoo) plumage which helps to disguise it from aerial predators.

The Dominique sports a rose comb, so frostbite rarely bothers this bird. They are also tolerant of heat and humidity.

The hens weigh in around 5lb and will lay you between 230-275 light brown eggs per year – that averages to 4-5 eggs per week.

Plymouth Rock

© David

Plymouth rocks are an old breed and are a popular ‘base chicken’ for many other breeds. In the recent craze for ‘new and different,’ the Plymouth Rock has lost a little popularity, which is a great shame since it is the perfect backyard chicken.

They are said to be quiet, friendly, and calm, have a sweet nature, and love to be petted – a great family bird. They are also quite smart.

This breed was raised to be dual-purpose, with hens reaching 7.5lb on maturity.

Consistent layers, even through winter will give you four large brown eggs per week.

Since they like to be petted, they can become one of the family quite easily and relate well to other animals, such as the family dog.

Although they do tolerate confinement, they do best if they can free range – even if for a limited period throughout the day.

Welsummer

Cold Hardy Breed Welsummer

Welsummers are not lap chickens, but they enjoy human interaction, especially with treats in hand!

Created in the Netherlands in the early 1920s’, this bird has become a firm favorite with many small flock keepers.

They are a calm and friendly breed, very smart and fairly independent.

They will tolerate confinement but prefer to free range if they can, and as they are great foragers, you will save money on your feed bill if you allow them to roam.

Their eggs are masterpieces – a rich terra cotta color and speckled, very eye-catching, and delicious.

They lay 4-5 of these beauties per week.

This is another breed that was meant to be dual purpose, and the hens will weigh around 6-7lb.

Welsummers are both heat and cold tolerant, and their gold/black/red plumage is beautiful camouflage against aerial attacks.

They are social with other birds and would blend in well with a mixed flock.

Speckled Sussex

Speckled Sussex Hen

One of the oldest breeds, the Sussex, originates from Sussex, England. This lovely bird has a friendly and mellow disposition.

Always curious, the Sussex will likely follow you around the yard looking for treats! They are a friendly and docile breed, talkative but not loud.

The Sussex has a great temperament which makes them an ideal family bird. They are an active and alert breed, so they really enjoy foraging in the yard, although they will bear confinement too.

They are quite a cold hardy but don’t do quite so well in the heat, they would need lots of shade for those hazy summer days.

Originally a dual-purpose hen, she will weigh around 7lb and give you 4-5 lightly tinted large eggs each week.

The amazing speckled plumage gets better yearly and is great camouflage against predators.

Best Chickens For Small Backyards: Closing Thoughts

All of the hens featured here are pretty good at integrating into a cohesive flock. None of them are known to be overly aggressive or pushy, although there is always the possibility depending on the line of breeding.

The selections made here were done for the specific reasons mentioned above. If we missed out your favorites – sorry!

We will doubtless be doing more ‘lists’ in the future so stay with us and wait for your favorites to do a ‘star turn’.

Which are your favorite hens, and why? Let us know in the comments section below- we love your letters…

10 thoughts on “8 Best Chicken Breeds for Small Backyards

  1. Enjoyed your article. I am thinking of adding some new members to my small flock and this was helpful. Thanks

    1. I have had many Rhode Island Reds, I presently have an Old RIR that hatched some Chicks and took on many more and she is Lovely..They are a Bird that Children can cuddle and they will follow you everywhere a great Layer..

  2. I agree with the Speckled Sussex and Buff Orpingtons. I would also add the Jersey Giant. Our Jersey is not that much bigger than the other girls. These three are the calmest, friendliest and get along well with the flock. My Easter Eggers are much more skittish, do not like to be touched and peck at each other more than the others.

  3. Barred Rocks from McMurray hatchery. I’ve had chickens for 50 years and McMurray barred rocks are the best for friendliness, egg laying, cold tolerant, great foragers, they stand confinement well and are just pretty to look at.

  4. I have not seen anything on our Bantams. Their black feathers are iridescent blue & green; and they have jeweled collars of gold, copper, or white.

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