What are the most friendly hen breeds for someone new to keeping chickens?

I, myself, don’t have any idea. However, my brother and his wife own & run a small organic farm near Burlington, Vt, where they also raise chickens. I’m sure either one of them could provide you with some valuable information. Here’s the link to their website’s contact page: http://www.bloomfieldfarm.net/contact

Good luck and have fun! Their chickens are really funny, I think!

From what I know the most docile are… KFC
Sorry, I’m tired and it seemed funny!
Best of luck on your new project, seriously

Hahaha! No problem. The book I’m reading discusses chicken breeds for meat vs. hens for eggs. Your answer fits more in the meat category!

Well I don’t have any firsthand info but I know who does. I’m not that crazy about her personality, but the doyenne of domesticity, Martha Stewart has been keeping chickens for many years.

She has done segments on her show from time to time describing the various breeds she selected and their characteristics.

www.marthastewart.com

Just put “marthas chickens” into the search bar.

@Buttons, Thank you! Information is a valuable thing! I didn’t know Martha Stewart kept chickens! I’ll check it out.

I just found a YouTube clip of one of the shows segments in which she describes her latest hens and their characteristics and personalities in quite a bit of detail.

Just pop Marthas hens into the search bar.

Enjoy

John Cleese had two chickens named Camilla and Rocky. On his blog, he has a couple of videos of them walking around in his kitchen (and John’s T-shirt is a bit too small, so he looks less like the Minister of Silly Walks and more like someone’s Uncle Cletus). Maybe you can tell what type they are from the clip.

We have 3 gingernut ranger hens in Brooklyn and love them. They are hardy in the winter, great layers, and comfortable being held and eating from your hand. Highly recommended! http://www.omlet.us/breeds/breeds.php?breed_type=Chickens&breed=Gingernut%20Ranger

@Hoist2k, Excellent! Thank you, Hoist! Gingernut Rangers aren’t even mentioned in the book I’m reading! (Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens.) I appreciate your input.

Here is an interesting article in a UK newspaper about a Ginger Ranger hen:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1191530/Pictured-The-gigantic-egg-big-took-poor-Efel-hen-30-minutes-lay.html

All chickens are docile! I have never seen an aggressive chicken, except maybe a bantam rooster. I like keeping large breed chickens that lay brown eggs. They are more interesting to me than your everyday white leghorns. My son also loves keeping chickens, and he got all kinds of exotic breeds, some with fluffy feet, some were brown, golden, and mottled, and one breed that lays Easter eggs (kind of pale green). I still prefer Rhode Island Reds.