Your choice of chicken may depend on factors like climate, space, egg production, temperament, or availability. You may even prefer the way certain chicken breeds look or what color eggs they lay. One important thing to remember when raising chickens for eggs is that you do not need to get roosters! Your hens will still lay eggs without a rooster and roosters can be very loud. If you live on a smaller property and are within earshot of your neighbors a loud rooster may cause problems.

Below is a chart of a few breeds for comparison. These are all standard sized breeds with the exception of the silkies, which are a smaller bantam breed. Under the friendly column, I added a “+” if the chickens are known for being very sweet or a “-” if their personalities may vary.