The Top 16 Chicken Breeds for Your Backyard Flock

For the past couple decades, chickens have been growing in popularity as people become more interested in knowing where their food comes from, and desire to live a more natural lifestyle. But they are so much more than just egg factories. Watching chickens scratch about the yard is relaxing and de-stressing after a long day at work. Many pet chickens are extremely tame and will eat out of your hand and sit on your lap. Need more convincing that chickens are awesome?

Polish: Have you seen those adorable birds with pom-poms of feather afros on the their head? That's a Polish. They are ridiculously adorable. The head pouf can be so full that it might need to be routinely trimmed or pulled back into a "hen bun" to help the birds otherwise impaired eyesight. Like Cochins and Silkies, this is a breed that is more sought after for appearance and cute-factor than egg production. They will lay medium to large white eggs, up to several per week. However, they are known to have more variation in laying frequency and therefore less dependable, if eggs are what you're looking for. They are not known to go broody much.