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?

Speckled Sussex: These chickens are curious, mild-mannered, and will probably follow you all over. As heavy dual-purpose birds, these chickens aren't as prone to flying once they mature to full size, so they're a little less likely to hop the fence into your garden! After each molt, they can become increasingly speckled and pretty. Add one of these to our future "I want you" list. Speckled Sussex lay about four light brown eggs four per week. They're likely to lay through the coldest of winter weather. Speaking of winter, this breed is a good cold-hearty breed too. They aren't necessarily heat sensitive, but also are not know to be exceptionally heat tolerant either.