Creating the Best Starter Flock
Chick season is upon us, and we know many of you are embarking on your backyard chicken adventure for the very first time. We wanted to share our top picks for building the best starter flock, along with our must-have tips for setting both you and your feathered friends up for success. But first, let's talk chickens!
Starter Flock Recommendations
We've broken it down into 11 different categories to help you build a diverse, productive, and delightful flock. Keep in mind that many of these chickens will fit into multiple categories, making them even more valuable additions to your coop. Here they are in no particular order.
1. Striped Chickens
Examples include Barred Rock, Cuckoo Marans, and Dominique. These three look remarkably similar, especially the Barred Rock and Dominique. The easiest way to tell them apart? The Dominique sports a rose comb while the Barred Rock has a traditional pointed comb. Cuckoo Marans have less distinct stripes but will reward you with gorgeous dark brown eggs. Fair warning: Barred Rocks tend to be chatty, so if you want a talkative flock, they're your bird!
Must Have Products For Your Flock
2. Speckled or Mottled Chickens
Some of our favorite speckled beauties include the Jubilee Orpington, Speckled Sussex, Mottled Java, and Millie Fleur D'Uccle. Any chicken with a "millie fleur" (meaning "thousand flowers") description will be speckled. The feather pattern is absolutely stunning, and all of these breeds make wonderful additions to any flock.
Fun Fact: Speckled chickens actually get more speckled as they age! With each molt, more white spots appear on their feathers, making older birds even more stunning.
3. Laced Pattern Chickens
This is where the Wyandotte chickens shine. Choose from Silver Laced, Blue Laced Red, Gold Laced, or Partridge Wyandottes. They have a rose comb, which makes them an excellent choice for cold climates, and they tend to be somewhat reserved. Wyandottes enjoy the company of other Wyandottes, which is the perfect excuse to get two different laced varieties!
Wyandottes are descendants of Brahma chickens, which brings us to the beautifully laced, patterned feathers of the Dark Brahma. Plus, those big booted feet are hard to resist! Barnevelders and Partridge Rocks are also excellent choices for that beautiful laced pattern.
Best Bedding For Your Flock
4. Colorful Egg Layers
Everyone dreams of a rainbow egg basket, so why not add some colorful egg layers? Ameraucanas are known for their blue eggs. However, most chickens labeled as Ameraucanas are actually Easter Eggers—a mix that lays blue or green eggs (and occasionally brown). They're bred to carry the blue egg gene, but genetics can be unpredictable.
Cream Legbars and Whiting True Blues also lay beautiful blue eggs. While we haven't had personal experience with these breeds in our flocks, they're definitely worth mentioning and considering.
Olive Eggers (also a mix) can lay eggs in various shades of olive green. The outward appearance of Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers can vary dramatically depending on their genetics, but many have those adorable puffy cheeks (like the Ameraucana) or can be blue (gray colored).
Fun Fact: Green-egg layers are hybrids that don't breed true. To produce Olive Eggers, you must cross a purebred blue egg layer (like an Ameraucana) with a purebred brown egg layer (like a Marans), creating F1 chicks that lay green eggs. Crossing two green-egg layers won't reliably produce green eggs.
5. Cochins: For Broodiness
Cochins are fantastic chickens if you want a broody hen to raise babies and naturally expand your flock. It really is the best way to add to your numbers, and a Cochin will happily raise any kind of chick. They're large with a chubby, cuddly appearance, booted feet, and tend to be docile with wonderful dispositions.
Other naturally broody breeds include Silkies, many bantams, Orpingtons, Brahmas, and Speckled Sussex.
6. Dark Egg Layers
Once you've added those colorful eggs to your basket, you'll need some rich, dark brown eggs to complete the collection. Black Copper Marans and French Copper Marans (the French variety always has lightly feathered feet, while Black Copper Marans sometimes have feathered feet) and Cuckoo Marans are renowned for their deep, chocolate-brown eggs. Welsummers and Barnevelders can also lay dark brown eggs, and many times some of the eggs are beautifully speckled.
7. Prolific Egg Layers
There are plenty of chickens that fit into this category, but we absolutely love the Rhode Island Red. They're remarkable, classic egg layers, and we feel every flock should have one at some point. Rhode Island Whites are also available, and breeds like Leghorns, Red Comet, Red Star, ISA Brown, and Red or Black Sex Links are also amazing egg-laying chickens and wonderful additions to your flock.
8. Bantams
We both personally feel that every flock needs a bantam or two. Bantams describe a size category, not a breed. There are true bantams such as Seramas, D'Uccles, Pekin bantams, Silkies, and Seabrights, which only come in small sizes.
The other type of bantam is one with a standard-sized counterpart, such as Old English Game Bantam, Bantam Cochin, or practically any breed bred to be small. Bantam chickens are typically 1/4 or 1/5 the size of standard chickens.
These delightful little birds can be broody, booted, have big cheek feathers, be speckled, or pretty much anything under the sun—just in a pint-sized package!
Fun Fact: The name, Bantam, comes from the Indonesian port city of Banten, where sailors found tiny chickens, and it refers to any small poultry.
9. Orpingtons
Known as the "Golden Retriever of chickens" or "lap chickens," Orpingtons are truly a must-have for any flock. They're friendly, can be broody and make excellent mother hens, and come in different colors including Buff (the most popular), Chocolate, Lavender, Black, and even speckled varieties like the Jubilee Orpington mentioned above. English Orpingtons are even larger than their American counterparts.
10. Fun Breeds
It's always nice to have a fun breed in your flock—something unique or delightfully silly-looking. Polish and Silkies are perfect examples of this. However, keep in mind that these two breeds don't have the best chicken instincts. Silkies usually cannot get up on roost bars, and both breeds have feathers in front of their eyes, making it harder for them to escape from predators.
There are also frizzle varieties, which are bred to have feathers that curl upward and outward from the body instead of lying flat. Certain breeds are more prone to frizzling than others, such as Cochins, Polish, and Plymouth Rocks. The frizzle gene is an incomplete dominant, so it's not always guaranteed when breeders are trying for a frizzle.
Fun Fact: If you cross a Silkie with a Frizzle, you get a Sizzle!
11. Barnyard Mixes
Don't overlook the humble barnyard mix! These chickens are often the unsung heroes of the backyard flock. Mixed-breed chickens tend to be remarkably healthy and sturdy, thanks to their diverse genetic background. Just like mixed-breed dogs are often healthier than purebreds, barnyard mix chickens have a deeper gene pool that makes them less susceptible to many of the genetic issues and diseases that can affect purebred chickens.
These hardy birds often combine the best traits from multiple breeds—good egg production, cold hardiness, friendly temperaments, and strong immune systems. They're also completely unique, meaning no one else will have a chicken that looks exactly like yours. Each barnyard mix is a one-of-a-kind creation, and they often surprise you with unexpected egg colors or beautiful feather patterns. For beginner chicken keepers, these resilient birds are forgiving and adaptable, making them an excellent choice for your starter flock.
Final Thoughts on Starter Flocks
No matter which breeds you choose, the joy of keeping chickens is something truly special. Whether you're collecting those beautiful eggs each morning, watching your flock's unique personalities emerge, or simply enjoying their peaceful presence in your backyard, chickens bring a wonderful sense of connection to the natural world.
And fair warning: chicken math is real! You might start with six chicks, swearing that's all you'll ever need. Still, before you know it, you'll find yourself researching just one more breed, making room in the coop for a few more hens, and coming up with creative justifications for why you absolutely need that adorable Polish chick at the feed store. Don't say we didn't warn you!
Welcome to the wonderful world of backyard chickens. Your adventure is just beginning, and we couldn't be more excited for you!
Ingrid Fromm & Kristen Warren
Ingrid and Kristen co-authored this blog on starter flocks. Kristen has been raising chickens for over a decade and started the organization "Friends of Hens." Ingrid and Kristen have been friends for the past 8 years as they have worked together. Kristen, a self-described 'chicken pusher' has given Ingrid many of her beloved chickens over the years.
