Chickens & Young Children??

[MrsOnTheMove]

Could any one recommend breeds that would not mind the 'affection' shown by DD's age 3 and 5?

our friendliest chicken ever was a Faverolle - it would run towards the children and then stand still to be picked up - very, very tolerant. I had silkies as a child and they were extremely tame too, I trained them to sit on my shoulders whilst I wandered about in the garden (a la long john silver ).
However, I don't think breed is the main consideration - most importantly you need to make sure to get chickens that have been handled extensively from a very young age and are completely used to humans.
I personally wouldn't go for a larger breed cockerel - I (or rather, my poor dd1 ) had a very bad experience with a hand-reared Rhode Island Red cockerel, and also an Australorp cockerel. Stick to smaller, friendlier breeds like Faverolles, Pekins or Silkies for the boy.

We've had several types of the large good-laying breeds over the years and they've been fairly friendly (and robust) with small children. If you spend a lot of time with them, the friendlier they'll be.

Cochins are very friendly, fluffy and fun but not the best layers. Orpingtons & Brahmas are usually quite tame as well.

We have a black pekin bantam which only gives us about 6 eggs a year. She's fab with the kids (5 & 16m) - very tolerant, and quite happy to run about the garden with them.
Orpies are famed for being family-friendly if handled from the beginning, I've been led to believe.

I think the breed is important - some are well known for being flighty and highly strung.

Pekins and Silkies are very friendly, but tend to go brrody a lot rather then being good layers.

Speckledy hybrids are meant to be the best of the hybrids for being friendly. Sussex are quite docile and good layers.

my silkies were great with my toddlers (2 and 3.5) in fact all my chooks were chosen for their compatability with small children. i have cream legbars, welsummers, marans, sussex, norfolk greys and did have a couple of polands and silkies.
the children happily run around the garden with the chickens.
we have had some norfolk greys that turned out to be cockerels that we had to rehome as they do become aggressive.
its important to get them from a good breeder pol or younger as then they can get used to the children.
my main problem is with my little boy constantly looking in the box for eggs and disturbing them laying so i have had to fence it off. apart from that they have a great relationship and i often find him chatting away to them about blue and brown eggs.

we have had hens since my now 9 year old dd was 5 months old. we had pekins/sablepoots to start then wyndottes, wierd and wonderful ones and a little begian d'anju. the pekins and d'anju used to get patted, picked up, put in the doll'd buggy, taken up onto the climbing frame, put on the swing etc etc. tehy all seemed to survive and always came to her when she called them. lovely memories of her chasing them when she'd leant to walk and of her carrying them around teh garden singing. nowadays we have had hybrids and as long as she gets to them soon after they arrive she plays with them still and picks them up and sings to them.
so, if the kids are friendly and reasonably kind i think you'll be ok

btw, our labradoodle picks up our hens and puts them back where they ought to be if they stray too far (and does it to the rabbits too!)