Choosing the perfect breed of chicken?

Question

i am getting a flock of chickens soon and i was wondering if any experts could tell me the best breed for the list of things we want in the chicken.

We want a breed that is:

# 1 A good egg producer

# 2 Broody

# 3 Calm

# 4 Friendly and good with young children.

# 5 Not high maintinence

# 6 Not flighty and wild

# 7 not nervous

# 8 Hardy to weather and disease

( I Have done my home work and i think one of these:

AUSTRALORP

LANGSHAN

PLYMOUTH ROCK

Answer 1

I vote for Black Australorp hens.  They are such good pets for kids, and lay eggs nearly every day.  Our 4 and 6 yr old carry them around all the time and have never been pecked at even once.  In fact my main concern at first was my girls hurting the chickens, not the other way around!  Sometimes the girls carry them almost upside down, legs sticking up and out, and it looks pretty funny since the chicken is just turning its head trying to see right-side up from that position.  The chickens are submissive, yet still lots of fun and curious.   I would not leave any type of hen confined to a small space though (like commercial egg producers do - which is very cruel).  They enjoy walking around eating bugs, other than at night when they need to be in their little predator-proof chicken house (which can be very tiny - it's just for sleeping and egg-laying).  I suggest a minimum yard space being a typical suburban backyard, though they would enjoy an even larger space to roam.