We got 4 chicks (all different breeds) in February, so I don't have a lot of experience. We have a Gold Laced Wyandotte, an Easter Egger, a Black Australorp, and a Cuckoo Maran. of these, the Australorp is by far the quietest, calmest bird of the bunch. And she's a very good layer! If you're wanting to keep a low profile, this is one to consider--very difficult to do so with a rooster! If you want chicks later, you can always buy fertilized eggs (grocery store or Craigslist). Hope this helps!

Thanks so much for your reply, I had never heard of an Australorp but then again I am just getting interested in the possiblility of doing this. Where did you get yours did you have them shipped? Is the Easter Egger noisy I was thinking about them as well. I can see what's going to happen here I am going to go hog wild and get too many!

If you have the room, you probably will go hog wild! It's really been a lot of fun so far. We're a little space-challenged, but we might get 2 more next year (I'm thinking Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington). I didn't have mine shipped (the shipping costs are very high & I hear they also pad your order with "packing peanuts"--extra chicks). I found a local hatchery, but if you wait until early spring many feed stores have tons of chicks. I went with the hatchery, because he would replace any roosters we might accidentally end up with, and that was important to me.
My Easter Egger isn't noisy at all, but a little more vocal than the Australorp. It is fun to have a mixed flock--this way too you're able to tell them apart & also get different colored eggs. I think there's some kind of chart about the different breeds which classifies them based on egg-laying, color, temperament, etc. Have you seen it? If not, I'll see if I can locate it again. Maybe Backyard Chickens?

Thank you so much for all your time and info. I was up till 4:30am last night just reading up on them. I found a web site called "mypetchicken.com" and it was really informative and seems like a nice company that is more interested in the well being of their chickens then profit so that was nice. Anyway, well see what happens, I will continue to do more and more research and the one that you said is quiet I think is a good fit I looked her up on that site and I think from far away she won't call too much attention she will just look like one of the ducks in my yard! LOL We really don't have anyone down here that I know of selling chicks. They ran the rural out of my area years ago, sad but true. Well thanks again!

I live in a suburb of Phoenix, AZ and like you was worried for a while about having problems with the neighbors. First I raised some quails which were supposed to be quieter. The males are pretty vocal, the females aren't bad, then I found out that my neighbors were thinking about having their own chickens as well, so I figured they're "chicken friendly" and went ahead and got 8 chickens for myself. I have 4 barred rocks and 4 Ameraucanas (Easter Eggers) So far they've been fantastic. They're getting close to egg laying age, and it is nice having those "kitchen scraps to compost" converting machines right in the backyard. They're not very noisy at all. I would however recommend against having a rooster. If noise is a broblem, a rooster is out of the question. You don't need roosters to get eggs. I had roosters at my previous house and ended up having problems with neighbors. I was also concerned about a "smell" problem, but have had no problems at all so far. I spread some DE (Diatomaceous earth) in their bedding (I keep them in a 12x6ft aviary most of the time) and that really seems to help. The eggs will be great, but the immediate benefit for me was the manure that makes excellent compost for my garden. Every time I mow the lawn, rake leaves, pick weeds or prune trees, I spread the stuff on the aviary floor. They go through it, break it down, eat what they want and scratch around mixing the manure in. After a month or two, I rake up the stuff and dump it in my compost tumblers. The finer stuff at the very bottom is usually already composted and goes straight to the garden.
Silkies are great pets, very friendly, but they're not very good at egg production because they tend to be broody. As far as my personal experience with which variety is more tame/less noisy, whatever you do, don't get Leghorns. I don't handle mine that much, so they can be a little fussy if you try to touch them, but I'd have to say that the Barred Rocks seem to be a bit more mellow and they calm down faster when handled. I have family members that have Easter Eggers as well and theirs are extremely tame, so maybe it's just that mine don't quite get enough human interaction. I'd say go for it, chickens are awesome... see, I can't seem to stop writing about them.

Thanks so much for all the details. Especially in respect to the smell and composting. Actually you have given me so many things to think about. Thank you, I am trying to convince the family here and they are all against it. Hummm we'll see about that.

I got my 6 babies from My Pet Chicken. They are the most fun and worth having but like any pet,they take work. I am in a normal neighborhood with neighbors but have no problem with smell or noise. I know of two other families with chickens also. Go for it..............

I live on a 1/4 acre standard city lot in SW Florida. My DH and FIL built me a coop with run attached which I think some call a trailer. It is 8' by 4' and is plenty big for our 3 new hens. I got a buff orpington and two barred rocks from a chicken farmer close by. They are a joy to have and make very little noise, great for any city gardener in my opinion. They are friendly and even get along with our two dogs and 1 cat. I got pullets instead of babies to insure I only got females. I hope they will start laying in another month. I find if you keep the coop clean there is no smell. If you use DE make sure you get the food grade kind. Keep us up to date on your progress

I've had Rhode Island Reds and they are very nice chickens; good layers of excellent quality, large, brown eggs. They are calm and happy, and as long as they are fed and talked to every day they will hang out right on your feet.

You don't want a rooster in town. My rooster was HUGE. He stood knee high and was very friendly to people but lawd help any other creature beside a human that messed with his hens. He had enormous spurs that he knew how to use and he was very protective of his girls.

The only down side to the Reds is that they are large birds. Large birds eat more. The more you have to purchase feed, the more your eggs cost you to produce.