quiet and not too big chicken breed?

Hi all, my cousins are ready to add 3 layers to their backyard. They are first time chicken people. They are looking for a not too large layer (which is good because most great layers I know are smallish anyway)but a breed that may be on the quieter side.

I'm not sure if any breed is more quiet than another but thought it wouldn't hurt to check in with you guys!

I think you're right in that sense that there are no quiter breeds .Unless they are in a closed coop that is insulated there will always be noise ....laying a egg seems to need to be announced ? a animal walking by or flying over is another reason to sound a alarm ?? .Cochins would be my choice if I had to choose one though ,they just seem more mellow if that makes sense ?

Silkies.

Of all the bantam breeds I've had, Silkies were the largest and laid the 'largest' small eggs. They were fairly content, quiet birds, although they were broody a lot.

My Dark Brahma hens were also fairly quiet birds, but I would not call them smallish.

My buff Orpingtons are amazingly quiet. A great breed for town folk who have neighbours right next to them. And of course, as far as I know, a quiet rooster does not exist. The buffs are also great layers, so if they want to avoid that, maybe a blue or black Orpington.

Oh Cochins for sure, but don't think there are small cochins, other than the bantam breed. But...as said, I really don't think any chickens are quiet, that announcement to the world that an egg has been laid can sometimes been earth-shattering. Not all the time, but sometimes, one gal really wants to spread the word. I would not say every day I hear a hen speak like that, but now and then you gotta wonder why that egg was SO important. The roosters of cochin breeding are not overly quiet, but their voice appears, from the sounds of all my different males I have had over the years, it is deeper, not shrill like buckeyes or buff orpingtons, but a deep resonance that is beautiful to the ear. But they do like to express their voice. The quietest would be hens with no rooster present.Wonder why the person wants quiet birds? The sound of the chickenyards is a beautiful thing to the human ear (well, it is mine, I am video taping all the different chicken noises, gonna make myself an app for my phone ). Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Euskal Oiloa are quiet and they are also a FANTASTIC egg layer as well and the friendliest chicken in the world

Perhaps another criteria should be: "Chickens that do not fly." What if they escape the coop?

Silkies or Mille Fleur Booted Bantams. Nothing wrong with bantam eggs.

Silkies are very quiet hens and do not fly so would be easy to keep contained. They lay a good size egg for a bantam and are great pets as they are very friendly.

I would have to ask more questions first.
What type of fence does their yard have?
How large of a coop area and pen can they devote to the birds?
Are they looking for egg production, temperament, size, color, winter hardiness?

Larger breeds are less likely to attempt to take flight and lay larger eggs.
Bantams usually can easily roost up 5 to 6 feet and lay small eggs ( many people don't like), but can be housed in smaller areas and require less feed per bird.

Sussex are great layers and come in many colors.
Australorp beautiful bird that lays well too!