This time with hens (had feed-store Comets and a couple dozen Meat Kings when my children were young), I decide to go with a heritage breed that layed dark eggs, and after much searching and reading, I decided on Welsummers. Fast forward 2 years (ok, not so fast), DH had a secure (yes, more research showed me to build with hardware cloth, not chicken wire) coop for our 3 girls, who until then were in a brooder box in the garage. The girls were happy and so were we.
This spring we sold one of the girls and got 2 Black Australorp chicks. As they grew, it became apparent that one was a cockerel, so he went to a friend. So, we are back to 3 hens, and mostly get 2 eggs each day. This is enough for DH and I, and unless I have baking to do, leaves a few for my mother.
Ameraucanas (note the spelling...the true breed is not called Americanas, but hatcheries often call them Easter Eggers or Americanas, a combination of Ameraucana and another breed) lay pretty eggs, as do Auracanas, another breed.
If you are looking for heritage breeds, try to find a local breeder of what you are looking for. They can provide help with the breed and with chickens in general.