Its my observation that chickens that go out of their way to be human friendly are usually the first to die of predation in free range settings, thus providing an actual reason why favorite chickens are the first to die. The friendly ones become favorites because they are friendly, and they die...
I had a bantam cochin growing up. I don’t remember her being particularly friendly to anyone or anything. She was feisty and a good mother, raising many clutches of bitties free range over her lifetime.