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In my little zoo I have six breeds of chickens, they are a treat to have around and each of them have their own personality, just like your cats or dogs do.
Having only hens would not be a problem, they are usually mostly clucking, but can put up quite a show the moment they have laid an egg. They love to brag and announce their accomplishments, an egg being the epitome. You do however get cases where the dominant hen in the clutch starts crowing, mainly to show their dominance and leadership.
Without a rooster your egg production will however not be optimal, as he "inspires" and promotes their laying abilities. There are a few techniques to keep a rooster quiet during the early morning hours. The less invasive and most humane way is to keep him closed up in the hen house, the hen house have to be completely dark though, for they start crowing as soon as they see light.
If you keep their coop clean you would not have a problem with smell at all, chickens are a lot cleaner and miles less smelly than ducks ( they are prime stink makers). I suggest to add wood shavings in their coop, this is a comfortable hiding place for bugs, a good protein source for the chickens, as well as an optimal scratching space. This will also make your pen easier to clean, as you just sweep out the wood shavings and replace it with new a new batch.
Some of the less noisy breeds, that are good layers I can recommend are Australorps. In the peak of the breading season you can expect at least one jumbo egg a day, sometimes even two.
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