Breeds of Chickens
There are literally hundreds of breeds of chickens to choose from for pet, eggs and meat. From the beautiful exotics, to the best eggs producers, and with the difference in dispositions, choosing chickens for a backyard flock can be a daunting task.
Top Egg Laying Breeds of Chicken
All chicken lay eggs, but some will lay an egg a day, every day, from the time they are 5 months old to the age of 4 years. But some of the best eggs layers don’t like to sit, so if you want baby chicks you have to incubate the eggs or have a different breed of hens to brood the eggs.
The top layers for lots of white eggs are:
- Ancona – Nervous Disposition, Wild
- Andulasian – Flighty, can be nervous
- Catalina – shy, nervous
- Hamburg – Nervous, shy
- Holland – Good disposition, Friendly
- Lakenvelder – Beautiful breed, nervous
- Leghorn – Noisy, nervous, shy
- Minorca – Moderate disposition, can be friendly but considered nervous
- Redcap – Wild, poor disposition
Top layer of brown eggs are:
- Australorp – Good disposition, friendly
- Delaware – Good disposition
- Dominique – Good egg production and excellent personality, will also go broody (sit on eggs).
- Java – Friendly, Exotic
- Naked Neck Turkin – Good disposition
- Plymouth Rock – Good disposition, friendly, docile
- Rhode Island – Aggressive
- Sussex – Good disposition, friendly
- Wyandotte – Many peoples favorite egg layer because of their pet quality friendliness.
The Best Meat Breeds of Chickens
For meat production you need chickens that put on a good bit of weight in the first 16 weeks of life. Since they are not expected to be long-lived, their personality is not as important as in egg layers that you deal with on a daily basis for years. Some good meat producers are:
- Cornish – Must be protected from the cold, their feathers are thin. Poor egg layers
- Cornish Cross – hybrid – fastest growth – prone to heart attacks, broken legs.
Many chickens are good dual purpose birds for both meat and eggs, some of these are listed below, they just lay fewer eggs than the top egg layers. These breeds will still lay 4-5 eggs per week.
- Araucana
- Australorp
- Barnevelder
- Brahma – Very nice to look at, though not a top layer this chicken lays a respectable amount of eggs and makes a great pet, too.
- Buckeye – a heritage breed
- Catalina – A dual purpose bird that is also a top layer.
- Delaware
- Dominique
- Dorking
- Holland
- Hungarian Yellow
- Orpington
- Plymouth Rock
- Wyandotte
Whether you are looking for a few chickens for a backyard flock for eggs, or are interested in a small business selling eggs, the variety seems limitless when you begin taking into account all the color combinations of the chicken breeds.
Pet and Ornamental Breeds of Chickens
Take disposition into consideration if you intend to interact with the chickens frequently. Aggressive breeds can make collecting eggs a challenge. It is especially important to research a breed’s disposition if children will be interacting with them.
Silkies are at the top of many people’s list of best breeds for pets. However, they must be kept warm and dry. Their feathers are more like Persian cat fur than feathers. When they get wet they get instantly soggy.
Silkies are cute, small, Bantams that are fun to look at and are very good pets. They don’t mind at all when small children carry them around. This tiny docile chicken will lay eggs for you, and they will tend the nest. The eggs are as good for eating as any chicken egg, but it will take 3 Silkie eggs to make the volume of one standard egg.
Some other ornamental chicken breeds are:
- Phoenix – Very long tail feathers that require special roosting conditions – very beautiful
- Yokohama – another long tailed breed
- Sultan – Has a “hat” of upright feathers – fluffy and fancy
- Sizzle or Frizzle – These chickens have curly or wavy feathers and look like they have been through a windstorm.
- Showgirls – These chickens have fluffy feathers on their body and the top of their head but a bare neck.
- Serama – A tiny perfect miniature chicken. Proud upright stance in a 2-3 pond package. Very good disposition.
- Cochin – Both standard and Bantam Cochins are considered ornamental, but they are fair egg layers. They are very docile and beautiful with full long feathering and a waterfall type tail. Their feathers make them look twice as big as they actually are. The feathers go all the way down to their toes.
Though it may seem like a daunting task, researching the breeds of chickens to make sure you choose the right ones for your purpose will increase your chances of success in any poultry endeavor.
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