Various Chicken Breeds For Eggs & meat
There
are many chicken breeds
throughout the world, including several dozen
domestic chicken breeds from hybrids to heritage lines. Different types
of chickens are raised for different purposes, from show animals to
meat birds to egg
laying chicken breeds.
The chicken breed varieties
you choose for your own backyard chicken
flock will be determined by your intended use for the birds. If you
want to keep them as pets or show animals, fancy chicken breeds are a
good fit. Heritage chicken breeds are a great way to keep chickens for
almost any purpose while helping to bring back a rare breed or keep an
ancient breed alive. Easter
Egg Chickens, like the one pictured to the left, are the best
way to get fun, colorful eggs in blue, green and pink hues. They are
bred from Araucana or Ameracauna
chickens.
One of the most popular meat birds is the Cornish breed, which
comes from
England and is known for its ability to efficiently and
quickly put on the pounds. In America, they are called Cornish Cross as
they have been mixed with another breed to pull out specific
traits. The one pictured here is a young Cornish pullet, a
female that is not yet a hen as she is still maturing. Cornish are
considered one of the best chicken breeds for meat birds, as they
easily dress out at five to 7 pounds after only a few months. Their
rapid weight gain comes at a price however; they are not very hearty
and die easily in the heat, unlike their more robust barnyard breed
counterparts.
A great laying chicken breed is the
white-egg-laying Leghorn
variety, illustrated by the rooster-hen pair to the left. Most modern
layers have some Leghorn in their breeding because of how prolific
these layers are. Leghorns originated from Italy.
Sex-linked
chicks, which
are easily sexed at hatching depending on their color, are
good to raise if you want to get a straight run (male and female) batch
from a hatchery, as you'll know right
away which are pullets and which are cockerals. The most popular of
these hybrid breeds are Red Star and Black Star, and they lay brown
eggs.
Small
chicken breeds,
otherwise known as
Bantam chicken breeds, are excellent for pets
as
well as smaller-scale production of meat and eggs. The eggs are about
half the size as regular hens, making them a great option for people
living alone or who enjoy keeping the birds for pleasure more than
production. the chicken here is a Black Silkie Bantam. Specialty
breeds, such as silkies from China and Polish hens from
eastern Europe, are typically more expensive than other chickens as
they are more rare. they are not always as productive as your heavy egg
layers and certianly not ideal for meat birds, but they are very fun to
raise and keep -- the variety and their uniquness bring interest to a
flock.
One
of the favorite chicken breeds for backyard egg production is the
Rhode Island Red
hen. These birds are adapt easily to a variety of
climates and environments, are good-natured in general, and produce a
very good quantity of brown eggs month after month.
Depending
on the types of chickens you want, whether for meat,
eggs, show, or some combination, you may find that your backyard
chicken flock evolves into an eclectic yet cohesive group with several
different breeds. Their care will be virtually the same – after all, no
matter the pedigree, they are “just” chickens. But you will derive
pleasure from seeing their varied feathers and habits.
Go back home to Egg Laying Chickens, or check out more chicken-related resources:
Best Coop Plans:
How to Build a Chicken Coop - detailed plans and construction guide for making backyard coops, including small coops.
These chicken coop plans and building guide are the best I've found, and purchased them myself to build our first coops. There are five different chicken coops included, beginning with the most basic double-story ark and culminating with the largest design, the Chicken Barn with attached screened-in chicken yard. I want to use their plans again for their largest chicken coop, the chicken barn, when we are ready to upsize our chicken flock's habitat. The coop pictured here is a medium-sized all-in-one design.
Recommended Chicken Books:
- Homemade Living - Keeping Chickens: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock by Ashley English
- Storey's Guide - Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow
- Barnyard in Your Backyard - A Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cattle
Favorite Chicken Quotes
“ A chicken you eat only once — eggs a hundred times." ~ Tajikistani Proverb
“ You cannot cook one half of the chicken and leave the other to lay eggs." ~ Sanskrit Proverb
“ You don’t have to kill the chicken to get eggs." ~ French Proverb
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Don't Miss
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Chicken
Coop Ideas
A page with pictures of unique chicken coop ideas as well as tips on building them and recommended plans to follow for more mainstream looking henhouses. Your chicken coop and pen can be an attractive, fun work of art as well as a practical residence for your birds.
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Small
Chicken Breeds
Caring for small chicken breeds is virtually the same as tending to standard size hens and roosters. They need less food than their larger cousins, but also enjoy foraging and free ranging on grass. Protection from predators is essential, of course, and a secure chicken coop goes a long way to providing them the necessary protection.
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