Choosing
chicken breeds can be sometimes an overwhelming task. Especially when you need
to choose the one that would be right for your backyard farm.
If
you don’t have a chicken breed chart, it even more serious because you may lose
out in the physical appearance of beautiful breeds, such as Rhode Island, Isa
brown and others.
However,
as daunting as this task may look, it could be very simple when we need to
choose a day old chick, maybe because of it smooth feather and innocent feel,
but when compared with a 10 weeks old, you may need to exercise a lot of
caution.
Please,
there is something worthy of note here that eggs, irrespective of their shell
colour do not have any nutritional difference from white-shell eggs; the shell
is the only place pigment is added. The contents are exactly the same but you
must be very sure of what you feed your chicken with.
Having
said that, let us continue with the various top breed of chicken that you can
have in your backyard. Chickens are beautiful with their peculiarities, so you
don’t need to love one and hate the other.
The
American Poultry Association puts out what is called the American standard of
perfection. This publication provides colour, type and size guidelines for all
accepted chicken breeds and is used as a reference by many chicken owners.
You
would have to select your chicken breed based on the environment you can
provide and on their behavioral tendencies. For example, if you have harsh
winters and a small coop, choose a cold hardy breed with mellow disposition. A dual
purpose breed, one used for both meat and eggs, would be an excellent choice.
Top Chicken
Breeds for your backyard coop
Silver Sebright
Bantam Rooster (aka roo).
Bantam
breed of chicken are small sized chicken, they are about 1/5th of
the standard chickens. The benefits are that;
-
They
are small in sizes, so occupy smaller coop.
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They
eat less food than their full-size counterparts
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Their
eggs are about 1/3rd the size of a standard egg
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They
fly better and are very smart.
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Their
wings need to be clipped or their run-way need to be covered to prevent escape.
Leghorn
-
It
is known for its high egg production
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They
don’t eat much when compare to their counterparts
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It
is logically economic choice for small businesses in need of white shelled
eggs.
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They
have large combs that flop over one side of their heads. Either partially or
fully obscuring one eye.
-
They
are small bodied bird
-
They
are known for distinct lack of broodiness
-
They
are flighty and noisy.
-
They
are easily frightened and very watchful.
-
They
weigh 2kg
-
They
can be aggressive, if overcrowded and tends to become the dominant members of a
mixed flock.
-
They
are not the first choice of a first time backyard farm owner but very good
layers in the right condition
Plymouth Rock
-These
are dual purpose chicken, the males are raised for meat and the female for eggs
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The birds weigh approximately 3.4kg
-
This bird has yellow skin and yellow legs and toes
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It is believed to be a result of a cross between a Dominique male and Java or Cochin
female, developed in United States.
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This birds are very economical and fun to have in your backyard.
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They can be independent and able to be left unsupervised and to fend for
themselves if left to roam in the backyard.
Rhode Island Red
-
This
bird was developed in England, in Rhode Island, which brings about the name.
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It
was developed from a cross between a Red Maly Game, Leghone and Asiatic stock
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The
tail is black and the fluff is a rich intense red colour.
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The
skin of the bird is yellow and the legs and toes are rich yellow too.
-
The
hen weigh about 2.9kg, while the pullets are about 0.5kg lighter
-
They
can get along with well-trained pet.
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They
are also a very good breed a new backyard chicken owner.
Rhode Island
White
-
This
is a dual purpose chicken, with the males for meat and the females for egg.
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This
bird is quite rare and come in only one variety; Rose Comb.
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The
hen is about 2.9kg
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It
has yellow skin, yellow legs and toes.
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This
bird can be the jewel in your coop if you can get one.
Buckeye
-
Interestingly,
this breed of chicken was developed by a woman (Nettie Metcalf)
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This
breed is stout and wide
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It
comes in only one variety and has a pea comb
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It
weighs approximately 2.9kg
-
They
are good with children.
New Hampshire
-
It
is a dual purpose bird
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It
lineage is from Rhode Island red and move to Hampshire region
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It
fast feathering birds, with early maturity and vigor
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They
lay brown eggs
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It
can be aggressive, competitive and domineering within the flock.
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They
like to wander off and lay eggs in a private nest rather than the nest boxes
provided.
Chantecler
-
This
breed is from Canada
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It
can handle the region’s cold winter conditions.
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It
has a cushion comb
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It
weighs 2.9kg
-
The
breed comes in two varieties; white and Partridge
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Its
classic, cordial, but independent
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It
is usually the favourite of small flock owners due to their sweet nature.
Dominique
-
It
is the United States oldest breed.
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It’s
a dual purpose bird
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It
has a rose comb
-
It
carried its tail at a or higher than forty-five degree angle above the
horizontal
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Its
quiet small with a weight of 2.3kg
-
They
are sweet and curious birds.
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They
like to spend time with flock mate and human caretakers.
Orpington
-
Its
a large breed weighing 3.6kg
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They
are excellent dual purpose birds as both hens and roosters can be used for
meat.
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It
carries many feathers held loosely from the body making they look larger than
they already are.
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They
are sweethearts. They can walk with you and talk with you.
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They
are pet like in nature and watch your every move
-
They
docile and excellent with children
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They
are good incubators
Australorp
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They
lay large numbers of brown – shelled eggs. A test shows that the layed 364eggs
in 365days.
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It
is from Australia which suggest the name
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They
come in black with lustrous green sheen to their feather.
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They
weigh approximately 2.9kg
-
The
breed is sweet, curious, social and good forager.
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They
are not good at brooding and make an excellent selection for the farmers
wishing to start a small egg enterprise.
Sussex
-
This
breed hail from Sussex county in England
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They
are dual purpose breeds
-
It
is an excellent choice for small flock
-
Good
with children
-
They
are very active, willingly sit on eggs and brood chicks.
I
guess you now have some knowledge of the characteristics of your chickens or
you may need to add one or two breeds to your coop. That would be interesting
thing to do. Have varieties can be your coop beautiful.
However,
if you are just starting out with your barkyard chicken farm, you can pick one
or two of these breeds and grow from there. I will suggest you start with 2 hen
and a male.
In my next post, I will be sharing with us, how to
differentiate, between a male and a female chicken.
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