Types of Hens
Ameraucana The Ameraucana breed was derived from blue egg laying chickens, but they do not have the breeding problems inherent to Araucanas. In addition, rather than ear tufts, they have muffs and a beard, and are very hardy and sweet.
The Ancona is a good layer of white eggs, of which it lays an average of 220 per year. Hens have little tendency to broodiness. Pullets may begin to lay at 5 months. It is a typical Mediterranean breed, rustic, lively and hardy. Birds range widely and take flight easily.
There is little information on the early history of the Andalusian. Blue chickens from Andalusia were imported to England no later than 1851. The creation of the "international" type of Andalusian, with blue-laced plumage, is attributed to the English, whether in Andalusia or in Britain.
The Araucana (Spanish: Gallina Mapuche) is a breed of domestic chicken from Chile. Its name derives from the Araucanía region of Chile where it is believed to have originated. It lays blue-shelled eggs, one of very few breeds that do so. Breed standards for the Araucana vary from country to country.
The Australorp is a breed native to Australia – having been bred from the Orpington chicken. It was bred to be a good dual purpose chicken, as it is a heavy breed that lays eggs productively, regardless of weather patterns or seasonal changes.
The Barbu d'Uccle or Belgian d'Uccle, Dutch: Ukkelse Baardkriel, is a Belgian breed of bearded bantam chicken. It was first bred in the town of Uccle on the outskirts of Brussels, in central Belgium. History. The Barbu d'Uccle was created by Michael Van Gelder of Uccle, Belgium, in the early years of the twentieth century.
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The Booted Bantam or Dutch Booted Bantam, Dutch: Sabelpoot, is a bantam breed of chicken. Its name is derived from the extravagant feathering on the feet and hock joints, which are called vulture hocks or "sabels" in Dutch. With no large fowl counterpart from which it was miniaturized, the Booted is one of the true bantams.
Chicken Breed Information - Brahma - Brahmas are gentle giants with feathered legs and feet and profuse, fluffy feathering. Originally from India, these birds were bred for meat production, though the hens lay relatively decently and are great setters and mothers.
The Buckeye is a breed of chicken originating in the U.S. state of Ohio. Created in the late 19th century, Buckeyes are the only American Poultry Association (APA) standard breed of chicken known to have been created by a woman, and the only one in the American Class to have a pea comb.
A silver Campine hen The Campine is a breed of domestic chicken originating in the northern part of Belgium. It is named for the Campine region of north-eastern Belgium and south-eastern Netherlands.
The Chantecler is a large chicken that lays respectably well and is a good meat producer. Roosters weigh around 9 pounds (4.1 kg), and hens are 6.5–7.5 lb (2.9–3.4 kg).The breed possess yellow skin and beaks, and lay brown eggs.
Chicken Breed Information - Cochin - Cochins are known the world over for being big friendly balls of fluff and feathers. They don't lay well but are very popular because of their sweet personality and fantastic mothering qualities.
A Cornish is a particular breed of chicken. Traditional Cornish hens are female Cornish chickens. The Cornish hens available in grocery stores are actually a hybridized breed of bird developed especially for commercial production.
The hens lay 140-150 eggs a year and are good winter layers; the eggs are dark brown with a plum-coloured bloom. The hens are excellent sitters and mothers. Croad Langshans are easily tamed and adapt well to both confinement and free range.
A Delaware hen The Delaware is a breed of chicken originating in the U.S. state of Delaware. It was once of relative importance to the U.S. chicken industry, but today is critically endangered.
The Dominique, also known as Dominicker or Pilgrim Fowl, is a breed of chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) originating in the United States during the colonial period. It is considered America's oldest breed of chicken, probably descending from chickens brought to New England from southern England during colonial times.
The Dorking is among the oldest British chicken breeds. It has sometimes been suggested that it derives from five-toed chickens brought to Britain by the Romans in the first century AD, but it is not known whether the Romans brought poultry with them, nor if they found five-toed birds when they arrived.
The Dutch Bantam (Dutch: Hollandse Kriel) is a breed of chicken originating in the Netherlands. It is also one of the true bantam breeds, meaning it is a naturally small bird with no related large fowl from which it was miniaturized.: 136 Dutch Bantams have many color variations, and have grown in popularity as exhibition poultry worldwide.
Faverolles chickens take their name from a village found to the west of Paris in France. This village is very close to the town of Houdan from which another breed also takes its name. The make up of this breed starts with farmyard flocks around Faverolles.
Again, be aware that breeding a frizzle with a frizzle results in a very brittle feathered chicken. Additionally, due to the nature of the frizzle gene, it is rare that you will get two birds that look exactly alike and like Silkies, frizzled hens can frequently go broody.
The Hamburg is a small or medium-sized breed. Cocks weigh 2–2.5 kg and hens about 1.6–1.8 kg, with slender legs and a neat rose comb. Ring size is 16 mm for cocks and 15 mm for hens.
Holland chicken is a heavy dual purpose breed. It is a fairly rare large chicken breed and originate from the United States. Contrary to its name, the Holland Chicken was actually developed at the Rutgers Breeding Farms in New Jersey during the 1930s.
The Houdan or Poule de Houdan is an old French breed of domestic chicken, belonging to the group of crested chicken. It is named for its area of origin, the commune of Houdan, in the département of Yvelines to the west of Paris.
The Japanese bantam or Chabo is a breed of chicken originating in Japan. It is a true bantam breed, meaning that there are no large fowl counterparts. It has a large upright tail that often reaches over the bird's head.
The Java is a breed of chicken originating in the United States. Despite the breed's name, a reference to the island of Java, it was developed in the U.S. from chickens of unknown Asian extraction. It is one of the oldest American chickens, forming the basis for many other breeds, but is critically endangered today.
Chicken Breed Information - Jersey Giant - This chicken is supersized! The Jersey Giant, as its name implies, was developed in New Jersey and is a true giant of the chicken world.
Silver lakenvelder: black white black; blue white blue; brown white brown are being created. Buff white buff are being created but it is not a lakenvelderpattern genetically. Vorwerk is the Dutch breed with the black gold black pattern.
Selection for this quality is important when breeding. Gold Legbars haven’t been seen in the UK for some time. Photo: A Cream Legbar hen belonging to Jill Rees. The Legbar was one of the first autosexing chickens that was created at Cambridge University in England and one of the most successful.
Chicken Breed Information - Leghorn (White) - Remember Foghorn Leghorn the cartoon? Yep, this bird one and the same. (Seasoned pros know that Leghorn is pronounced "Leggern".) The White is separate from the rest because they lay large, white eggs practically every day! Other varieties aren't nearly so prolific.
The Marans, or French, Poule de Marans, is a French breed of chicken from the port town of Marans, in the département of Charente-Maitime, in the Poitou-Charentes region of western France. It was created with the local feral chickens descended from fighting game chickens carried from Indonesia and India.
Minorca Chickens were made into a Standard breed in England but the main breeds that had a hand in their make up are believed to have come from the Mediterranean. Minorcas get their name from the island of Menorca of the coast of Spain and it is believed they came to Spain from Africa, with the Moors.
Photos and breed information for Modern Game Chickens, an ornamental breed that are suited to gardens because they won't scratch as much as other breeds. Photos and breed information for Modern Game Chickens, an ornamental breed that are suited to gardens because they won't scratch as much as other breeds.
Turken "Naked Neck" Chickens are ornamental dual purpose brown egg-laying chickens, ideal for meat. Click here to shop on Cackle Hatchery now!
New Hampshire Red New Hampshire Reds are derived directly from Rhode Island Reds, and over the years they've changed so much from selective breeding that they've come to be recognized as a new breed. The New Hampshire Red differs from the Rhode Island in that it produces more meat (and therefore fewer eggs), it's faster to grow and feather out, it matures early and it's even more vigorous.
The Old English Game is a British breed of domestic chicken. It was probably originally bred for cockfighting. Two different standards are recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain: Carlisle Old English Game and Oxford Old English Game. There is also an Old English Game bantam.
The Orloff is a breed of chicken named after Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov, a Russian Count. Reflecting this origin, it is sometimes called the Russian Orloff or simply Russian.
In the UK club dedicated to the breed is the Orpington Club, which merged with the Orpington Bantam Club in 1975. [citation needed] The United Orpington Club is the American breeder's club, and the Orpington Club of Australia is the Australian club for the breed. Characteristics. There are two similar but different standards for Orpingtons.
A Pekin hen Two young Pekins (L-R): buff female and white male The Pekin is a breed of chicken, and a Bantam which is based in China. The Pekin possesses a wealth of feathering about their feet and legs, almost obscuring them. The breed is remarkably popular, and seems to almost encompass the gamut of
Plymouth Rock Barred Plymouth Rocks or "Barred Rocks", as they're called, are one of the most popular dual-purpose chickens on small farms today. Their heritage is unclear with reports of different crosses, but what is clear is that they're very friendly, great layers of large brown eggs and able to withstand cold weather quite nicely.
Polish are a very special and unique breed of chicken with their huge bouffant crest of feathers and v-shaped comb. They are tame but their behavior can be a bit wacky since their crest limits their vision.
Rhode Island Red Origin: The Rhode Island Red originated in the New England states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Early flocks often had both single and rose combed individuals because of the influence of Malay blood.
The Rosecomb is a breed of chicken named for its distinctive comb. Rosecombs are bantam chickens, and are among those known as true bantams, meaning they are not a miniaturised version of a large fowl.
The Sebright / ˈ s iː b r aɪ t / is a breed of chicken named after its developer, Sir John Saunders Sebright. The Sebright is one of the oldest recorded British 'true' bantam (meaning it is a miniature bird with no corresponding large version of the breed), created in the 19th century through a selective breeding program designed to produce an ornamental breed.
In the USA, the Serama breed is promoted by a couple organisations, the The American serama association (ASA) and the Serama Council of North America (SCNA). This council helped to introduce the Serama to North America in various National Poultry shows.
The Silkie breed was developed in the southeast Asian countries or China. It's named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most other chickens only have four.
The Sumatra is a breed of chicken native of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. These chickens were originally imported from Sumatra in 1847 to the U.S. and Europe as fighting cocks for the purpose of cockfighting, but today the breed is primarily kept for exhibition. 1883 is the year the Sumatra was admittted to the American Standard of Perfection.
Speckled Sussex hen The Sussex originates in the historic county of Sussex, in south-east England. It is among the oldest of British chicken breeds:: 289 birds described as "Old Sussex or Kent Fowl" were shown at the first poultry show at London Zoo in 1845.
The Welsummer is a beautiful breed from Holland famous for its deep reddish brown egg color. Many of the eggs are also speckled! Hens are a nicely proportioned partridge pattern, with hints of gold around the neck, medium brown on the body and tail feathers tipped with a rich brown, while males are the stereotypical vision people have of roosters.
Wyandottes are classed as a 'large' chicken breed; the average male will weigh around 8½ lbs and the female, 6lbs. There's also a bantam variety which will weigh an average of 3lbs to 3¾ lbs. This is a more unusual blue laced red Wyandotte, splash variety.