all chicken breeds with pictures

all chicken breeds with pictures

The first thing anyone says when they see my hens is "What beautiful chickens"! They are shocked at the variety of colors and patterns.

Chickens come in just about any size, color, or temprament you can imagine. Much in the same way as with dog breeds you have the sturdy work chickens (for egg laying), the downright silly looking little things (for fun), and those raised for meat (well...I guess there isn't a meat class with dogs).

The eggs you can get are nearly as different as the birds themselves: there are chickens that lay white, brown (several different shades), and even green eggs!

If you wish to raise chickens you will want to be sure you choose a breed that is suitable for your needs. Just as a Great Dane in a studio apartment or Pomeranian for a police dog would be inpractical, a bantam chicken for laying eggs is ridiculous.

Let me introduce you to some breeds and direct you to more chicken related lenses!

Chickens for Laying Eggs

We live in New England. Winters are pretty cold here, occasionally it gets really cold (10-20 below). You can always heat a chicken coop, but not only does that cost money, it can be dangerous. The best solution is to choose chickens bred to withstand the cold.

We raise our hens for eggs, so we chose breeds that lay particularly well. Meet all of the breeds we have:

Golden Laced Wyandotte

Meet Teriyaki,Teri for short:

Teri is a golden laced wyandotte. There are several colos of wyandottes, they also come standard and bantam (little mini chickens). All of our chickens are standard size. Standards are better and bigger egg layers. Wyandotte's are known to lay about 4 large brown eggs per week. I can't tell you exactly how many Teri lays because she doesn't tell me.


Here is her baby photo.

Silver Laced Wyandotte

We have two silver laced, Dianne and Florentine (Flo for short). Silver laced Wyandotte's have the same characteristics as the golden laced. The photo shows Dianne on the left, then Terri stuck her head in the photo. Flo was hiding.

You can buy wyandottes at My Pet Chicken.

Australorp

Four of our hens are Australorps (Nugget, Noodle, Popcorn and Patty). You can't beat them for egg laying, 5 large brown eggs a week. They all have really distinct personalities too.

You can buy australorps at My Pet Chicken.

Red Star

In addition to being excellent layers (5 large brown a week), Stars are "sex-link" chickens, meaning that males and females are different colors at birth. This makes sexing the chicks much easier, nearly insuring that you don't accidentaly get a rooster. There are red and black stars. Our stars are Cacciatore (Cacci) and Quesadilla (Casey), pictured are Cacci...and Casey's tail.

Buy your stars at My Pet Chicken


Sleepy baby chick

Plymouth Rock (Barred)

These chickens are quite popular. They lay about 4 large brown eggs per week. Plymouth Rock includes several varieties, ours are barred. They are Marsala (Marcy) and Parmesean. They seem a bit shyer than the rest.

You can buy your Plymouth Rocks at My Pet Chicken





 

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