How to Select the Perfect Chicken Breed

How to Select the Perfect Chicken Breed

At least once in a chicken keeper’s life (but hopefully more often than that!!!) there comes a hallowed time of choosing: it’s time to select which chicken breeds you want to be a part of your flock! Some chicken keepers consider this the last step in the process before getting chickens, after building a coop and selecting feeds and such. Others have had this question (and its answer) in mind since long before anything else has even been started!  I would fall into the latter. Regardless, the moment of selection is not a task to be taken lightly, as questions must be asked and research undertaken! What are your needs? What are your primary reasons for having chickens? What breeds would make you happy when look out your window and see them every morning (or not)? Additionally, what breeds do you have access to?  If you live in a very remote area, a country outside of the United States, or conversely, a very urban city that doesn’t have a lot of chicken keepers, then your choices may be narrowed by what you have access to. 

First, a little crash course in the basics of chicken breeds. There are three different styles of chicken breeds, divided by their primary purpose: egg birds, meat birds, and ornamental birds. Their names, if not already obvious, betray their purpose. As you will soon learn, there are extreme versions of each style. There can also be dual-purpose breeds that fulfill two purposes (most of them are dual meat and egg chickens). 

Egg-laying birds are, of course, raised chiefly for their prized ability to lay protein-rich eggs. Like all styles of chicken, this style has its egg-stremes (hahahhahaha. I’m sorry but you had to let me do that at least once). On industrial egg farms, there are egg laying breeds, mostly strains of leghorn, that lay an egg every day of the year. In fact, there are many such breeds that lay an egg a day, though it’s important to keep in mind that certain breeds can be predisposed to ovarian cancer due to the burden of producing so many eggs that frequently. However, an important thing to remember is that not all egg-laying breeds are considered an egg-laying breed for the large amount of eggs they lay; it can also be because of the kind of eggs they lay. Chicken eggs, which deserve an entire post to themselves, can be of all sizes and colors. Big, small, medium. White, cream, brown, blue, green, and sometimes even speckled.  In fact, all you have to do is pick a size and color, and there is most likely a chicken breed that can lay it for you. Jersey Giant chickens, one of the biggest standard breeds recognized and a dual-purpose egg and meat breed, lay beautiful chocolate brown eggs the size of my fist.  Easter Eggers are named for their ability to lay eggs that look like painted Easter eggs and come in shades of green and blue. I have one in my flock currently and she brings a welcome pop of green in an egg basket full of creams and browns. Last, I include Serama chickens as an honorable mention. While Seramas should technically be classified as ornamental chickens because they are on the opposite side of the spectrum from Jersey Giants as the smallest recognized breed ever, it is because of that fact that I mention them: they lay eggs that are the size of a small ping-pong ball. When my Serama laid her first egg for us, we cautiously threw it out because we thought it was a dove egg. Compared to our normal sized eggs, it has a slightly smaller than average yolk that takes up most of the egg, leaving little room for egg white. 

Meat birds, as the name again implies, are chickens raised primarily for their meat. Their primary characteristic is serving as large, fast-growing birds that will eventually be butchered for their carcasses. Like egg-laying chickens, they share a characteristic of having more and less extreme breeds that exhibit the above characteristics. One of the most common breeds found in meat factories is the Cornish Cross chicken. They grow to maturity and can be butchered within six months. However, with this fast growth comes some health challenges: Cornish Cross chickens often have difficulties walking because their bodies are so heavy, and if you’re considering keeping them as pets, they have a high mortality rate past the butchering date because their bodies and organs are not designed to support them beyond that point. Thus, I would only advise these fast-growing breeds if you are committed to butchering them. In my mind, the Jersey Giant is an excellent happy medium breed if you’re planning on raising birds for meat because, despite the fact that they are slow growing and dual-purpose, they produce very large, meaty carcasses. They are an excellent option if you’re considering meat birds that you might not butcher immediately. An honorary mention is the Silkie chicken. Despite purely existing as an ornamental chicken and having a rather small carcass, Silkie meat is considered a delicacy in China and other Asian countries for its black skin, meat, and bones. It is considered to contain medicinal properties in Chinese Traditional Medicine. 

Ornamental chickens’ purpose is a bit harder to discern from the name, as they also have a less practical purpose than the other two types of breed: ornamental chicken breeds exist solely for the purpose of looking fancy (usually at shows). This is also the division I have the most familiarity with. Though every standardized breed under the sun can be shown, ornamental breeds are only cultivated to be shown. Often, they have average or below average egg production, and there are even specific breed cultivars called ‘bantams’ that are simply miniature versions of their breeds (and are thus not great for meat). That being said, many ornamental breeds are docile and friendly, and funny to look at to beat, making them excellent pets. Some have silked (fur-like) or frizzled (curled) feathers, others have outstanding crests or colors, and some even have different colored skin! An excellent example would be the Ayam Cemani chicken. If you have much involvement in the online chicken world, especially the show-bird circles, then you have probably heard of the Ayam Cemani. An Indonesian, non-standardized* breed, they were all the rage a couple years ago because every part of their body, from skin to feathers to bones, is black (due to a genetic condition called fibromelanosis). They lay, at lower than average rates, cream colored eggs. Another great ornamental chicken is the Silkie Chicken. Mentioned briefly above, this chicken is also very popular among breeders for its silked feathers, which lack barbacells, making it look like fur. They come in many colors, are standardized*, and lay small, less frequent, cream eggs. They are renowned for their friendliness and broodiness. As I write this post, my adult Silkie hen sits upon 22 goose eggs. They are excellent for hatching and raising chicks. A third breed I feel exemplifies the ornamental type is the Polish chicken, which comes in a variety of colors but is characterized by its ‘poof’ of feathers surrounding its head (so much so that proper Polish chickens will have an almost entirely covered crest and eyes). Whether because of the poof or the breed, they are extremely quirky birds. My Polish hen clucks differently, has grown spurs (not uncommon in Polish hens), and lays extremely oblong, oval-shaped eggs.

So now, we understand the three different breed purposes! Now that you have clarity on these subjects, you can begin to research breeds based on your needs! However, before you rush to the hatchery to select your chicks right now, there are a couple other factors you should take into consideration. 

For example, picking out breeds that are ideal for your climate (or at least being aware that certain breeds are not suited to certain climates- for example, silkies can live in very cold or very rainy climates, but they require a covered/indoor run to live. They do not do well with cold and rain). There are many chicken breeds that do well in cold, wet, dry, or hot conditions, and there are many that do not, so it’s important to take that into consideration or you could be causing your chickens’ premature death. 

Another consideration is sizing needs. Many people keep bantam (miniature), serama, or silkie chickens because they are small and compact. Some people may want a flock but may not have the space, which is why selecting breeds based on size is important. Many breeds come in bantam (miniature) sizes, especially ornamentals. Conversely, if you have a lot of space or are in need of birds to join a pre-existing flock of large poultry, then larger birds may be the only option available (while possible in smaller numbers, large and small chickens may not mix well because of bullying). 

The last consideration I will mention is: what chickens do you want to look out your window at every day? I put this question last because, despite seeming like a less important question compared to the necessary practical considerations, it’s extremely important to at least give a couple seconds thought, or else be stuck with a flock you may not like. Because my family does not process our own meat, and we don’t need to rely on our chickens for eggs, my main concern when it came to breeds was finding ones that made me happy to look at. We wanted color and variety, in the birds and the eggs. While I love and care for all my chickens equally regardless of breed, I don’t think I would have been content with a pure flock of Rhode Island Reds, or Leghorns. I want variety, and I have the luxury of being able to choose it. Obviously, if your chickens are purely food producers, or serve some other practical purpose, then this consideration can be ignored. But if your flock’s main purpose is to serve as pets and snowbirds like mine, then remember to choose chickens that make you happy. 

Overall, there are many important factors to consider and ponder when you’re thinking about what kinds of chickens you want. Is it completely necessary to agonize over which breeds you’re getting? No, not at all, but a chicken flock is a decades-long commitment, and choosing birds that will not only make you happy, serve your needs, and thrive in your conditions can ensure that you’re not stuck with chickens that you no longer want. As always, my biggest recommendation is research! I consider my successful flock selection to be partly due to the fact that I did a lot of studying and reading up on common backyard chicken breeds. Thus, with the new knowledge I have bestowed upon you, go out into the world and select some chickens! 

*Standardized refers to the breed in question being recognized in the American Poultry Association (APA)’s breed standard, which is widely regarded as the standard across American Poultry shows.

The WEDS read is back.  This post was written by Karalaral, a guest writer on LF2TS.  We encourage writing by all ages and used to have other guest posts on the site on Weds by the boat kids, who have started to grow up.  Now, when the time is right and I can get some writing turned into the editor by my guest writers, we’ll post it for you to read.  Have fun. 

PS:  Chickens are more fun than you think. 

Other posts by Karalaral: 

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