What Chicken Breed Do You Need?

You've decided to get chickens - now what? There are a few factors that go into deciding what kind of chickens to add to your flock.

Do you live in a cold or warm climate? Are you looking for a certain egg color or high egg production? Are you wanting to hatch your own eggs? Do you plan on raising any meat birds? Are you wanting family pets?

Once you answer these questions, choosing a chicken breed becomes much less daunting!

Climate

If you live in a colder climate, you will need to look at cold hardy breeds that are heavily feathered. Warmer climates will need to look for heat-tolerant birds that have lighter, sleeker feathering.

Cold Hardy Breeds would include: Ameraucanas, Australorps, Brahmas, Cochins, Dominique, Jersey Giants, Marans, Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Wynadottes, New Hampshire Reds, and Sussex.

Heat Tolerant Breeds would include: Andalusians, Campines, Cornish, d'Uccles, Hamburgs, Leghorns, Modern Game, Naked Necks, Polish, Silkies, and Welsummers.

If you live in a warm climate and are interested in a cold hardy breed, don't let this discourage you! We live in Arkansas, which gets pretty warm in the summer. Many people have cold hardy breeds in our area. This just means you might have to take extra steps to ensure they are comfortable in the summer, including enrichment activities to keep them cool.

Another thing to be aware of is frostbite susceptibility. Breeds with taller combs are more likely to suffer from frostbite in the winter months.

Dual Purpose

If you are looking for eggs and a food source, these breeds are a great fit: Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Delaware, Wynadotte, and Black Australorp. These breeds will produce a good size table bird as well as provide your family with plenty of eggs.

Egg Production

Eggs are a huge reason behind adding chickens to your backyard flock. Large families or bakers might be looking for heavy egg layers. Homesteaders looking to sell eggs might be after a certain color of egg. There are breeds to fit every need!

Heavy Egg Layer breeds can be expected to lay an average of 4-5 eggs per week. Heavy egg layers include: Buff Orpington, Leghorn, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Wynadottes

Colored Egg Layers are often attractive to backyard chicken tenders. Ameraucana, Arauacana, and Olive Eggers lay shades of blue, pink, and green eggs. If you are looking for brown eggs, Black Australorp, Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red, or Welsummers might be a good fit for you.

Broodiness

If you interested in hatching your own chicks without an incubator, one of these breeds might be for you!

Brahmas are a large chicken breed known for going broody, their heavy feathering provide great insulation for eggs. Cochins are another breed that love to mother. Silkies are great option for homesteaders looking to hatch chicken or duck eggs. Silkies are smaller framed birds, so they can't sit on as many eggs as the other breeds listed.

Temperament

While this guide cannot guarantee the temperament of each individual chicken, generalizations can be made about these breeds. Are you looking for a chicken breed that will be good in family environment with small children? Do you plan on letting the chickens free range or will they need to do well in confinement?

Family Friendly breeds generally include Orpingtons (Buff, Lavender, Jubilee), Australorps, Cochins, and Silkies. Just like any animal, exposure to humans and handling will go a long way in forming their bond with your family.

Free Range breeds would encompass Hamburgs, Ancona, Buck Eye, and Leghorns. This isn't to say they can't handle confinement, but are great if you have a lot of space for them to roam. One thing to keep in mind when free-ranging birds is nest location. Chickens will likely lay away from the coop, so it's a bit like a scavenger hunt trying to locate eggs.

Breeds that handle confinement well include Delaware, Brahma, Polish, and Silkies. These breeds might enjoy the occasional stroll around the yard, but are perfectly content in urban backyard settings.

The Breeds I Need

When I decided to get chickens, these are the factors I considered when choosing a breed. I started out with Jubilee Orpington hatching eggs. I ended up with three chicken breeds and counting! If you have not heard of chicken math, this is a great example:

I was looking for a good dual-purpose breed (good egg layers and meat birds), and landed on Jubilee Orpingtons. This breed has a very interesting royal history, and as a royal-watcher, I knew I had to have some of my own.

From there, I decided I needed sole egg layers so we would still have an egg supply while hatching Orpingtons in the spring. I bought six Easter Eggers from our local Tractor Supply.

Then I needed some broody hens that I could use next spring to hatch all my ducks and chickens. I've found that letting hens hatch the eggs allows for a higher hatching rate than an incubator. A local homesteader was selling some Silkies, so I bought some of those as well. 

I am quitting at three breeds (until I find another that I have to have!). Hopefully, this guide helps you find a great fit for your situation!