What Are The Best Backyard Chicken Breeds? Find The Perfect One For You
Each chicken breed is specifically designed to do a specific job. In the old days, chicken breeds were explicitly designed for various things such as warmth or coldness, ground cover or flightiness, and size. Some chicken breeds do not make good backyard ones because they are not very friendly and cannot be handled easily. Despite their usefulness in the past, not all chicken breeds are still used today.
Salmon Faverolles
These chickens have five toes instead of four like other chicken breeds. They were bred from a White Rock chicken type common between 1873–1885 in France. Since then, much breeding has been done with English and American chicken breeds to improve them further. They became an official breed in 1910 when they had more than 100 of the breed for chicken shows. Salmon Faverolles typically lay about 180 eggs a year, more than most chicken breeds can lay. They are good backyard chicken breeds because they are friendly and get along well with other chicken breeds if they do not live together.
Australorp
Australorps were bred from black Orpington in Australia in 1926 for egg production. They were once called Black Sex Link chickens in America since sexing young chicks was easy when bred from blackbirds, but that term has been dropped now that both sexes have the same color feathers. These chicken breeds can be friendly with chicken handlers, but their docile nature makes them one of the best chicken breeds for families. They are also good chicken breeds for beginners because they are hardy chicken breeds that do not require much attention.
Rhode Island Red
Rhode Island Reds were bred from the Dominique chicken in America around 1850 by crossing it with other chicken breeds like Asiatic, Plymouth Rock, and New Hampshire. They are the most popular chicken breed kept in America because of their ability to produce brown eggs on little food, making them one of the best backyard chicken breeds to have during the Great Depression where food was scarce. Rhode Island Reds can be friendly chicken breeds that anyone can handle.
Leghorn
The Leghorn breed was created in Italy through selective breeding for many centuries to get a chicken breed that is good for meat production with wide chicken breeds with good egg layers. Because this chicken breeds low-fat content, Leghorn chicken can be eaten without risk of food poisoning even if they do not use refrigeration, making them the best chicken breed to have on a sailboat or during camping. These chicken breeds tend to become more aggressive as they age, making them one of the least friendly chicken breeds in their adult years.
Buckeye chicken
The Buckeye chicken was bred from the Barred Plymouth Rock chicken around 1870 by A. K. Jones. He lived in Ohio hence why they are called Buckeyes since it makes them one of the best chicken breeds for cold climates because their feathers are thicker than some other chickens, which allows them to survive harsh winters. They tend to be quite chicken and don’t like being handled much, so they are not very friendly chicken breeds.
Barred Plymouth Rock
The Plymouth Rock chicken breed was created in America in the 1830s by James J. Mann, who developed it from a Dominique chicken type with seven different color variations: white, silver-spangled, partridge, buff, barred, black, and blue according to their sex. Adults make them one of the best backyard chicken breeds because they produce brown eggs and adapt quickly to change, which means they do not become much more aggressive as they age as Leghorn chicken breeds do, for example.
Buff Orpington
William Cook developed Orpington chickens in Orpington, Kent, England, when he was trying to breed chicken breeds that are good chicken meat production when crossed with black-breasted red game chicken. He finally succeeded at his goal in 1910 after crossing with white Wyandotte chicken breeds. Buff Orpingtons are friendly chicken breeds with most chicken keepers make them one of the backyard chicken breeds no matter their age because they adapt well to most circumstances.
Speckled Sussex
The Sussex chicken breed was developed in Sussex County, England, during the 1800s by selectively breeding primarily White Leghorn chickens for better egg production with some Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire chicken breeds. To get a better meat chicken breed that is more suited for cold climates, they are called Speckled Sussex chicken breeds. They are one of the best chicken breeds for cold climates because their combs and wattles are more heavily feathered than other chicken breeds, along with a white ear lobe, which is why they tend to be kept as backyard chicken breeds by many chicken keepers today.
New Hampshire chicken breed
New Hampshire chicken breed was developed in America around 1850 from several different chicken breeds from Rhode Island Reds from Asiatic chicken breeds like Langshan and Cochin, Old English Game, and White Plymouth Rock chicken breeds, among others which had made them one of the most famous American chicken breeds as well as one of the backyard chicken breeds that have been used in selective breeding to get chicken breeds that are good chicken meat production with some laying hens thrown in when they were being created.
Rhode Island Red chicken breed
Rhode Island Red chicken breed was developed in America in the 1870s from several chicken breeds, including fowl cuckoo, Sebright, Spanish chicken breeds, and others, making them one of the most popular chicken breeds in America as well as one of the best backyard chicken breeds because their combs and wattles can be more heavily feathered than other chicken breeds making them great for cold climates like New Hampshire chicken breed which is why many people like to get Rhode Island Red chickens to crossbreed them with other chicken types to produce hybrid chicken breeds that lay brown eggs such as blue egg layers.
Leghorn chicken breed
Leghorn chicken breed was developed in Italy from chicken breeds like Minorca chicken breed, Ancona chicken breed, and early Langshan chicken before it became popular because of their lightweight making them one of the backyard chicken breeds for people that want to raise poultry for meat production even though they are not particularly friendly which is why they are often crossed with Plymouth Rock chicken breeds to produce hybrid chicken breeds which lay brown eggs.
Barred Plymouth Rock chicken crossbreed
Many different kinds of chickens have been used in the creation of Barred Plymouth Rock chicken crossbreeds. Still, most have some Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, or Wyandotte bloodlines, among others, making them one of the best chicken breeds for cold climates as well as one of the most popular chicken breeds in America because they are good chicken meat production when crossbred with other chicken breeds, have a faster growth rate than many chicken breeds and lean towards being friendly which is why they are often used to create hybrid chicken breeds that lay brown eggs.
Golden Comet
Golden Comets were developed from a number of different chicken types, including Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, and Plymouth Rock chicken crosses, among others, making them one of the backyard chicken breeds no matter what age you get them at because they adapt to almost any climate conditions very quickly, proliferate and produce tasty meat if allowed to grow naturally without too much interference but can also be used to create chicken chicken chicken breeds or chicken chicken chicken crossbreeds that lay brown eggs.
Wyandotte chicken breed
Wyandotte chicken breed was developed in America from several different chicken breeds, including New Hampshire, Dark Cornish, and some black Orpington chicken breeds. Still, they were initially bred by two brothers who wanted an attractive and reliable backyard chicken breed that also laid well, which is why people like them as one of the best backyard chicken breeds for this reason while their white ear lobes, medium-sized combs, and dark-colored wattles help them adapt to many different climates making them great for cold or hot climates which is another reason why they are popular among chicken keepers today.
You can also Check out this Article- WHAT TO DO WHEN BACKYARD CHICKEN STARTS TO LOSE FEATHERS?
Hopefully, you found the one that will fit right in your backyard!
