Choosing the Best Chicken Breed for Your Small Farm
Did you know there are in excess of 200 chicken breeds? Other than wattles, style of combs, plumage pattern and color – somewhat cosmetic considerations – chicken breeds vary on everything from identity, to broodiness (inclination to sit on eggs to hatch them), to egg color and even winter toughness!
Size
Chicken breeds are partitioned into one of two classes of size: bantam, large or standard. Truth be told, numerous breeds are available in the two sizes. Large breeds are, basically, bigger than small breeds, and create more eggs and meat. Bantams might be one-quarter to one-fifth the measure of an extensive breed chicken.
Heavy Breeds
If you live in an area with chilly winters, the “heavy” breed classification might mean a lot to you. Heavy breeds have denser feathers and thicker bodies and can adapt to certain harsh weather elements than non-substantial breeds. They’re bound to keep laying eggs through the winter too.
Hardiness
Strength isn’t only a depiction of how well a chicken is suited to a cool winter. It also alludes to the breed’s capacity to sustain itself through harder occasions, any hereditary shortcomings, and its propensity to forage vs eating feed, frequently called “thriftiness.”
Broodiness
Hens go “broody” over a grip of eggs to incubate them. They settle in on the eggs, just leaving the home once every day to eat and drink. If you’re trying to incubate eggs the natural way, this can be a decent quality in a hen. If you’re trying to purchase replacement chicks from an incubator or hatching your eggs, it tends to be irritating.
Egg Layers
White Leghorns and other unadulterated egg-laying breeds are the most productive egg layers. Their grain-to-egg yield is expanded. These birds don’t eat very much and can adapt to cold climates.
Meat Birds
A few breeds were built simply to raise for eating. These breeds are the most effective converters of grain to meat. The great processing factory farm chicken is a cross of a White Rock called a CornishxRock or Cornish Rock and a White Cornish. There are different breeds appropriate for meat creation, however: Brahma, Cochin, and Jersey Giant are a couple of them.
Egg Color
Did you realize that you can tell what color of eggs a chicken will lay by simply looking at its ear cartilage? Eggs colors come in white, green, tan to blue and brown. Obviously, the most widely recognized egg colors are brown and white, and chicken breeds are frequently portrayed by this trademark.
Plumage and Looks
One of the most outstanding things about chickens is their excellent plumage! Chickens come in each feather design, shape and color imaginable. From brilliant Buff Orpingtons to plume footed Cochins, the assortment is astonishing.
Temperament
Breeds are portrayed as aggressive or docile relying upon the qualities that farmers have seen in their groups. In any case, among some random flock, rather than a genetic tendency, temperament will be influenced more by pecking order. If you have little kids, picking a specific “docile” breed may be just about right.
Legacy and Rare Breeds
As of late, there has been a developing enthusiasm for heirloom and heritage chicken breeds. A few farmers are in the business of breeding, raising and selling rare and heritage chickens and others just wish to pick a heritage breed for their meat birds and egg layers. Frequently these breeds show more prominent solidness than production breeds. They display progressively conventional chicken behaviors, such as roosting, being good setters (going broody easily), and foraging for food.