Chicken breeds

Each profile gives you the numbers that matter — eggs per year, egg color and size, temperament, climate hardiness — plus the honest trade-offs.

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All breed profiles

Ameraucana

150–200 eggs/yr · Blue

The breed that lays genuinely blue eggs. Hardy, friendly, and distinctive — but often confused with the Easter Egger. Here's the real difference.
Australorp

250–300 eggs/yr · Brown

Calm, quiet, and one of the most productive brown-egg layers you can keep — the Australorp is a near-perfect all-rounder for backyard flocks.
Barnevelder

150–200 eggs/yr · Deep brown, sometimes speckled

A calm Dutch dual-purpose breed with striking double-laced plumage and rich chocolate-brown eggs — an easy, good-looking bird that handles cold and wet without complaint.
Bielefelder

200–230 eggs/yr · Brown, often with a pinkish tint

A modern German dual-purpose breed combining real size, 200+ large brown eggs, an unusually calm temperament — and autosexing chicks you can tell apart on day one.
Brahma

150–200 eggs/yr · Brown

An enormous, feather-legged, remarkably calm breed that keeps laying in the cold months when most hens stop. Great for cold climates and curious kids.
Buckeye

180–220 eggs/yr · Brown

The only American breed created by a woman, built for Ohio winters — a mahogany, pea-combed dual-purpose bird that's active, frostbite-resistant, and an enthusiastic mouser.
Buff Orpington

180–250 eggs/yr · Brown

Big, golden, and almost absurdly docile — the Buff Orpington is the breed people mean by 'pet that lays eggs.' Solid brown-egg output, great in cold climates.
Cochin

150–180 eggs/yr · Brown

An enormous, supremely docile, feather-footed breed kept mostly as a pet and a champion broody mother. Modest layer, exceptional temperament.
Cream Legbar

180–220 eggs/yr · Blue to sky-blue

A crested British breed laying sky-blue eggs, with the rare bonus of autosexing chicks — you can tell pullets from cockerels the day they hatch, no guesswork.
Delaware

200–280 eggs/yr · Light brown

A calm, white-and-barred American dual-purpose breed that grows quickly and lays well — historically important, now rare, and genuinely useful in a backyard flock.
Dominique

230–270 eggs/yr · Brown

The oldest recognised American breed — a barred, rose-combed heritage hen that shrugs off cold, forages for much of its own food, and still lays 230–270 eggs a year.
Easter Egger

200–280 eggs/yr · Blue / green

Not a true breed, but a hardy, friendly bird that lays blue, green, or olive eggs — and one of the best-value, most beginner-friendly birds you can keep.
Faverolles

150–200 eggs/yr · Cream to light brown

A quirky French breed with a beard, muffs, feathered feet and five toes — and possibly the gentlest temperament of any chicken. Great for families, easily bullied by bossier breeds.
Frizzle

Varies by base breed (typically 120–180) eggs/yr · Varies by base breed

Frizzling is a feather gene, not a breed — here's what it does, which birds carry it, the frizzle-to-frizzle warning every buyer should hear, and how to house them.
Golden Comet

280–320 eggs/yr · Brown

A gentle red sex-link hybrid that lays 280–320 brown eggs a year and stays productive through winter — arguably the most forgiving hen a first-time keeper can buy.
Hamburg

200–250 eggs/yr · White

Spangled or pencilled, light-framed and quick — the Hamburg lays 200+ small white eggs a year on very little feed. Beautiful, hardy, and definitely not a lap chicken.
ISA Brown

300–320 eggs/yr · Brown

A commercial hybrid layer bred for sheer output — 300+ brown eggs a year from a small, docile, feed-efficient hen. Superb value, with one honest caveat about longevity.
Jersey Giant

150–200 eggs/yr · Brown

The largest purebred chicken — a calm, cold-hardy dual-purpose bird that lays large brown eggs and makes a surprisingly gentle backyard giant.
Leghorn

250–320 eggs/yr · White

The white hen behind most supermarket eggs. Unbeatable white-egg output and heat tolerance — but flighty and not a cuddler. Here's who it suits.
Light Sussex

240–280 eggs/yr · Cream to light brown (tinted)

The white-and-black Sussex is one of Britain's oldest and most useful breeds — a calm, curious dual-purpose hen laying 250+ tinted eggs a year, and a superb beginner bird.
Marans

150–200 eggs/yr · Dark chocolate brown

Famous for deep chocolate-brown eggs, the Marans is a calm, hardy French breed. Here's what to expect from output, egg color, and temperament.
Naked Neck

150–200 eggs/yr · Light brown

A featherless neck isn't a deformity — it's a genuine heat-shedding advantage. The Naked Neck is odd-looking, hardy, productive, and criminally underrated.
New Hampshire Red

200–240 eggs/yr · Brown

A faster-maturing offshoot of the Rhode Island Red that lays large brown eggs early and grows a solid carcass — productive, hardy, and a bit pushy in a mixed flock.
Olive Egger

180–240 eggs/yr · Olive green

A hybrid bird that lays distinctive olive-green eggs — created by crossing a dark-brown layer with a blue-egg breed. Hardy, friendly, and a rainbow-basket essential.
Plymouth Rock

200–280 eggs/yr · Brown

The easygoing, cold-hardy dual-purpose breed that's perfect for families. Solid brown-egg output with a famously docile temperament.
Polish

150–200 eggs/yr · White

Famous for their flamboyant feathered crests, Polish chickens are ornamental favorites and fair white-egg layers — with a few quirks the crest creates.
Rhode Island Red

200–300 eggs/yr · Brown

One of the most productive, hardy, low-fuss laying breeds — and a top pick for beginners who actually want eggs. Here's what to expect.
Sapphire Gem

280–300 eggs/yr · Brown

A striking slate-blue hybrid layer from Czech breeding — 280–300 brown eggs a year, exceptionally calm, and unusual enough that visitors always ask about it.
Serama

100–180 (tiny) eggs/yr · Cream to light brown

A true bantam from Malaysia weighing under a pound — upright, confident, absurdly charming, and the only chicken many people can legally keep in a small urban yard.
Silkie

100–120 eggs/yr · Cream to tinted

Fluffy, friendly, and famously broody — but modest layers. Here's whether a Silkie fits your backyard flock, and how to keep one healthy.
Speckled Sussex

200–250 eggs/yr · Cream to light brown

A talkative, people-loving dual-purpose hen with gorgeous speckled plumage and dependable eggs — and one of the best free-range foragers for a backyard flock.
Speckledy

250–270 eggs/yr · Dark brown, often speckled

A British hybrid crossing a Maran with a Rhode Island Red — dark, speckled brown eggs in commercial numbers, from a calm hen that's easy for beginners.
Swedish Flower Hen

150–200 eggs/yr · Cream to light brown

Sweden's rescued landrace — hardy, self-reliant, mottled in a different pattern on every bird, and a genuinely capable layer that nearly died out in the 1970s.
Welsummer

160–200 eggs/yr · Dark terracotta brown, often speckled

Known for richly speckled, terracotta-brown eggs and an intelligent, friendly nature — the Welsummer is a beautiful, practical addition to a colorful egg basket.
Wyandotte

180–260 eggs/yr · Brown

A strikingly laced, rose-combed dual-purpose breed built for cold climates. Reliable brown eggs and a confident personality that holds its own in a flock.