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New Hampshire

The New Hampshire were developed from the Rhode Island Red around 1915 in New Hampshire....
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
High
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown
Breed Temperament
Friendly, Easily handled, Bears confinement well, Noisy, Docile
Breed Colors/Varieties
Red
Breed Size
Large Fowl
APA/ABA Class
American
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The New Hampshire is an American breed, developed beginning around 1910 in the New England states from the Rhode Island Red breed. The New Hampshire breeders selected for a vigorous dual purpose bird, one that would be early maturing, very fast growing, fast feathering, and producing a good table bird with hens having good egg laying ability. By the 1930’s they had successfully developed the New Hampshire to the extent where it was a popular breed choice for commercial egg production, used as crosses in the commercial broiler industry on the east coast, and were popular entries in the Chicken of Tomorrow contests which led to the development of the modern broiler industry.

It was admitted to the APA in 1935 and are very popular as show birds today. The APA recognizes one color, that being a rich chestnut red with black tail feathers. Birds kept outdoors will often find their red color is prone to fading. They are found in several other colors, including blue and white in other countries.

They are friendly birds with people, usually making good pets, and can be tamed fairly easily. They are good foragers and do well free ranging. They are vigorous and competitive and should be watched that they aren’t overly bossy with gentle breeds. They are quite cold hardy and good winter layers. The hens will go broody and are good mothers.

Though often called New Hampshire Reds, the name of the breed is New Hampshire, with the name New Hampshire Red often being used to identify a hatchery New Hampshire / Rhode Island Red cross.
There is a bantam New Hampshire, though it was developed primarily in the Netherlands.

It was recognized by the APA in 1935.
It is on The Livestock Conservancy's Watch list.

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New Hampshire eggs

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New Hampshire chicks

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New Hampshire juvenile

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New Hampshire hen (pullet)

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New Hampshire rooster

For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-new-hampshire.1024180/
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Latest reviews

sunshine ducky
New Hampshire Red
Pros: - docile, easy to handle
- extremely winter hardy
- bears confinement well
- top tier egg production
- relatively quiet
Cons: - at times loud and noisy, but only for a few moments
- simple dull looking chicken (if aesthetics is something you care for and you like red colors in your flock, I suggest a Rhode island red. They have a deep mahogany maroon pigment in their feathers that stand out).
I have a New Hampshire Red hen and she is an absolute joy to have. She is super friendly and doesn't mind at all being held. She follows me around the yard and even jumps on my shoulder sometimes! She lays her eggs every other day and is quiet most of the times. After she does lay her egg though she does have her brief "egg song" and she is LOUD then but it only lasts for a few moments (something to consider if you live in the suburbs). Lastly, she survived through our harsh Illinois winters with such resilience, she was even still laying eggs here and there during the cold months! In all, this is a great breed of chicken to have, whether you are a beginner, novice, or expert in backyard chickens!

My New Hampshire Red hen named April:
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Purchase Price
$4.32
Purchase Date
4/02/2021
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BudgieKing15
Pros: Great egg layers
Pretty
Good for all weather
Quiet
Cons: Skittish
New Hampshire chickens are pretty cool. They lay a lot of eggs, have nice colored feathers, handle all weather well, and aren't very noisy. HOWEVER, they are definitely not lap-chickens, and will usually not let you handle them.
M
Pros: Curious and full of personality
Smart
Mine was a hen but she still protected the flock well
Not taken by predators easily
Cons: Can be aggressive to new chickens
Escape artists
I absolutely LOVED copper! So fun to watch. Head hen. She was very curious and often found the best worms and such, and loved free-ranging. She also could escape and fight off any predators. Helped our EE roo Fluffy defend the flock from chickenhawks. Fluffy was very laid back so Copper led the flock a lot of the time. She loved me too!

She didn't like new chickens though. Would tolerate them but would sometimes be aggressive. Never escaped the coop but would always be searching and finding ways to escape the yard.
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Comments

chippysmom327
I never saw this comment, but thanks! She's a little mixed with something else, but is mostly new hampshire.
 
Delawaremommy
If you want a super layer then go with a commercial leghorn...some have been known to lay 300+ per year....the breeds you are picking are not known as massive layers.....and 6 eggs every 10 days is not that bad....
 
Betsy57
Average lay rate was 60%. So on any given day, 60% of the NHRs laid an egg. I get 75-85% lay rate on my White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Cinnamon Queens, Black Australorps.
 
smallbluejellybean
May I ask why being large is one of your Cons? I prefer my chickens big, so I would of placed that under Pros. Just curious, not being rude or anything.
 
Betsy57
Ya, I imagine any breed can be a "slacker". They were very nice, friendly birds and pretty. So I may get a few in the future. Reminded me a lot of Cinnamon Queen's in temperment.
 
Countrymanfowl
To some people, bigger birds are a negative. To others, they're a positive. Couldn't decide which one to put where so I gave a 50/50 shot.
 
Holladay chicks
I love this breed. They lay lots of xl brown eggs. The hens are skittish if you don't handle them as chicks. The roosters are docile. I started with tow and now I am increasing my flock.
 
Sylvester017
I don't want to offend the RIR lovers as I've had them also. But our NHR was the sweetest smartest friendliest egg layer we ever had.

Henny Penny - how original eh?

She was a rescue offered to us. We had no other chickens so she was by herself in our backyard and it was about 3 months before her coop was built. She dug a hole under a big bush next to our sliding back door. Very smartly secluded and where she laid her big brown eggs and where she could pop out to greet us when we opened the door. All we fed her was chicken mash mix. The bulk of her food she foraged in the backyard and in my open vegetable garden which was always full of worms and bugs. She never bothered the fruit or vegetables - just the insects and snails. Never flew into the tree or out of the yard though she could easily fly. The NHR are slightly smaller than RIRs but a lot more forage self-sufficient, good layers, and easy on the feed bill. I think our NHR kept herself trim just running up and down my vegetable rows to glean for bugs. She had the fluffiest petticoat thighs!

Since she was the only chicken we became her flock. She talked to us, followed us around, ate treats from our hand, let us pet her, and endeared herself to us.
 
Diannastarr
YES I have a few NHR pullets they were a bit standoffish when they were chicks , but all that has changed as they have grown older about 25 weeks old or so, they are very sweet birds, I have to agree , mine have become sooo sweet, & sooo friendly its almost amazing how they have changed, i have just one NHR that is still a bit shy , but that is changing as I have been picking her up a lot more to check a cut on her foot that is healing well ,plus NHR are fast learners , & are very nice birds indeed...!!!!!!!!!! take care Dianna :)
 
Turk Raphael
Only eats out of your hand? I guess that puts serius limitations on free-ranging? lol J/K

Glad you have one you like.
 
Turk Raphael
Give him a chance...he might calm down. I've seen it go both ways, the ones that are ice early on can become hellions in short order and the so-called mean ones can moderate. Even if you can get him to call a truce, I think that's better than killing a good bird. For me, the aggressive birds have been the best overall birds.
 

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