Top 5 Backyard Chicken Breeds

[Bullitt]

which would you replace? australorps?

The article list is:
Plymouth Rock
Rhode Island Red
Leghorn
Jersey Giant
Ameraucana


I would change Ameraucana to Ameraucana/Easter Egger because most chickens sold as Ameraucana do not meet the breed standards, so they are Easter Eggers.

I would take Jersey Giant off the list. I am not sure if Australorp or Orpington are more popular. I would guess Orpington is more popular because there are many varieties of Orpingtons.



Your list is:
Rhode Island Red
Orpington
Australorp
Plymouth Rock
Game Birds (There are Old English Game and American Game)


This is your list of your favorites, not a popularity list. So it is perfect.

But if I were making a popularity list, I guess Leghorn would replace game birds.

We do not have a chicken census, so we are just estimating which breeds are most popular.

 

[Jewellan]

Funny, Rhode Island Reds as a breed actually shouldn't be rusty red, and, I find it funny how Ameraucanas are listed yet very few people actually have real ones. Notice how nothing was mentioned on color variations, yet the other breeds were.

What is a "REAL" Ameraucana? I thought that none of these chickens looked alike. How can you tell if your Amerucanas are real? And how can hatcheries sell chicks that are not real to the breed?

 

[Bullitt]

What is a "REAL" Ameraucana? I thought that none of these chickens looked alike. How can you tell if your Amerucanas are real? And how can hatcheries sell chicks that are not real to the breed?

Real Ameraucanas are ones that meet the APA breed standards. Most do not meet the standards, so are called Easter Eggers.

Ameraucanas are a more complicated breed as far as standards go than most other breeds.

Most chicken breeds from hatcheries would not do well in most poultry shows. That is because the hatcheries generally focus on breeding for egg production and pay less attention to body size and conformation and feather color.

If you are interested mostly in eggs, or do not care about showing chickens at competitive poultry shows, then hatcheries are often the best choice for purchasing chickens.

 

[countrydream7]

i have bjgs nice size but roosters in my coop are aggressive one that i know of..they laid 2 eggs so far that was 2 wks ago and nothing since then..dont think id keep this breed around not too happy with them..

 

[Michael OShay]

It is interesting that they didn't list any of the hybrid crosses, such as Golden Comets/Red Sex-Links.

That's a very good point. Particularly as the best hybrids are hardy, egg laying machines. My top 5 chicken kinds (since hybrids aren't actually breeds) would be:

1. Black Sex Link (Black Star, Bovans Nera)
2. Australorp
3. Red Sex Link (Red Star, Brown Sex Link Gold Sex Link, Golden Buff, Golden Comet, Cinnamon Queen, Bovans Brown, Hubbard Golden Comet, Isa Brown, Shaver Brown, Babcock Brown, Warrens, Hylines, Gold Lines, Lohmans, Lohmans Brown, or any other label the various RSLs are sold under)
4. Orpington
5. Austra White

As you can see, 3 of my top 5 choices are hybrids.

 

[Jewellan]

i have bjgs nice size but roosters in my coop are aggressive one that i know of..they laid 2 eggs so far that was 2 wks ago and nothing since then..dont think id keep this breed around not too happy with them..

what Is a bjgs

 

[Michael OShay]

what Is a bjgs

Black Jersey Giants

 

[Michael OShay]

What is a "REAL" Ameraucana? I thought that none of these chickens looked alike. How can you tell if your Amerucanas are real? And how can hatcheries sell chicks that are not real to the breed?

A real Ameraucana is a APA recognized breed that comes in set variety of colors and lays blue eggs. When two true Ameraucanas are mated, their offspring will carry the same physical characteristics that the parents do and will also lay blue eggs. The Ameraucanas typically sold by hatcheries are actually hybrids produced by crossing either Ameraucanas or Araucanas with other breeds to produce offspring that lay eggs in different colors (olive, green, beige, and even pale pink and gold). These hybrids are known as Easter Eggers (because of the different colored eggs that they lay), but are typically marketed by hatcheries as Araucanas or Ameraucanas (often misspelled Americana or Americauna). If you want to know more about the differences between Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers, there is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html

 

[Bullitt]

A real Ameraucana is a APA recognized breed that comes in set variety of colors and lays blue eggs. When two true Ameraucanas are mated, their offspring will carry the same physical characteristics that the parents do and will also lay blue eggs. The Ameraucanas typically sold by hatcheries are actually hybrids produced by crossing either Ameraucanas or Araucanas with other breeds to produce offspring that lay eggs in different colors (olive, green, beige, and even pale pink and gold). These hybrids are known as Easter Eggers (because of the different colored eggs that they lay), but are typically marketed by hatcheries as Araucanas or Ameraucanas (often misspelled Americana or Americauna). If you want to know more about the differences between Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers, there is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html

I will just add that any Ameraucana or Araucana that does not meet the standards is called an Easter Egger. You can breed two Ameraucanas that meet the standards and still have some offspring that do not meet the standards. To meet the standards, a breed must breed true most of the time, meaning more than 50 percent of the time.

It is complicated, and that is why there is so much confusion about Ameraucanas, Araucanas, and Easter Eggers.

 

[Bullitt]

That's a very good point. Particularly as the best hybrids are hardy, egg laying machines. My top 5 chicken kinds (since hybrids aren't actually breeds) would be:

1. Black Sex Link (Black Star, Bovans Nera)
2. Australorp
3. Red Sex Link (Red Star, Brown Sex Link Gold Sex Link, Golden Buff, Golden Comet, Cinnamon Queen, Bovans Brown, Hubbard Golden Comet, Isa Brown, Shaver Brown, Babcock Brown, Warrens, Hylines, Gold Lines, Lohmans, Lohmans Brown, or any other label the various RSLs are sold under)
4. Orpington
5. Austra White

As you can see, 3 of my top 5 choices are hybrids.

True, hybrids are not breeds. That could explain why there are no hybrids on the list.

If a person wants eggs, the White Leghorn is difficult to beat. But hybrids are great for eggs also.