How to Choose the Best Backyard Chicken

How to choose the best backyard chicken depends wholly on what you are looking for in a chicken. There are many different things you could be wanting in a chicken, anything from egg layers, meat chickens, exotic looking plumage or egg colors, hardiness and disposition. We will look into each thing to cover all our bases for our readers.

Best Egg Laying Chickens

1. Rhode Island Red

The Rhode Island Red chicken will be on many of these lists. It is an overall good chicken for backyard chicken raisers. It was actually one of our first chickens and we are still raising them. They are a duel purpose meat and egg layer known for their brown eggs and producing roughly 250-270 eggs per year. They usually get between 6-8 lbs which is a pretty good chicken size for meat. They are also a hearty breed that can handle even the coldest climate.

2. Leghorn (non industrial)

The Leghorn is a good choice for beginners because they are easy to care for and will yield around 250 eggs a year. The Leghorn’s eggs are also jumbo-sized. They are also popular because they are an attractive chicken breed with white feathers and a substantial red comb on the top of their head. However, they can be hard to tame and they are shy so may not make the best pet chicken.

3. Plymouth Barred Rock

The Plymouth Rock, also known as the Barred Rock, is a large bird. The hen will lay, on average every other day (200/year). This slightly less relentless pace can be a good starting point for the first-time owner, and the Plymouth Rock’s happy outlook and independent nature further cement its position as a good starter bird.

4. Australorp

In addition to their status as a top egg-layer (one record-setting hen once laid an astonishing 364 eggs in a single year!), Australorps feature black and green, iridescent feathers and produce brown eggs. It's no surprise that this Australian breed has a large fan base.

4. Red Star or Red Sex-Link

Red Star chickens (also known as Red Sex-Links because the sex of the chicks can be easily determined after hatching) are a hybrid variety of chicken, created by crossing two specific breeds. They're fantastic egg producers, capable of laying 300 eggs a year.

5. Orpington

The Orpington is quick to mature, friendly, easy to raise, and produces over 200 eggs a year. What's not to like about them? Developed in Britain, the Orpington is most well-known for the buff coloring, although they do come in other, less common colors. The Orpington is also popular as a show chicken. They not only tolerate being petted but genuinely enjoy the attention. Orpington hens can get broody, which is useful if you want more chicks but can lead to illness and prevent laying during laying season. Despite the propensity for broodiness, the Buff Orpington is a good choice for novice owners.

6. Ameraucana

These may be the most fun birds to have when laying eggs. The Ameraucana is popularly known as the “Easter Egg Chicken,” these birds lay multicolored eggs that are as delicious as they are colorful. They tolerate all climates and do well either penned or in coups. One thing to note: Among this breed is the “crossed beak” genetic disorder that will affect about one in 100 chicks. Typically these fun birds will lay 250 eggs a year but be warned they can be a very broody bird. This is good for having more chicks but not so good for the refrigerator.

7. Speckled Sussex

One of the heaviest layers, not only because they lay more than 250 eggs per year but also because the females weight almost 8lbs on average. However, in contrast to their size, Sussex chickens don’t need big spaces. Be careful when raising Sussex with other breeds. They’re usually the target of bullies.

8. Golden Laced Wyandottes

These big birds will give you good egg layers (200/year), but the large size will also be good for the pot if need be. Wyandotte chickens are gentle, calm and terrific foragers, which means they are some of the best chickens for free-range. The extremely beautifully colorful chickens are a sight that few can resist, and they tend to be broody, so if you allow a clutch of eggs to hatch for a sustainable flock, the hen will do a good job with the chicks.

Best Meat Producing Chicken

1. Cornish Cross

Cornish Cross and their associated hybrids are extremely favored when it comes to raising your own chickens for meat purposes. They are capable of reaching a weight of 12 lbs in a mere 6-8 weeks of time. Because of their excellent growth rate they are the most preferred choice among the commercial meat producers and among backyard breeders.

The Cornish Cross also grows faster and tastes better than dual-purpose chicken breeds. It is also preferred over the breeds that are used only for meat purposes. Because of their super-fast pace of growth, the activity level of the Cornish Cross is very low.

These chickens have broad breasts, large thighs, and legs, with an enriched yellow skin which makes them perfect for the dinner table.

2. Jersey Giant

The Jersey Giant chickens have their origins in the US as they were developed with the basic thought of replacing the classic turkey. While this did not happen, it has earned a place of its own in the poultry world. The Jersey Giants are purebred and weigh around 11-13 pounds on average. However, these Giants grow at a slower pace than similar breeds of Broilers. They also need large amounts of time and food, which can really add up if you do not grow your own feed. This makes them quite unacceptable in the commercial meat world but a very hot product in backyard chicken coups. These chickens are calm and docile by nature while the male Giants are considered slightly aggressive. The Jersey Giants also lay extra large brown eggs. This means that you can use them as an egg hen while you are waiting for them to reach their peak.

This breed comes in black, white and blue colors.

3. Chantecler

Chantecler birds thrive in cold climates. They are great egg layers (200/yr).

The breed, in general, is very docile and matures extremely early. This means that they begin laying eggs early and they mature to the point of slaughter early as well. The average slaughter weight for this sort of chicken is between 7-9 pounds. This breed is great for free-range because they like to forage along with their feed.

Duel Purposed Breeds

Now I am sure you have noticed that there was only three breeds that were mentioned in the meat breeds for chickens, there are more that are dual purposed for both meat and egg production. More then likely if you are doing backyard raising you will be looking for some of these to raise.

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