Best Layer, White Eggs (Heritage)
LEGhoRn (NonInDUSTRIAl)
Spritely and active, Leghorns lay 250 to 300 or more medium-tolarge white eggs per year. Originating in Northern Italy in ancient times, they’ve been a favorite American layer since they arrived on our shores in 1852. Hens are nonsetters that lay well year-round. They’re lithe and lean — roosters weighing around 6 pounds; hens, 4 ½ — so they’re strictly layers, not dual-purpose (providing good meat and eggs) birds.
They come in an array of colors — American Poultry Associationapproved Black, Buff, Dark Brown, Light Brown, Silver and White — and bantam and large-fowl sizes. Leghorns are ultrafertile, vigorous, hardy and heat-tolerant, and while they tolerate confinement very well, they’re noisy, flighty and strong fliers, so they don’t do well in urban situations.
The Easter Egger’s claim to fame is its sweet, docile nature and the fact that it lays blue-, greenor olive-colored eggs. This medium-sized, healthy, quiet, heat- and cold-hardy, friendly breed tolerates confinement well, making it an ideal urban chicken. Hens seldom become broody, and they lay in the neighborhood of 200 to 250 eggs per year.
Best Winter Layer
NEW HAMPShIRE
New England breeders developed this breed using Rhode Island Red foundation stock, selecting for fast-feathering, early maturity, hardiness and winterlaying ability. New Hampshires have deep, broad bodies and are medium-to-light red. Hens weigh about 6½ pounds; roosters, 81⁄ 2, so they make fine meat chickens, too. A bantam version exists as well.
New Hampshire hens lay about 200 light-to-medium brown eggs per year, especially during the coldest winter months when other breeds tend to stop laying. These calm, friendly birds do well in confinement, too.
Best Meat (Heritage)
ORPInGTon
William Cook, a coachman living near the town of Orpington in Kent, England, developed this breed in the late 1800s by crossing Minorca roosters with Black Plymouth Rock hens, then breeding their offspring to Langshan chickens. His goal: Create a large, plump, fast-growing, winter-hardy meat bird with fine eating qualities. Today’s Orpingtons are just that.
Hens are also reasonable layers of large, brown eggs at 175 to 200 per year. Roosters weigh a hefty 10 pounds; hens, 8. Calm and friendly chickens, Orpingtons adapt equally well to free-range or confinement situations. The APA recognizes Black, Blue, Buff and White in large-fowl and bantam versions.
Best Meat (Modern)
CORNISH CROSS
The Cornish X, also known as the Cornish Cross Rock and Cornish Giant, is America’s quintessential fast-maturing hybrid meat chicken. Cornish Xs are white with yellow skin, producing broad breasts and plump thighs with superb eating quality.
Incredibly fast growing, they can weigh 6 pounds at 6 to 8 weeks of age, or they can be grown out to 8- to 10-pound broiler size. Due to their heavy weight and rapid growth, stress-broken legs, heatstroke and heart failure are fairly common. Cornish Xs aren’t very active and are docile in nature, making them easy to house and handle.
Best Ornamental
SULTAN
Known as Serai Taook in their native Turkey, Sultans have more unique characteristics than any other breed of chicken, including a V-shaped comb, crest, beard, large nostrils, low-carried wings and erect bearing, feathered legs and toes, and five toes on each foot.
Sultans are white with blue shanks and toes. Roosters weigh 6 pounds; hens, 4. They are active but friendly. Hens lay 150 to 200 small, white eggs per year.
Brought to America in 1867, the APA included Sultans in the organization’s first Standard of Excellence (an annual publication describing recognized breeds) in 1874. The Livestock Conservancy, an American farm organization with a mission “to protect endangered livestock and poultry breeds from extinction,”classifies the Sultan breed status as “Critical,” meaning there are fewer than 500 breeding birds in the U.S., with five or fewer primary breeding flocks (50 birds or more), and an estimated global population of less than 1,000.
Best Beginner’s Bird
PLYMOUTH ROck
The Plymouth Rock is an all-American, dual-purpose chicken developed in New England during the 1800s. Its exceptionally calm and friendly demeanor, hardiness, and fine laying and table qualities make it a great bird for first-time chicken-keepers.
Plymouth Rocks come in a number of colors: Barred, Black, Blue, Buff,