Monday, February 7, 2011

Chicken Breeds

By Jerry Gallo


Chickens are incredible pets and will not only lay you fresh eggs, but will kill pests and bugs around your yard and garden that may cause harm to it. In this article I have some of the top breeds of chickens that you should consider when buying your chickens. So lets get to the list, hopefully after reading you will be on your way to raising a bunch of friendly chickens!

Ameraucana and Auracana chickens are very popular because they both lay colored eggs. Both lay blue eggs and the Ameraucanas lay some they may be blue-green. These are very passive chickens and will be friendly as pets. You can get them in several colors. Araucanas also have very interesting looking ear tufts, and do not have tails.

The Polish Bantam is known for its puffball crest. They are pretty tame birds and because they are small can be kept in smaller yards. The crests on the birds make them hilarious looking, but also allows them to be infested with parasites, so you need to de-louse them often.

The Silkie is a very good breed of chicken for a pet, they really like to be handled and are very fluffy which children love. Other chicken breeds also get along great with Silkies and they make good foster moms for other chicks.

The next breed that are both great for laying eggs and as pets are the Rhode Island Reds and Whites. You should try to stay clear of the roosters in his breed though, as they can be pretty aggressive. These birds can handle most weather conditions without a complaint. This is probably the most famous chicken breed in the world and lays more eggs than almost any other chicken at about 260 a year.

The Cochin is another very interesting looking chicken that has fancy looking feathers and comes in many different colors. They are very friendly chickens and other chicken breeds get along with them extremely well.

Another great chicken for a small garden in your back yard is the Welsummer. It lays close to 200 eggs a year and makes a great pet.

So this list will hopefully have narrowed down your choices slightly. I know it can be overwhelming when picking your chicken breeds because there are so many, but keep this list in mind and you should be able to find a bunch of friendly chickens for your yard. Good luck with your chicken search and have fun.




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