Category: Standard Breed Chickens

Wyandotte

Posted on by Cindy Johnson

Wyandotte

 

An American breed, the Wyandotte was developed in the 1870’s and named for an American Indian tribe, the Wyandots.  A dual purpose breed it lays brown eggs and has a yellow skinned carcass.  They are popular as show birds and was originally known as the American  Sebright.   They are great for backyard flocks as they are easy birds to keep.   They are large birds, usually five to eight pounds or more.  Deep well rounded breasts, a wide back, clean un feathered legs, and a broad skull with a rose comb.  Skin and legs are yellow, red ear lobes, face, and wattles. 

They will lay around 180 to 200 eggs per year and are an excellent carcass bird.  The hens will get broody and are good mothers.  Their soft feathers make the a cold tolerant bird and a good free range bird.   Coloration ranges from white, gold laced, and silver laced but there are black, buff, and Columbian colored birds.

 

 

Plymouth Rock

Posted on by Cindy Johnson

Plymouth Rock

 

The Plymouth Rock breed is of American descent, first seen in Massachusetts in the 1800’s.  For much of the early 19th century is was a very popular dual purpose breed due to a good carcass and brown eggs.  It handles cold well and is not a flighty or nervous bird.  The bird is partly responsible for modern commercial broilers as it was used to breed some of the varieties.  They are good mothers, lay around 160 to 180 eggs per year, and live fairly long lives.  Some varieties are better at laying eggs than meat, have along broad back with deep full breasts, yellow skin and legs.. 

Their faces are red with red ear lobes, yellow beak, and a single comb.   Fairly soft feathered so they are good in cold weather and they will become broody if allowed to fill a nest with eggs. They are a fairly tame bird and not very aggressive.  They are barred color, white with bluish tinge, black, buff, and white.  Roosters will weight around seven to eight pounds, hens around six to seven pounds.  They make a good backyard breed due to their excellent temperament.
.

 

 

Rhode Island Red

Posted on by Cindy Johnson

An American icon in the chicken breeders world, the Rhode Island Red

Rhode Island Reds are one of the most popular and best known breeds of standard chickens because they are such a versatile breed.  Originally they were bred for laying and for meat but since the 1940’s breeders have been focusing on the egg laying traits.

 

 

 

The red and black feathers and the red comb mark the iconic symbol of American farming, the Rhode Island Red.   The breed originally came out of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the 1880’s as a productive and well tempered brown egg laying bird. 

It is considered the best layer of all of the dual purpose breeds and can lay two to three hundred eggs per year.   The bird has Malay, Shanghai, Java, and Brown Leghorn blood in it.

There are two main types, the single comb variety and the rose combed variety.

The original breeders wanted a bird that was a good layer and also make a good meat bird but since the mid 1940’s breeders have focused on egg production and the bird has become smaller, less broody, and lighter colored.  The old strains can still be found and are larger, more broody, and darker red.