A Family Guide To Keeping Chickens by Anne Perdeaux Read Free Book Online Page A

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CHAPTER FOUR
Birds of a Feather

Choosing the Right Chickens for the Job
    How you keep your chickens and which chickens you choose to keep is something of a chicken-and-egg situation. While you may need to modify your plans to accommodate a particular breed, some situations will dictate the breed of chickens that can be kept. This chapter considers some of the more popular types of chicken, and their different characteristics. The enormous variety will surprise anyone who thinks that chickens are either brown or white. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Deciding Between Pure-Breeds and Hybrids
    There are over a hundred varieties of pure-breed chickens in Britain – some of them have been around for centuries. Pure-breeds have defined standards of colour, shape and character, with the ability to reproduce offspring that closely resemble the parents.
    There are also several varieties of hybrid. The original hybrid layers were developed for the battery systems and selective cross-breeding created the ‘super hen’, designed to produce numerous eggs in return for the least amount of food. Different types of hybrid have since been created to suit domestic environments and small-scale enterprises. The chickens we buy for the Sunday roast are also hybrids – bred to grow much faster and fatter than their forebears.
    Your initial decision will probably be whether to keep pure-breed or hybrid hens. Pure-breeds offer the most variety and are often very beautiful, but hybrids are usually more productive.
    What Do You Want from Your Chickens?
    When choosing a breed, consider your prime reason for keeping chickens.
    Eggs
    All chickens lay eggs but there is wide variation in productivity. Hybrids are the champions, although there are also good layers amongst the pure-breeds.
    Examples of hybrid layers: Warren, Black Rock, Amber Star.
    Examples of pure-breed layers: Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Sussex.
    Pets
    If you are more interested in having some pets, look for a friendly breed that is easy to tame. Many of the hybrids make productive pets, while small chickens (bantams) are popular with children.
    Examples of pet chickens: Warren, Orpington, Silkie, Pekin Bantam.
    Ornamental Birds
    Look amongst the pure-breeds for colour and unusual features.
    Examples of ornamental chickens: Silkie, Brahma, Cochin, Belgian Bantams, Sebright.
    Eggs and Meat
    Choose a dual-purpose breed for laying abilities and the requisite plump shape to provide a good meaty carcass.
    Examples of dual-purpose breeds: Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Plymouth Rock.
    All-purpose
    What about a chicken to meet all requirements: eggs, calm disposition, attractive to look at and capable of hatching chicks that will grow into good-sized table birds?
    Examples of all-purpose breeds: Wyandotte, Sussex, Faverolles.
    Free-Range
    Some chickens are suited to free-ranging and will find much of their own food.
    Examples of free-range breeds: Appenzeller Spitzhauben, Dorking, Welsummer.
    Confined to a Run
    There are chickens that will adapt to living in a run, while feather-footed chickens are best kept in clean and dry conditions.
    Examples of chickens for a run: Warren, Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Silkie, Cochin, Booted Bantam, Pekin Bantam – or if space is really tight consider the Serama, the smallest chicken in the world!
Hybrid Laying Hens
    The hybrid has several advantages over the traditional pure-breed and is often a good choice for beginners.
    As well as being productive, hybrid hens are bred to be docile and are usually friendly birds, easy to tame. Unlike many pure-breeds they should keep laying over the winter and rarely go broody.
    Usually cheaper than pure-breeds, hybrids are available throughout the year and will have been vaccinated against several diseases.
    Hybrids are available in a selection of colours and there are varieties that lay brown, speckled or even