by Carol Dunn

Created on: February 07, 2011

Best Chicken Breeds for the Small Flock - 

Most people keep small flocks of chickens for the novelty.  Eggs are an added bonus.  The resolute will also use their flock as a source of meat.  The best breed of chicken varies by whether you are more interested in egg production or meat production.  Let’s look at the best small flock breeds for egg production first.

The most prolific egg layers are often modern hybrids, bred for egg production (size and color of eggs in parentheses).  These include Ideal 236 and California White (large white); Red Sex-link, Black Sex-link, Production Red, and Hy-Line Brown (large brown).  Traditional crosses and heritage breeds include: Minorca (large white); Australorp, Wyandotte, Delaware and New Hampshire (large brown); Orpington, Plymouth Rock  and Brahma (large light brown); Redcap and Holland (medium white); Sussex and Dominique (medium brown); Faverolle (medium light brown); White-faced Black Spanish and Lakenvelder (small white).  Some excellent egg layers can be high-strung birds that do not get along well with other breeds, for instance the Ancona and Leghorn (large white); Rhode Island Red, Production Red and Rhode Island White (large brown). 

If you are putting your chickens on free range, the most enthusiastic foragers are Hamburg, Minorca, Cubalaya, Catalana, Langshans and Redcap.  Most of these birds don’t do well penned up and are flighty by nature, making them good at avoiding predators.  Even the most adept chickens, however, are no match for some of the most capable predators – domestic and feral dogs and coyotes.  Be cautious about putting fancy breeds, like Houdan or Polish, on open range.  They are less able to distinguish danger from the sky and can fall victim to hawks.  Likewise, Bantams are not ideal varieties for open range.

The breeds that tolerate cold weather best are Buckeye, Brahma, Australorp, Cochin, Delaware, New Hampshire, Catalana, Plymouth Rock, Dominique, both Rhode Island White and Red, Java and Chantecler.  Those that tolerate hot weather best are Malay, Sumatra, Java, Cubalaya and Jungle Fowl.

For meat, several breeds grow fast and will efficiently convert feed to weight gain.  Those include Buckeye, Dorking, Rhode Island White, Orpington and Plymouth Rock.  Although the Cornish is a breed specifically developed for mass production of meat, they have health problems because of rapid weight gain, particularly with their legs and hip joints, which can be troublesome to a small flock owner.  

After surveying 1,000 small flock owners, Mother Earth News reported in its April/May 2010 issue the following breeds scored highest for the combined qualities of egg production, egg size, cold and heat tolerance, temperament, and meat production and flavor: Plymouth Rock, Orpington, New Hampshire Red, Australorp, and Rhode Island White.  From twelve years of personal experience, I would not recommend the Rhode Island White because of its aggressive nature, but would add Java, Red Sex-link, Delaware and Wyandotte as ideal breeds for the backyard flock.

See the widely used Henderson’s Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart for a comprehensive description of breeds, origins, behavior, hardiness and egg descriptions.  It has used new and old resources but is updated periodically and is quite reliable.

Learn more about this author, Carol Dunn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.