Breeds

Chicken Breeds

Profiles of popular backyard breeds and true bantams. Each one covers egg color and yearly egg count, size, temperament, hardiness and whether a bantam version exists.

12 breeds

True Bantams

Small breeds with no large version.

Japanese BantamTiny true bantam with short legs and a tall tail.SebrightLaced English true bantam with a big personality.SeramaThe smallest chicken breed, bred to stand upright.SilkieFluffy, gentle and famously broody.

Large Fowl with a Bantam Version

Standard-size breeds that also come in a bantam size.

AustralorpCalm black hen and a record-setting layer.BrahmaGentle feather-footed giant that lays in winter.Buff OrpingtonGolden, gentle and cold hardy.Easter EggerFriendly mixed breed that lays blue or green eggs.Lavender OrpingtonA calm, heavy Orpington in pale slate gray that breeds true but is not an APA or ABA recognized variety.Rhode Island RedAmerica's classic, hardy brown-egg layer.SussexCalm English dual-purpose layer whose Speckled plumage gains white spots with each molt.