Henderson's Chicken Chart

LaurieLovesLearning
LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
edited November 2020 in Birds (Land Fowl & Waterfowl)

This is a small taste of the chicken breeds currently available and is a great place to start if you aren't sure what you might want. It compares a lot of important traits.

Comments

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Even though I may never have chickens, I love this kind of thing! So interesting to see the different breeds.

  • Alison
    Alison Posts: 179 ✭✭✭

    I first got chickens 20 years ago. Then my only consideration was getting eggs.

    I didn't consider the type of food I was giving them..the cheaper the better! I didn't consider minerals or their need to scratch in the dirt; though they could.

    No one encouraged me to look at different breeds, their different characteristics, and I never considered that you could get a chicken that laid an egg other than white or brown.

    It's been a delight to be able to provide my chooks with organic feed, minerals, provide them with natural options to keep parasites away, and to then get breeds that provide the most amazing coloured eggs.

    Chooks have been one of the best investments I've had on my small permaculture property and if you have a little bit of time and space I'd certainly recommend it.

    Thanks for posting the link. What a GREAT way to provide everyone with options and information on these great animals! 🐥

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Mary Linda Bittle I second your opinion, but then I like almost all living things in their variety.

  • chimboodle04
    chimboodle04 Posts: 286 ✭✭✭

    Getting long awaited chickens on our property in just a few weeks :) The farmer who we buy pasture raised meat and eggs from has raised some Rhode Island reds to pullets and is selling them on as layers. Can't wait to add these to our small homestead!!!

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    Yes, it can be a gateway into an addiction. Haha! I have a few breeds & a wish list much longer!

    I would encourage questions & new threads started about certain breeds, feed, natural helps, bedding, coops, etc. I do realize that there are dedicated sites to chickens & farm birds in general, but I think we could add a lot to our community here. It is about growing our own food, much loved pets, and helpers on our homesteads.

    I love to share what I know and keep on learning from others. It is a passion of mine. I especially adore and support the heritage breeds of chickens and any other livestock. 😍

    Maybe my name on here should be crazychickenlady. Haha

  • Thank you for this chart. I have a flock of easter eggers, white leghorn and a few cuckoo marans. This spring I have some lavender orpington, Olive egger coming and in August an order of Black copper marans is supposed to be coming. I can't wait until I have eggs from them but I don't want to rush time either.

  • maimover
    maimover Posts: 359 ✭✭✭

    Thank you for sharing; great link

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning WOW! You get a big fat AAA PLUS for this one. Amazing amount of info and exactly what I have needed/wanted for a long time. Thank you Laurie for posting this!!!

    🦋 🦋 🦋

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @silvertipgrizz & all, you're welcome. As I said, it is only a small taste of breeds.

    If you want true to breed, you are best off going to a breeder. Hatcheries kick out numbers, and don't select for a whole lot. Often, these birds lack very important traits. If you go to a breeder, expect to pay more too, as they usually put in extra effort to make sure that their birds are much better quality.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    LaurieLovesLearning Thank you for sharing this. I have used their chart for many years. I used it to introduce my husband to heritage breeds. WE have a lot of them now. LOL

    chimboodle04 Be forewarned! Chickens are addictive! If you have not heard of it yet, be prepared for chicken math. You go to the feed store and they have baby chicks....you figure you might add a couple new babies to your homestead. You plan to pick up 3-4 but you go home with a dozen or 2. LOL

    Once you know what breeds you really want, you should go with breeders as Laurie suggested

    maimover I have had hens that laid several different colors of eggs, but the one I have never had and always wanted was the black copper marans. Would love to add the dark chocolate eggs to our color palette.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This seemed appropriate to add this to a chicken focused thread. I just saw an ad for a local farm supplies store. They had little flowered dresses for chickens that supposedly protected their backs from pecking and confused predatory birds. I don't know the value of the dresses but the chickens would be cute all dressed in their own patterns.

  • Melinda
    Melinda Posts: 123 ✭✭✭

    Thank you.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited April 2020

    @shllnzl I am not sure of the style you saw, but these are normally referred to as chicken aprons or saddles. They do a great job of protecting hens when they are mounted by the rooster or if others are packing feathers in the general back area. You don't use red, because this leads to pecking (red means blood=protien.)

    It is fun to watch a hen when you put one on her. Ours usually backs up in a crazy way trying to get it off. It is comical. This reaction only lasts a few minutes.

    Just FYI, there are chicken diapers too for those who want a chicken in the house.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning I took a brief moment to contemplate putting diapers on my parrot. I don't have any fingers to spare, so I think I'll stick to newspaper and paper towels for clean-up.

  • Obiora E
    Obiora E Posts: 517 ✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning Thank you for sharing. My brother and I are looking into purchasing chickens and this chart will come in handy as we compare the chicken breeds that we are thinking about purchasing.