Chickens have the unique ability to adapt to a wide range of conditions, more than most species of livestock. Even with their adaptability, each breed is best suited for one type of environment more than another. But with so many breeds, how do you choose? I start with a systematic approach to find the best birds for my backyard based on: egg color and laying ability, size, disposition, heat and cold tolerance, feather color, and carcass quality and other uses.

Egg Color and Laying Ability

First I decide what egg color I want. If I'm selling roadside stand eggs, I prefer brown eggs. At least in my area, there is a misconception that brown eggs are farm eggs and taste better than white-shelled eggs. Truth be told they taste the same (if raised the same), but who am I to argue? Another misconception is that blue eggs are cholesterol-free. They actually have cholesterol levels similar to white and brown eggs (and they taste the same too). There is some novelty interest in them, but some people are just plain weirded out by them and even prefer white eggs over their blue-shelled counterparts. If my main concern is home use, I like variety.

Whatever egg color you choose, some breeds lay those eggs better than others. Most white-egg layers lay the most eggs, although Rhode Island Reds (brown shell), Black Australorps (brown shell), and Ameraucanas (blue/green shell) are excellent layers as well. Usually breeds that don't lay as many eggs do have some unique reasons to keep them. Many are heavy bodied, which means they are good winter layers (many small-bodied birds cease egg production in the cold months), and they have a good meaty carcass when their laying days are over. Others are old-style farm birds that are disease hardy, and are designed to lay a good number of eggs on little more than rocks and dirt.

Brandon suggests a variety of breeds add versatility and egg color options to your flock. Additionally, he enjoys the many feather colors.

Size Matters

Size is another factor, and probably the most important one to consider if your birds will be confined to a small area. Chickens range from the tiny 20 ounce Dutch bantam to the monstrous 13 pound Black Jersey Giant and everywhere in between. (Both the Dutch bantam and the Jersey Giant breeds were featured in the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Backyard Poultry. — Ed.)

Most catalogs break down chicken breeds into bantams and standard chickens, but you should consider their individual breed weight when filling a coop. The Dutch, Sebright, and Old English Game bantams are the smallest at 18 - 24 ounces. Bantam Ameraucanas, Wyandottes, Cochins, and Polish are a little larger (26 - 32 ounces), and Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds are the largest ranging from 34 - 40 ounces. That's a big size difference when you consider a Dutch bantam chick is only about half the size of a bantam Barred Rock chick.

The smallest standard chickens (at about four or five pounds) are the Leghorns, Hamburgs, Ameraucanas, Polish, and Anconas. Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, Black Australorps, Wyandottes, Naked Necks, Delawares, Sex-Links, and Andalusians range from 5.5 - 6.5 pounds. The Plymouth Rocks, Orpingtons, Sussex, Cochins, and Minorcas range from 7 - 9 pounds, and Brahmas and Giants are jumbos, tipping the scales at more than nine pounds for hens. One Brahma weighs about as much as six Sebrights, four bantam Wyandottes, or two Hamburgs. In a limited space, smaller is better, but on the open range, larger chickens are somewhat less susceptible to predation, although you'll still lose some.

Disposition

Considering the space you may have your birds in, disposition is key to keeping birds healthy. Birds that are loose, flighty or even aggressive survive longer than more docile chickens like Buff Orpingtons. But trying to catch Orpingtons is a much easier task than Brown Leghorns.

When you crowd birds, like is the case in a small coop or moveable pen, aggressive tendencies result in more injuries, infections, broken eggs, and even dead chickens, so consider this before you put aggressive breeds in with overly docile ones. If you particularly like your docile chickens, it may be best to keep them separated. At the very least, leave out all but one rooster to eliminate fighting.

Raising Ameraucanas, which lay blue eggs, lets you offer the multi-colored eggs so often desired by purchasers of your farm eggs.

Temperature Tolerance

Unless you're in the far north or south, you probably don't think about heat or cold tolerance when picking chicken breeds. I rarely do, but you should consider a few things. Black feathered chickens get hotter than light red, yellow, and especially white. Birds with single combs and light feather colors do better in hotter climates, but single-combed birds often suffer frostbite. Pea and rose combs are better choices for those cold nights. Feathers around feet can keep a dry chicken warmer at night, but if those feathers get wet, which is often the case in winter, it can lead to more problems than hens without feathers on their feet. Crested chickens have many of the same advantages and disadvantages as feather-footed breeds, although a crest is only a problem with rain, whereas a muddy pen affects feather-footed chickens whether rain caused the mud or not.

Feather Color

Aside from its ability to reflect or absorb heat, feather color is not very important, so why is it part of my criteria? Partly because there are so many chickens, it helps to break down the breeds even more, and partly just because I like some colors more than others. Some producers even like to color coordinate with their other livestock breeds, black hogs, black cows, black chickens and so forth.

There is one other practical reason to be concerned about feather color. If you tie lures for fishing, or can sell to someone who does, feather color is very important. Fly tying is all about matching the hatch (insect hatch, that is), so flies are tied to match the color of the insect as best as possible.

A New Hampshire cross rooster adds size to Brandon's flock.

Carcass Quality and Other Uses

Lastly are carcass quality and other uses. Fly tying, mentioned above, is one of these other uses, and you'll get the most feathers when "the hens stop laying and thy fryer starts frying." Cornish-Rock crosses grow the fastest and have the most meat, but they lay very few eggs if allowed to reach that age (most aren't). Spent hens are best slow cooked, and breeds like Delaware, New Hampshire Reds, Orpingtons, and all Wyandottes and Rocks produce good carcasses and lots of eggs before they're through. If you don't feel like butchering hens, you can sell them and excess roosters for ornamental purposes, meat, or bug control. You can also sell them earlier (when they're still laying) as discounted egg-layers.

With all this criteria, there are still plenty of choices out there. Start out with a few breeds. Keep the ones you like. Sell or eat the ones you don't, and each year try a new breed on for size. As they say, so many chickens, so little time.