{"id":56973,"date":"2024-09-26T03:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T07:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=56973"},"modified":"2024-09-26T16:25:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T20:25:28","slug":"heritage-breed-chickens-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/heritage-breed-chickens-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage Breed Chickens: How to Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Heritage breed chickens are traditional breeds developed through many years of selection and passed down through generations. The exact definition varies with who\u2019s talking. The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities defines a heritage breed as being old and rare and defines \u201cold\u201d as existing before 1940.<\/p>\n<p>A more specific definition for heritage breed chickens comes from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livestockconservancy.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Livestock Conservancy<\/a>, which offers and suggests that such terms as heirloom, antique, old-fashioned and old-timey should be considered synonymous with heritage.<\/p>\n<p>According to this definition, heritage breed chickens must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>have been recognized by the American Poultry Association before 1950;<\/li>\n<li>reproduce through natural mating;<\/li>\n<li>have the genetic ability to live a long and vigorous life;<\/li>\n<li>thrive outdoors under pasture-based management;<\/li>\n<li>and have a moderate to slow growth rate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Compared to chickens developed for industrial purposes, heritage breed chickens generally have calmer dispositions, are more disease-resistant, are better able to adapt to variable climates and environments, and are more likely to brood (hatch their own eggs). The trade-off is that the heritage laying breeds don\u2019t lay quite as well, and the meat breeds don\u2019t grow as fast, as industrial-strength chickens.<\/p>\n<p>In selecting heritage breed chickens for your own flock, consider first your purpose in keeping chickens. If your goal is to harvest lots of eggs, choose a breed known to lay well. If your goal is to produce healthful meat, select a heavy breed. For the best of both, choose a dual-purpose breed. If your desire is to have pretty chickens gracing your yard, take a look at some of the ornamental or exhibition breeds. Here are just a few of the many possibilities.<\/p>\n<h2>Great Egg Layers<\/h2>\n<p>The top layer by far is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/leghorn-chicken-breed-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leghorn<\/a>, the breed selected by the egg industry to develop into laying machines. Production White Leghorn hens lay more than 25 dozen medium to large white-shell eggs per year. Heritage Leghorns, on the other hand, average just 20 dozen eggs per year, but the hens come in several plumage colors that are less conspicuous to predators than pure white. This small-bodied breed has a reputation for being noisy and nervous, but is also early maturing, hardy and heat-tolerant.<\/p>\n<p>The most popular brown-egg heritage breed is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/rhode-island-red-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rhode Island Red<\/a> (pictured below), averaging about 16 dozen large eggs per year. As with Leghorns, some strains of Rhode Island Red have been developed purely for production purposes. This breed comes in one color pattern\u2014dark red with a black tail. Rhode Island Reds, like layer breeds in general, tend to be lightweight and rangy, and therefore less suitable than heavier breeds to raise for meat.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_56976\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56976\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56976\" src=\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133.jpg\" alt=\"rhode island red heritage breed chickens breeds\" width=\"800\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133-533x360.jpg 533w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133-593x400.jpg 593w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133-370x250.jpg 370w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133-296x200.jpg 296w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170937\/heritage-breed-chickens-01-RI-Red-1019691133.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Best for Meat<\/h2>\n<p>The large breasted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/cornish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cornish<\/a> chicken, with its compact body, is an ideal meat bird. The white Cornish is in fact, one of the breeds selected by industry to hybridize for efficient meat production. Heritage Cornish don\u2019t grow as fast as industrial strains\u2014taking 16 to 20 weeks to reach market weight, compared to 6 to 8 weeks for industrial Cornish hybrids\u2014but they don\u2019t develop the same bone ailments and heart failure resulting from excessively rapid growth. Additionally, heritage strains come in plumage colors other than white.<\/p>\n<p>Cornish chickens are unusual in that hens are identical in conformation to males, although somewhat smaller; market weights for heritage hens are 61\u20442 pounds compared to 81\u20442 for roosters. Cornish hens average only about six dozen eggs a year, making them uneconomical as layers. Other large heritage breeds suitable for meat production, that lay somewhat better than Cor&#8211;nish, include Cochins and Jersey Giants.<\/p>\n<h2>Dual-Purpose Breeds<\/h2>\n<p>Dual-purpose breeds appeal to people interested in sustainability\u2014keeping hens for eggs and roosters for fertility, hatching future replacement hens, and butchering young surplus roosters for meat. Dual-purpose breeds lack the blocky body of meat breeds, and they don\u2019t lay quite as well as the layer breeds. Expect only about 15 dozen eggs per year from a dual-purpose hen.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/poultry-profile-get-to-know-the-new-hampshire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Hampshire<\/a> is a dual-purpose breed created through selective breeding of Rhode Island Reds to improve growth rate and meatiness. Like Rhode Island Reds, New Hamps come in a single color\u2014a light reddish bay, more golden than the Rhode Island\u2019s rich mahogany. The hens lay large eggs with brown shells.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/plymouth-rock-chicken-breed-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Plymouth Rock<\/a>\u00a0(pictured below) is another large, meaty dual-purpose breed. It comes in a few color varieties, the original and still most popular of which is black and white barred. The hens lay large brown-shell eggs. Other dual-purpose breeds to consider include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/orpington-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Orpington<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/sussex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sussex<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_56975\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56975\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56975\" src=\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170851\/heritage-breed-chickens-03-barred-plymouth-rock-GD.jpg\" alt=\"barred plymouth rock heritage breed chickens breeds\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170851\/heritage-breed-chickens-03-barred-plymouth-rock-GD-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170851\/heritage-breed-chickens-03-barred-plymouth-rock-GD-542x360.jpg 542w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170851\/heritage-breed-chickens-03-barred-plymouth-rock-GD-600x250.jpg 600w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170851\/heritage-breed-chickens-03-barred-plymouth-rock-GD-377x250.jpg 377w, https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/04170851\/heritage-breed-chickens-03-barred-plymouth-rock-GD.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56975\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gail Damerow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Awesome Ornamentals<\/h2>\n<p>Not all heritage breeds are ideal for egg or meat production. Some are bantams, or scaled-down chickens, that make a good choice for people with limited chicken-keeping space. Bantams lay eggs, just like the bigger chickens, and although the eggs are small they may be used for all the same purposes. Raising bantams (other than bantam Cornish) for meat would be akin to raising pigeons\u2014small, but tasty.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/silkie-chickens-silkies-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Silkies<\/a>, with their furlike feathers, are by far the most popular heritage bantam breed. They come in a several color varieties, most commonly black or white. They are friendly, docile chickens that don\u2019t fly well. (Some won\u2019t even perch.) The hens are decent layers of ivory-colored eggs and are such excellent setters they are often kept solely for incubating the eggs of other poultry.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most important reasons to keep a heritage breed is to help preserve genetic diversity. The Livestock Conservancy lists heritage breeds according to conservation priorities. Review the many options and select one that most appeals to you. When it comes to heritage chickens, you can\u2019t go far wrong.<\/p>\n<p>This story about heritage breed chickens originally appeared in Hobby Farms magazine. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/subscribe-new\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here to subscribe.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Help Preserve Genetic Diversity While Also Getting Great Layers, Meat Birds or Ornamentals <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":56974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10456],"tags":[12050,3957],"class_list":["post-56973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poultry","tag-heritage-breed-chickens","tag-heritage-breeds"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Heritage Breed Chickens: How to Choose - Hobby Farms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heritage breed chickens are traditional breeds developed through years of selection. 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