Our chicken
variety contest got me wondering — which types of chickens
are the most popular at the moment? I was going to poll our
readers, but then realized that both Mother Earth News and
Backyard Chickens Forum had done the work already. Here are
their top 10 breeds (in terms of how many people took the time to
review each one):
| Mother Earth News (This list doesn’t include hybrids.) |
Backyard Chickens Forum (This list does include hybrids.) |
|
| 1 | Rhode Island Red | Orpington |
| 2 | Orpington | Plymouth Rock |
| 3 | Wyandotte | Easter Egger |
| 4 | Plymouth Rock |
Australorp |
| 5 | Ameraucana (probably includes Easter Eggers) |
Rhode Island Red |
| 6 | Australorp | Silkie |
| 7 | Cochin | Wyandotte |
| 8 | Leghorn | Ameraucana |
| 9 | Brahma | Leghorn |
| 10 | New Hampshire | Star |
As a side note, the results were a little
different when you considered which breeds had the best reviews. Cochins
and the poorly-known Belgian d’Uccle hit the top-10
Backyard-Chickens-Forum list then, with Ameraucanas and Leghorns
dropping off.
What do these lists
mean? I guess it depends on what you think of popularity
contests. Are Rhode Island Reds and Buff Orpingtons popular
because they’re all-around good breeds for small farmers, or
because they’re well-known, and popularity begets
popularity? These lists should at least give you an idea of
where to start if you’re a newbie looking for a useful chicken
breed, but don’t be afraid to decide a breed doesn’t fit your farm
even if it’s popular!
keeps all kinds of chickens healthy with clean water.
The speckled juvenile hen in the photo for the Top 10 Chicken Breeds, what breed is that hen? I have one just like her named Betty, and could not for the life of me figure it out. Thanks!!
Kelly — That particular bird is a barred rock. However, dominiques can look quite similar.