What breed of chicken is best for the backyard chicken coop?

If you're contemplating getting chickens for your backyard, you're probably wondering which breed is best for your backyard. As there are hundreds of breeds of chickens to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming when deciding on a particular breed.

Chickens vary in many different ways including bodily size, feather colour, the extent of their feathers, comb type and egg colour. Breeds of chicken also vary in terms of their main use. Some are best known for eggs, others for their meat, some are more for 'decorative' purposes, and some are considered 'dual-purpose'.

To help you decide which breed is best for your backyard, this article addresses some of the most common qualities that owners look for in their new backyard pets.

1. Egg size - do you want larger sized eggs for cooking or are you happy with a smaller sized egg?
2. Quantity of eggs - if you want many eggs, certain breeds are better than others.
3. Mother hens - certain breeds are more likely to go broody and sit on eggs.
4. Family friendly, docile chickens - do you have young children who will want to handle the chickens??
5. Standard breeds versus unusual/ decorative chickens.

How Large an Egg

One obvious difference between standard and miniature (or bantam) chickens is the size of the egg they produce. An egg laid by a bantam chicken is around a half to a third the size of an average egg from a standard chicken. Not only are bantam eggs smaller but these chickens also produce fewer of these smaller eggs per year. For example, the Isa Brown breed of chicken will produce around 260 eggs per year, compared with only 150 small eggs from various breeds of bantam chickens. So if eggs are important to you, it's wise to go for a full standard sized hen.

Quantity of Eggs

There are certain breeds of chicken that are able to lay more eggs per year, compared with other breeds. As mentioned, the commercial hybrid 'Isa Brown' tends to lay more eggs per year compared with other chickens. Isa Browns will produce around 260 eggs throughout the year, compared with 250 eggs from the Black Australorp and around 200 from the Rhode Island Red. White leghorns are also a higher volume layer laying around 195 eggs per year.

Broody Mother Hens

From time to time chickens go broody or 'clucky' meaning that they tend to sit on their eggs in the hope that they'll be able to hatch some chickens. Of course some poor chickens still do this even though there's no rooster in this pen to make this possible. When the chickens go broody they will temporarily stop laying new eggs and sit on their eggs, or whatever eggs they can find, for up to a month. If a chicken actually sits on fertilized eggs, in 21 days they will hopefully hatch into chicks.

Often bantam breeds such as 'Silkies' regularly go broody, so these are a good choice if you have a rooster want some hens to do the sitting. Other breeds such as Rhode Island Reds or Australorps have had their broody instincts bred out of them, so you have a chicken focused on laying eggs rather than sitting on them. If you decide later on that you'd like to hatch some chicks, purchasing some fertilized eggs and hiring an incubator may be the way to go, because it is unlikely these 'unbroody' breeds will get all motherly just when you need them to sit on some eggs.

Easy to Tame Chickens

If you've got children, you might like to choose a breed of chicken that does not mind being handled. If eggs are not your major concern and want the chickens more as pets, then choosing one of the bantam breeds might be the way to go.

'Frizzles' are strange but attractive looking bantams that have curly feathers that point upwards instead of sitting flat against the body. 'Pekin' is another popular breed of bantam that simply looks like a ball of feathers. Pekins even have feathers on their legs and feet. Both Silkies and Pekins are very placid creatures and are excellent pets for children. Like many bantam breeds, Silkies are great broody hens.

If you want a breed of chicken that is a great layer and also good with children, Australorps are a good choice. These are black in colour with a green colouring to their feathers. They are great with children and other pets and lay really well.

Should I get standard or bantam chickens?

The issue of egg quantity seems to be the major factor when choosing between a standard breed of chicken (such as an Australorp or Isa Brown) compared with a more unusual breed. If you primarily want a chicken that can produce a reasonable sized egg with a good number of eggs per year, it's best to stick with the most common standard-sized breeds. If not, then there are many beautiful breeds to choose from! For something different there are even breeds such as the Araucana that lay pretty blue/ green eggs! You could even get a mix of different standard breeds: some orange, some black and some white just to make your backyard chicken coop look that bit more interesting!

If you're after a chicken coop that is durable, pleasing to the eye and is value for money, have a look at Royal Rooster's Australian-made quality chicken coops.