CHICKEN BREEDS 101!
SOME NOTABLE BREEDS + WHICH CHICKEN IS BEST FOR YOU?
The Cream Legbar is active, reasonably easily tamed and befriended - we also have it on-site, as one of our two chicken breeds. These chickens were originally bred to enable gender identification at birth due to the well-defined pale head spot on the females. This breed was established in Britain. Some notable features include a comb of feathers over the top of the head and a lightly speckled body - they produce blue, green or olive eggs.
The Marans is a rather active bird, being far less friendly than the Legbar - beware of issues in the attitude department! They were originally bred in France and named after the town of Maran these birds were the original speckled hen they are famous for their glossy brown eggs. They react well to gentle handling but will never fully be hand trained. They have a distinctive speckled appearance with red crest and golden brown neck. This is our other on-site breed.
The Bantam is a collective term given to a variety of small Asiatic birds most popular for western
sailors stocking up on live fowl. Now used more as a classification term all varieties are small in stature and hardy in nature. They generally have a small size and overall good temperament, but again please note this varies based on their specific breed.
The White Rock is active - good with both people and household pets. A Sometimes flighty bird, the White rock lays around 300 to 320 eggs per year. However due in part to this it is not a very long lived breed as almost all of its energy goes into laying.
The Marsh Daisy has a similar temperament to the Marans, being more independent of humans and harder to train. This is an old English breed that has recently been classed as "rare" but however has recently seen a resurgence due to breeders wanting to preserve “at risk” breeds. It was originally bred in Southport during the 1880s.
The Sultan is perhaps the most placid bird on this list - very easily tamed and befriended. These extraordinary looking birds are mostly of ornamental value due mostly to their appearance and calm nature. They were first bred in Turkey and now are descended from a group imported in 1854. It has an all white plumage with a beard and leg feathers which in other birds might be considered faults!