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Chicken Breed Chart: 30 Backyard Breeds With Pictures

Thirty popular breeds with a photograph and the stats that actually matter: eggs per year, egg color, climate tolerance, temperament, and whether they're beginner-friendly. Filter by egg color to compare the breeds that lay blue, green, chocolate or cream eggs, or sort by output to find the heaviest layers. It works both ways — a breed identification chart for a bird you already keep, and a shortlist for the ones you want next.

Download the breed chart as a printable PDF — one page, all thirty breeds, from the same figures as this page.

Looking for breeds by shell color? The chicken egg color chart groups all thirty from white to dark brown, blue and green, and explains why shells differ. For the names of a chicken's parts, from comb to spur, see the chicken anatomy diagram.

Climate
Egg color
Other

Standard

Mid-sized dual-purpose breeds. The backbone of most backyard flocks.

Rhode Island Red rooster with dark mahogany plumage and black tail feathers

Rhode Island Red

Beginner
Eggs/yr
260
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

One of the most popular dual-purpose breeds in North America, prized for consistent egg laying and exceptional hardiness in cold climates. Rhode Island Reds are reliable producers and forgiving for first-time keepers.

 Barred Plymouth Rock rooster with black-and-white barred plumage

Plymouth Rock (Barred)

Beginner
Eggs/yr
220
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

An American heritage breed with the iconic black-and-white barred plumage. Calm, sociable, and a steady layer through cold winters — a backyard classic.

 Black Australorp rooster with glossy beetle-green sheen on black plumage

Australorp

Beginner
Eggs/yr
280
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
calm

Holder of the historical egg-laying record (364 eggs in 365 days). A glossy black, even-tempered, productive layer that thrives in nearly any climate.

 Light Sussex rooster with white body and black hackle and tail markings

Sussex (Light)

Beginner
Eggs/yr
240
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

An old English dual-purpose breed: white with black neck and tail markings. Curious, hardy, and a dependable layer of brown eggs even through winter.

 Silver Laced Wyandotte rooster with silvery-white plumage and black lacing

Wyandotte (Silver Laced)

Beginner
Eggs/yr
200
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
calm

Striking laced plumage and a compact, rose-combed body that handles bitter winters with ease. Calm, self-reliant, and a frequent broody — a great choice for cold-climate hatching.

 Black Copper Marans rooster with dark copper-black plumage

Marans (Black Copper)

Beginner
Eggs/yr
180
Color
dark chocolate brown
Climate
all
Temperament
calm

Famous for laying dark chocolate-brown eggs — among the darkest in the Marans family. Calm, quiet, and adaptable, with feathered shanks on most strains.

 Example Easter Egger hen with full beard and muffs — appearance varies by parentage, not a fixed breed look

Easter Egger

Beginner
Eggs/yr
240
Color
blue, green, or pink
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

Not a recognized breed but a hybrid that carries the blue-egg gene. Each hen lays a single color from her own palette of blue, green, or pinkish eggs — a backyard favorite.

 Blue Ameraucana rooster with pea comb, muffs, and beard

Ameraucana

Eggs/yr
180
Color
blue
Climate
all
Temperament
calm

A true blue-egg breed with a pea comb, muffs, and a beard. Hardy and pleasant, though true Ameraucanas are uncommon — most birds sold under the name are Easter Eggers.

 Welsummer rooster with red partridge plumage

Welsummer

Beginner
Eggs/yr
180
Color
dark brown speckled
Climate
all
Temperament
calm

Popularly linked to the Cornflakes rooster — though no breed club or extension source confirms it. Lays beautiful terracotta-brown eggs flecked with darker spots. Friendly, hardy, and a steady layer.

 Barnevelder rooster with dark mahogany plumage

Barnevelder

Beginner
Eggs/yr
180
Color
dark brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
calm

Dutch dual-purpose breed with stunning double-laced plumage. Quiet, mellow, and a winter-hardy layer of dark brown eggs.

 Two olive-green eggs either side of a brown one, showing the range an Olive Egger flock produces

Olive Egger eggs — the bird itself has no standard appearance

Olive Egger

Beginner
Eggs/yr
200
Color
olive green
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

A cross between a blue-egg breed (Ameraucana, Cream Legbar) and a dark-brown egg breed (Marans, Welsummer). The result: rich olive-green eggs that vary from hen to hen.

 Delaware hen with white plumage and black barring

Delaware

Beginner
Eggs/yr
200
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
calm

A conservation-priority American breed that briefly dominated the Delmarva Peninsula's broiler industry in the mid-20th century. Mellow temperament, fast feathering, and reliable year-round egg production.

 New Hampshire Red rooster with lighter chestnut plumage than Rhode Island Red

New Hampshire Red

Beginner
Eggs/yr
220
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
friendly

Selected from Rhode Island Red stock for faster maturity and broiler quality. Friendly, fast-growing, and a dependable cold-weather layer.

 Speckled Sussex rooster with mahogany plumage and white feather tips

Speckled Sussex

Beginner
Eggs/yr
240
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

A mahogany-feathered Sussex variety with white tipping that grows more pronounced each molt. Curious, sociable, and a winter-laying favorite.

 Salmon Faverolles rooster with beard, muffs, and salmon-colored plumage

Salmon Faverolles

Beginner
Eggs/yr
180
Color
tinted cream
Climate
cold
Temperament
gentle

Beard, muffs, feathered legs, and five toes — and a personality so gentle they're often bullied by more assertive breeds. Best kept with other docile birds.

 ISA Brown hen with chestnut-brown plumage

ISA Brown

Beginner
Eggs/yr
300
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

A modern hybrid layer (Institut de Selection Animale) capable of 300+ eggs per year. Friendly, calm, and easy to handle — but like most hybrid layers, expect production to decline within a few years, well short of a heritage breed's lifespan.

 Black Star hen (labelled 'Black Sex Link' on Wikimedia Commons — the same hybrid class under a different common name)

Black Star

Beginner
Eggs/yr
280
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

A black sex-link cross (RIR rooster x Barred Rock hen): pullets are black, cockerels have a white head spot. Hardy, friendly, and an excellent first-flock choice.

 Red sex-link pullet with chestnut and white plumage, single comb and yellow legs — Golden Comet is a trade name for this hybrid class rather than a single pedigree

Golden Comet

Beginner
Eggs/yr
280
Color
brown
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

A red sex-link hybrid prized by small-flock keepers for early laying (around 16 weeks) and consistent production. Mellow, social, and well-suited to mixed flocks.

Heavy breeds

Big-bodied birds for cold climates and quiet personalities.

Buff Orpington rooster with golden-buff plumage

Buff Orpington

Beginner
Eggs/yr
220
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
gentle

Big, fluffy, and famously docile — calm, friendly, and great with children. Tolerates handling well and goes broody often, which makes it a popular choice for keepers who want chicks.

 Light Brahma hen with white body plumage and black-laced neck hackle

Brahma (Light)

Beginner
Eggs/yr
180
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
docile

A gentle giant with feathered legs and a pea comb that resists frostbite. Slow-growing but exceptionally hardy in cold weather, with a famously easy-going personality.

 Partridge Cochin cockerel with single comb, cushioned body, and heavily feathered shanks and feet

Cochin

Beginner
Eggs/yr
160
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
docile

Round, heavily-feathered, and unmistakable. Cochins are calm to a fault and reliable broodies — many keepers use them to hatch eggs from other breeds.

 Black Jersey Giant cockerel with single comb and beetle-green sheen on black plumage, shown at a county fair

Jersey Giant

Beginner
Eggs/yr
180
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
docile

The largest breed in the American Class. Docile, slow-growing, and surprisingly steady layers of large brown eggs — even through cold winters.

 Lavender Orpington rooster showing the even, unlaced self-blue plumage that distinguishes lavender from Blue

Lavender Orpington

Beginner
Eggs/yr
220
Color
brown
Climate
cold
Temperament
gentle

All the Orpington personality with a soft self-blue (lavender) color. Note: lavender is a recessive trait, so hatching from a single-color flock yields all lavender chicks.

Light breeds

Smaller, more active breeds with high egg production and heat tolerance.

White Leghorn rooster with single comb and white plumage

Leghorn (White)

Eggs/yr
290
Color
white
Climate
hot
Temperament
flighty

The world's most prolific white-egg layer and the foundation of most commercial laying flocks. Active, alert, and heat-tolerant — but flighty and not fond of being held.

 Cream Legbar rooster with crested head and cream barred plumage (Commons file titled 'German Leghorn Cream Legbar' — a European poultry-classification naming convention grouping this Leghorn-derived autosexing breed with the Leghorn family)

Cream Legbar

Eggs/yr
200
Color
blue
Climate
all
Temperament
friendly

An auto-sexing breed (chick down color reveals gender at hatch) that lays attractive blue eggs. Active foragers; need space to roam.

 A pair of White Crested Black Polish chickens at a poultry show, showing the breed's solid black body and full white crest

Polish (White Crested)

Eggs/yr
150
Color
white
Climate
temperate
Temperament
flighty

Distinguished by an extravagant feathered crest that often covers the eyes. More of a show breed than a production layer; the crest needs protection from wet, cold weather.

 Silver Spangled Hamburg rooster with rose comb and black-spangled plumage

Hamburg

Eggs/yr
200
Color
white
Climate
all
Temperament
flighty

A small, alert, beautifully spangled or penciled breed. Excellent foragers with a long laying lifespan, but flighty and not fond of confinement.

 Blue Andalusian rooster with slate-blue lacing and a single comb

Andalusian (Blue)

Eggs/yr
165
Color
white
Climate
hot
Temperament
active

A Mediterranean breed in elegant slate blue. Heat-tolerant and a fine layer, though only about half the chicks from blue-on-blue breedings will be blue.

Bantams

Miniature breeds — lower production, smaller footprint, big personalities.

White Silkie rooster with fur-like feathers, walnut comb, and turquoise wattle patch

Silkie

Beginner
Eggs/yr
100
Color
cream
Climate
all
Temperament
gentle

Fluffy, fur-like feathers, black skin, and five toes per foot. Famously gentle and persistent broody — many keepers raise Silkies specifically to hatch and raise other breeds' eggs.

 Golden Laced Sebright cockerel showing hen-feathering — rounded tail feathers instead of pointed sickles

Sebright

Eggs/yr
80
Color
cream
Climate
temperate
Temperament
active

A true bantam (no large counterpart) with elegant laced plumage. Mostly an ornamental breed; sparse layers but striking show birds.

Photo credits