A Family Guide To Keeping Chickens (17 page)

Oxford Old English Game

The Asil is an Asian game breed

Light breeds are layers rather than table birds. Many light breeds, especially those of Mediterranean origin, can be flighty. They may be more difficult to tame and can also be adept fliers, although they are less likely to go broody.

This doesn’t apply to all light breeds – the Silkie, for example, is a docile non-flyer and a committed broody.

Popular light breeds include:

This breed with its bushy facial feathering is a good layer of blue eggs. Sometimes called the ‘Easter Egg Chicken’, the colour of the eggs often varies from green to khaki or pink (although variations indicate the breed strain isn’t pure). Araucanas are hardy and fairly placid – they can free-range or live in a run. The most popular colour is lavender (pale grey).

This is another layer of blue eggs, thanks to some Araucana blood in its makeup. The Cream Legbar is an auto-sexing breed – male and female chicks are different colours when hatched. The colour is mainly cream and grey, and the bird has a small crest. They are active birds that may require some extra effort to tame.

Araucana

Cream Legbar Pullet

Mottled Leghorn

Lavender Leghorn

This is one of the prime layers and has been used in creating many hybrid varieties. A slim bird, it lays large white eggs and comes in a wide variety of colours. Although it can be kept free-range or in a run this breed is often flighty, and while it can be tamed the Leghorn doesn’t usually appreciate being handled.

After his Asian travels in the thirteenth century, Marco Polo wrote about chickens ‘which have hair like a cat, are black, and lay the best of eggs’. Silkies now come in several colours, and are popular as pets due to their friendly nature and feathers that resemble fur. These strange feathers aren’t very efficient at protecting them from cold and wet, so they would be a good choice for a covered run. Their furry topknots can also harbour mites. Silkies aren’t particularly good layers, but are enthusiastic broodies. They are susceptible to Marek’s disease – check that birds have been vaccinated before buying.

White Silkie

This breed is known for its large, dark-brown (often speckled) eggs. One of the larger light breeds, the Welsummer is an attractive, traditional-looking chicken. They are hardy birds, capable of supplementing their diet by foraging if free-range, but they can also be kept in a run. This is one of the calmer light breeds, although some strains are livelier than others.

Welsummer

You might also consider the Appenzeller Spitzhauben. This old Swiss breed can be skittish, so perhaps it is not entirely suitable for the beginner, but if allowed to free-range, will happily find much of its own food. It will take patience to tame this chicken but it is particularly pretty with its forward pointing crest of feathers –
spitzhauben
means ‘pointed bonnet’ in German. The most popular colour is ‘silver spangled’ (black spots on a white background). Small and sprightly, the Appenzeller produces a medium-sized white egg.

There are many other light breeds – some of them very flighty. Although I find their independent natures rather attractive, these light-weight chickens don’t appeal to everybody. If you want a cuddly companion or prefer a more matronly type, then consider a heavy breed.

Silver Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben

Generally more placid than the light breeds, these hens are also more likely to go broody. Several of the heavy breeds are prolific layers, and were traditionally kept for both eggs and meat.

Popular heavy breeds include:

The Brahma is a really heavy – and large – breed. These chickens will require extra space in the house, on the perches and through the pop-holes. They are stately, docile birds, easy to tame and well-suited to be garden pets, although their size can make them difficult for children to manage. Brahmas have feathered legs and feet, and shouldn’t be kept in wet conditions. They don’t fly and usually get on well with other breeds, although they can sometimes be bullied. This breed matures slowly, so you may have to wait a while for their first eggs, which are not very large considering the size of the hens. They aren’t particularly prolific layers and the hens are likely to go broody.

The Brahma