Choosing chickens by what you actually want
Nobody picks “a chicken.” You pick blue eggs, or a hen quiet enough for a suburb, or a bird that shrugs off a Missouri winter. Each guide answers one of those from our breed database — and leads with the breeds a hatchery will actually sell you, not the landraces.
The Best Chickens for a Food Forest
Cold-hardy foragers that earn their keep ranging under fruit trees.
18 common breeds
Chickens That Lay Blue Eggs
The true blue-egg breeds, and how they differ from the green-egg crosses.
5 common breeds
Chickens That Lay Dark Brown Eggs
The chocolate-egg breeds — Marans, Welsummer, Barnevelder, Penedesenca.
7 common breeds
Chickens That Lay Green and Olive Eggs
Olive Egger, Whiting True Green and the crosses that fill the green basket.
3 common breeds
The Quietest Chicken Breeds for a Suburban Yard
Calm, quiet hens that tolerate a run without complaint or a noise ordinance.
32 common breeds
The Best Laying Chickens: 300+ Eggs a Year
The breeds and hybrids that actually lay an egg nearly every day.
14 common breeds
The Best Cold-Hardy Chicken Breeds
Breeds built for a hard winter — small combs, heavy bodies, steady winter laying.
57 common breeds
The Best Chickens for Beginners
Forgiving, friendly, hardy breeds that make a first flock go right.
57 common breeds
The Friendliest Chicken Breeds for Kids
Gentle, pick-up-able hens that make good birds for a family with children.
62 common breeds
The Broodiest Chicken Breeds and Best Mother Hens
The breeds that go broody and hatch a clutch — nature's incubator.
10 common breeds
Heritage Chicken Breeds Worth Saving
APA heritage breeds on the Livestock Conservancy's watch list — keep them by keeping them.
49 breeds