Chicken breeds
Find a chicken breed that suits what you want it for and the climate you keep it in. Tick two or three to compare them.
8 breeds · checked October 9, 2026
Purpose
Also
| Compare | Purpose | Egg colour | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat, Eggs, Show | 8.5–10 lb | Up to 200 | Brown | $2.71–$9.90 | |||
| Eggs | 4.4 lb | 180–208 | Blue, Green, Olive | $8.38–$12.99 | |||
| Eggs | 4.5 lb | 150–320 | White | $2.27–$7.15 | |||
| Eggs, Meat, Ornamental | 8 lb | Brown | $2.27–$7.15 | ||||
| Eggs, Meat, Pet | 7.5 lb | 200–280 | Brown | $2.27–$7.15 | |||
| Ornamental, Show, Eggs | 4.5 lb | 150–200 | White | $4.37–$12.00 | |||
| Eggs, Meat | 6–6.5 lb | 150–300 | Brown | $2.27–$7.15 | |||
| Ornamental, Pet, Hatching eggs for other birds | 2 lb | White, Cream, Light brown | $6.63–$9.00 |
No breeds match all of those. Take one filter off.
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How to choose a chicken breed
- Decide what it's for. Filter by purpose first, then compare the breeds that are left.
- Check the climate scores. Breed pages give cold and heat tolerance scores wherever we found a source to base one on.
- Read the beginner rating. The note beside it on each breed page says what earned the score and what cost it points.
- Look at who it suits. Every breed page lists who the breed is a good fit for and who should look elsewhere.
What the columns mean
Hen weight is for a mature hen under the breed standard. Rooster weight is on each breed page and in the side-by-side view.
Eggs per year is left blank where we found no source for a figure. If sources disagree, you see the widest range.
Beginner rating is our own 1 to 5 score. Five is the easiest to live with.
Chick price comes from hatchery pages. Each breed page says which variety was priced and when we read the page.