Chicken Coop Hen House – Single Or Dual Purpose Breeds in Your Chicken Coop Hen House?

Have you thought about which breed would be best for you and your family?

Some chickens are feisty and some are very mild! It’s important to determine what you are looking for before you build your chicken coop hen house. Following is a quick breakdown of some of the most common chicken breeds and their particular personality traits.

Single Purpose (Egg-Laying) Chickens – Most Common

Leghorn – white eggs, cold-hardy but combs subject to frostbite, good confined or free-range, gentle, active, tend to be noisy

Rhode Island Reds – rich brown eggs, cold-hardy and combs subject to frostbite, good confined or free-range, calm and docile, cocks aggressive

Dual Purpose (Used for meat and egg production) – Most Common

Plymouth Rock – light brown eggs, very cold hardy, good confined or free-range, docile, friendly, easily handled

Americana – known for blue eggs, good confined and free-range, cold hardy, mostly calm, non-aggressive

New Hampshire (New Hampshire Red) – light to med. Brown eggs, good brooder, cold hard but subject to frostbite, good confined or free-range, calm or aggressive, depending on strain

The Jersey Giant – brown eggs, grow to 13 lbs. so good for meat, good confined or free-range, very cold hardy, calm, gentle, easily handled.

There are number different breeds and that many more varied strains to choose from when filling your chicken coop hen house, so take the time to find the breed that best fits your family and the purpose of your chicken coop hen house. Also, depending on what area you are in, these breeds might not be common to that climate, so choose accordingly.

There are also smaller chickens and game hens for those that are looking for more ornamental chickens, but the above breeds are the most common for small flocks and backyard farming and for someone just setting up their chicken coop hen house. It is also important to realize that mixing breeds can be dangerous for the chickens. Cannibalism is known to happen when mixing the wrong breeds together in the same chicken coop.

For more detailed information about the many different breeds visit this link. Saving time and money while raising organic chickens and eggs is the goal.