How to identify chickens? How to identify different chickens breeds? These are the most common questions beginner chicken keepers ask. If you are also looking for more information about identifying a specific chicken breed, then you are in the right place. Here we are describing more information about how to identify chickens.
There are numerous chicken breeds available around the world with a wide variety of color, size, feathers, comb and body shape. So, it’s very important to learn about how to identify chickens from those different breeds.
All chicken breeds have some special characteristics and nature which can help you identifying them. But for positive identification you will need some knowledge about chicken breeds, images, charts or other ways of distinguishing them from various breeds of similar colors, size and types.
Gender , color, raising purpose and some other characteristics can also be helpful for identifying specific breed from a wide variety of available breeds.
Why Identifying Chickens Important?
Before discussing more about different ways of identifying chickens, let us for explain why identifying chickens is important for you. Actually, identifying chickens is very important for you for many reasons.
It will help you to manage your farm effectively. By knowing each chicken, you can easily track their health, egg production, and breeding patterns.
Identifying chicken also helps to stop diseases from spreading and makes it easier to ensure good treatment of sick birds. It will also help you to keep good records for breeding, making sure the chickens are healthy and productive. Identifying chickens is also very helpful for marketing purposes.
How to Identify Chickens?
Identifying chickens is relatively easy and simple if you raise chickens for awhile. But it can be tough if you are a beginner. Here we are describing some common ways of identifying chicken breeds.
Method 1: Body Shape
Body shape of chickens vary according to their production purpose. Generally chickens are raised for two purposes. Egg production and for meat producing purpose.
There are some chicken breeds available which are suitable for both eggs and meat production. This type of breeds are called dual purpose or general purpose chickens. Body shape varies by the production type of chickens.
Generally meat producing breeds (broilers) have heavy bodies. And large bones so that it can support their weight. On the other hand egg producing breeds (layer) have typically smaller bodies.
Small sized body help them to put all of their resources into egg production. General or dual purpose chicken breeds are lighter than meat producing breeds and slightly larger than layer breeds. So, you can identify chickens by their body shape.
Method 2: Comb & Wattles
Different chicken breeds have different combs and wattles. Combs and wattles have a great importance for identifying chickens breed. With some breeds of chicken combs and wattles are almost entirely associated. Silkie chicken breed has round, bumpy and perched combs on the front of their head.
Cornish, Sumatras, Brahmas and some other breeds have pea combs which is characterized by three low ridges set lengthwise on the chicken’s head. Some fancy chicken breeds like Houdans, Polish and Sultans have V-shaped combs.
It’s very difficult to identify the breeds with single combs. Because single combs are very common and various breeds have this type of comb. You can try to learn more about various types of combs.
Method 3: Size of the Birds
Different sized chicken breeds can be seen around the globe. They can be both large sized and bantam size. Jersey Giant is a large chicken breed and they can reach about 10 pounds or even more.
Bantam and the Sebright are small sized chicken breed which can weight 1 pound or less.
Method 4: Feathers Colors and Patterns
Every chicken breed has special types of feathers. Feathers of chickens provide a lot of information about their breed and origin. Chickens can have both loose-fitting and close-lying feathers. But it depends on their purpose and the environment form where their ancestors came from. Silkies and some other related fancy varieties are known as decorative chickens.
They get fluffy and shapeless appearances from their distinctive hairlike feathers. Most of the chicken breeds also have gender based feathers variety. And both roosters and hens have special types of feathers.
Usually roosters possess fine, pointed feathers covering their bases of tails and necks. They have sickle-shaped feathers in their tails. Although roosters of some breeds don’t have these specialties. On the other hand hens have less colorful and variety of feathers.
Method 5: Shanks
We can get valuable information about a chicken breed by their leg shanks color. Although most of the chicken breeds have yellow shanks. Buff Orpington chickens have white legs, Ameraucana breed has slate colored shanks and Auracan chicken breed has willow colored shanks. Some chicken breed also have hair on their shanks that provide a clue for identifying them.
Cochin is such a chicken breed which has feathers on their legs. Leghorns are clean-legged chickens and their legs are totally free of feathers. Usually roosters have thicker legs compared to hens and have heavy, hornlike spurs protruding from the backs of their legs. They use their spurs for fighting with predators and for protecting their flock, especially their hens.
There are numerous chicken breeds available. Each of them vary from others by their feathers color, size, characteristics and even color and size of eggs. The best way to identify a chicken breed is to look first at it’s weight and height, feather color and it’s behavior. If you are raising chickens for a long time, it will be very easy for you. But if you are a beginner, you should learn more about the size, feather color, leg color, behavior, comb and body shape of each breeds of chickens.
Method 6: Egg Color
This is also a good way for identifying chickens, because the color of the eggs a chicken lays can be indicative of its breed. For example, Ameraucanas typically lay blue eggs, while Leghorns lay white eggs.
Method 7: Behavior and Temperament
Some breeds have distinctive behavioral traits. For example, Rhode Island Reds are known for their friendly and docile nature, while Plymouth Rocks are known for their calm temperament.
Method 8: Noise Level
Certain breeds are noisier than others. Breeds like Rhode Island Reds are known for their loud vocalizations, while Silkies are quieter.
Method 9: Crest or Topknot
Some breeds have crests or topknots on their heads, such as Polish or Houdan chickens.
Method 10: Beak Shape
The shape of a chicken’s beak can vary depending on the breed. Some chicken breeds have short and stubby beaks, while others have longer, more slender ones.
Method 11: Skin Color
The color of a chicken’s skin can also differ between breeds. Some breeds have yellow skin which is common in broilers, and others have white skin.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Many people ask questions about ‘how to identify chickens’ (especially the beginners). Here we are trying to list the most common questions about identifying chickens, and trying to answer them. Hope you will find your answer. Don’t hesitate to ask us if you have more questions.
How do I know what kind of chickens I have?
The most common way for determining the breed of chicken is looking for their body shape, comb, wattles, feathers, shanks and size of the chickens.
What is a male chicken called?
A male chicken is called a rooster.
What is a female chicken called?
A female chicken is called a hen.
What are the baby chickens called?
The baby chickens are called chicks.
How can you tell the difference between chickens?
It’s actually very easy to tell the differences between chickens. Depending on the breed, the mature roosters and hens have different feathers. The roosters have pointed feathers around the neck, back and tail. But these feathers have round ends in the hens. The coloring patters of rooster and hens will also differ in most chicken breeds. And in case of size, the roosters are much larger in size than the hens.
How to identify chicken gender?
Identifying chicken gender is pretty easy if you raise chickens for awhile. The roosters are much larger in size and more colorful than the hens. The roosters have pointed feathers around the neck, back and tail. But these feathers have round ends in the hens.
Is there a difference between a hen and a chicken?
Just as humans are divided into male and female and children and adults, chickens are likewise. The male chickens are called ‘rooster‘, a female chicken is called ‘hen‘, baby chickens are called ‘chicks‘, and the chickens which are immature but not baby are called ‘pullets‘. All of these are generally chickens, but specific name indicate their gender.
How to identify specific chicken breed?
You can identify a specific chicken breed by their size, feathering, color, comb type, skin color, number of toes, color of eggs and place of origin.
What are the most common chicken breeds?
The most common chicken breeds are Australorps, Rhode Island Red, Cochin, Jersey Giant, Leghorn, Hylines, Bovans Browns, Orpington, Silkie, Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte etc.
How can you tell if a 4 week old chick is male or female?
The differences can be identified by looking at their combs, wattles and size. The combs and wattles of males are often developed earlier and are usually larger. While the females have smaller comb and wattles and take time to develop. And in case of size, the males are pretty larger than the females.
Can you mix different chicken breeds?
Yes, different chicken breeds can be mixed together and they can live successfully together in a mixed flock.
Which breed of chicken is best for beginners?
Some best chicken breeds for the beginners are Australorp, Rhode Island Red, Delaware, Plymouth Rock, Orpington, New Hampshire etc.
These are the common questions and answer about how to identify chickens. Hope this guide has helped you! Good luck & may god bless you!
trying to find the breed of chicks given to me …. as babies they had a brown/black markings that reminded me of chipmunks but now older the faces look like a chicken hawk….maybe you could help me identify them….thank you….they are a bit skittish of me
It’s really hard to tell the breed name until the chicks reach 2-3 months of age. You can contact with an expert in your area. Good luck!
I have white chicken a puffy head a little bigger than normal chicken
we hatched (incubator) 18 chicks, all from a Rhode Island White rooster. Hens are a mix if Amaracauna (sp?), Rhode Island Red, Cinnamon Queen, Black Sex Link and Australorp. All of the chicks are yellow. How do we figure out what types they are? We tried, but were unsuccessful, to track which chick came from which egg. They got mixed up quickly because they were healthy and moving immediately after hatching.