Selecting poultry breeds that will fit your needs is an important consideration. Sometimes one breed might fit your needs and sometimes you might want multiple breeds, depending on the purpose(s) you need for eggs, meat, exhibition or just to enjoy watching. Chickens can also help control insect populations around the farmstead. Chickens can give you pleasure just watching them and can be educational to observe. As more people begin to homestead, chickens can provide meat and eggs for the family and maybe have some to sell as an additional source of money. If you do offer eggs and meat to sell to the public be sure to comply and follow the USDA and state guidelines. If selling eggs, the questions to consider are what size and color of eggs would my customers prefer. For meat do they want white or yellow skin.

Chickens are classified based on size, origin, shape, color, and comb type. There are two sizes of chickens: standard (large) and bantams (small). Many breeds exist in both standard and bantams.

Class is a group of birds from a common geographical area such as American, Asiatic, English, Mediterranean, Continental and any other standard breeds.

Breeds within a class may vary in body shape, size, skin color, toes or feathering on legs.

Variety are birds within a breed that differ in feather color, feather pattern or comb type.

Meat purpose breeds are those primarily for meat productions. Typically, these are fast growing birds that have good feed efficiency. They can reach 4-5 lbs. in a few weeks if managed correctly. This is typical of broiler chickens which are crossed. There are other breeds considered meat breeds such as Cornish, Jersey Giant, Freedom Rangers and New Hampshire but do not grow as rapidly as the commercial broilers. Most meat breeds are very poor egg layers.

Egg Layer breeds are usually small to medium in size and do not produce a good carcass for consumption. Some egg layer breeds include Leghorn, Minorca, Australorp, Ancona, Ameraucana, Hamburg, and Sex-Link. Some breeds produce white eggs and other breeds produce brown eggs. The White Leghorn is the principial white egg producer. The brown egg layers, for the most part, are derived from American breeds such as Plymouth Rock, Australorp, New Hampshire, or Rhode Island Red. Generally brown egg layers are not as feed efficient as white egg layers and the cost to produce brown eggs is slightly higher than white eggs for this reason. Normally hens of breeds with white ear lobes lay white eggs and breeds with red ear lobes lay brown eggs. There are some exceptions to this rule such as the Araucana and Ameraucana. The Araucana lays blue eggs. Ameraucana lay pink to green color eggs.

Dual Purpose breeds are birds that will lay eggs and grow large enough for home consumption. Some common dual-purpose breeds include Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Dominique, Delaware, Wyandotte, Brahma, and Orpington.

Exhibition. Poultry shows are very popular. There are youth poultry shows especially for 4-H and FFA members and there are shows that adults and youth both may participate in. The American Poultry Association publishes the American Standard of Perfection that describes the ideal body types, colors, weights, and other characteristics of all recognized breeds and varieties. Chickens are judged at poultry show by these standards. The American Bantam Association produces a standard of perfection for bantams. If showing birds is of interest, you need to obtain these references and find a good source of chickens. Most chicken breeds come in a standard size and a bantam size. There are some bantam breeds that have no standard-size version. Bantams are typically one-quarter smaller than the standard counterpart. Bantams are easier to handle, require less feed and less space. You will need cages to carry birds in and other equipment to get to the shows and prepare the birds for exhibition. Be prepared to work with a veterinarian to obtain the required health certificates for the shows.

Whatever type of chicken you decide you want, be sure you can take care of them before you acquire them. Check any local ordinances or laws about owning chickens, especially if you live in a town. Some do not allow it, and others restrict the number you may have in your location, some even restrict roosters. Dispose of manure in a safe and legal way. Composting and added to flower beds or gardens is a good choice since it is an excellent fertilizer.

Remember to have fun and enjoy your flock of chickens.