inheritance breed chickens are traditional breeds develop through many years of extract and pass down through generation . The exact definition motley with who ’s spill the beans . The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities delimit a heritage breed as being old and rare and define “ sometime ” as existing before 1940 .
A more specific definition for heritage breed poulet amount fromThe Livestock Conservancy , which offer and indicate that such terms as heirloom , old-hat , old - fashioned and old - timey should be considered synonymous with heritage .
accord to this definition , inheritance breed Gallus gallus must :
Compared to chickens developed for industrial purposes , heritage strain chickens generally have calmer dispositions , are more disease - resistant , are well able-bodied to adapt to variable climates and environment , and are more potential to brood ( hatch their own eggs ) . The trade - off is that the inheritance laying breed do n’t lie quite as well , and the nitty-gritty breeds do n’t spring up as tight , as industrial - enduringness chickens .
In selecting inheritance breed chickens for your own flock , consider first your use in keeping crybaby . If your goal is to harvest lots of orchis , choose a breed have it away to lay well . If your goal is to bring forth sanitary sum , pick out a heavy breed . For the safe of both , take a two-fold - determination breed . If your desire is to have pretty chickens gracing your yard , take a look at some of the cosmetic or exhibition breeds . Here are just a few of the many possibilities .
Great Egg Layers
The top layer by far is theLeghorn , the breed pick out by the nut industry to develop into laying machines . Production White Leghorn hens lie more than 25 dozen medium to expectant white - plate eggs per year . Heritage Leghorns , on the other hand , average just 20 dozen testis per yr , but the hen come in several plumage colouration that are less conspicuous to predators than thoroughgoing white . This small - bodied breed has a reputation for being noisy and anxious , but is also early maturing , stout and passion - tolerant .
The most pop brown - egg heritage breed is theRhode Island Red(pictured below ) , average out about 16 dozen big eggs per year . As with Leghorns , some strains of Rhode Island Red have been developed purely for production purposes . This breed hail in one color shape — dark red with a mordant hind end . Rhode Island Reds , like layer stock in general , tend to be lightweight and rangy , and therefore less suitable than heavy breed to raise for meat . Shutterstock
Best for Meat
The large breastedCornishchicken , with its compendious organic structure , is an ideal meat bird . The clean Cornish is in fact , one of the breed selected by industry to crossbreed for efficient meat production . Heritage Cornish do n’t maturate as tight as industrial strain — read 16 to 20 hebdomad to reach food market free weight , liken to 6 to 8 calendar week for industrial Cornish hybrids — but they do n’t develop the same os ailments and eye failure resulting from overly rapid development . to boot , inheritance strains derive in feather colors other than white-hot .
Cornish Gallus gallus are unusual in that hen are identical in form to male , although passably lowly ; market place weights for heritage hens are 61⁄2 lbf. equate to 81⁄2 for roosters . Cornish hens average only about six twelve nut a year , urinate them uneconomic as layers . Other large heritage breed desirable for kernel production , that lay passably good than Cor – nish , admit Cochins and Jersey Giants .
Dual-Purpose Breeds
Dual - determination breeds appeal to mass concerned in sustainability — keeping hen for eggs and roosters for fertility , hatching future replenishment hens , and butcher young nimiety rooster for centre . three-fold - purpose breeds miss the blocky organic structure of meat breeds , and they do n’t rest quite as well as the layer stock . Expect only about 15 twelve eggs per year from a two-fold - purpose hen .
TheNew Hampshireis a dual - purpose breed create through selective breeding of Rhode Island Reds to improve growth rate and meatiness . Like Rhode Island Reds , New Hamps come in a undivided colouration — a light reddish bay , more golden than the Rhode Island ’s plentiful mahogany . The hens lay large testis with brown plate .
ThePlymouth Rock(pictured below ) is another large , meaty dual - purpose breed . It comes in a few color variety , the original and still most popular of which is disgraceful and lily-white barred . The hens put down large brown - case eggs . Other dual - design breeds to think includeOrpingtonandSussex . Gail Damerow
Shutterstock
Awesome Ornamentals
Not all heritage strain are ideal for egg or gist product . Some are bantam , or scaled - down Gallus gallus , that make a proficient choice for people with limited chicken - maintain place . bantam rest egg , just like the bigger chicken , and although the testicle are small they may be used for all the same purposes . raise bantam ( other than bantam Cornish ) for heart would be kindred to raising pigeons — belittled , but tasty .
Silkies , with their furlike feathers , are by far the most pop inheritance bantam breed . They come in a several colouration varieties , most commonly smutty or clean . They are well-disposed , docile chickens that do n’t fly well . ( Some wo n’t even light . ) The hen are decent layer of ivory - tinge testicle and are such excellent setters they are often kept solely for incubating the testis of other poultry .
One of the most of import reasons to keep a heritage breed is to help keep genetic diversity . The Livestock Conservancy list heritage strain harmonize to conservation priorities . Review the many options and select one that most charm to you . When it amount to heritage chickens , you ca n’t go far wrong .
Shutterstock
Gail Damerow
