Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Black Australorp.
While Australorps are generally moderate egg layers, producing three or four eggs
per week, a Black Australorp hen holds the record for laying 364 eggs in a single year. Australorps
mature at more than 6
1
⁄
2
to 8
1
⁄
2
pounds and produce good meat. Even though the feathers are a dark,
glossy black, the skin is white. They were originally called “Black Orpingtons” and share the same
friendly demeanor and good parenting skills as the Orpingtons. Good year-round egg production
seals the deal for many backyard flock owners, making Australorps a popular and logical choice.
Plymouth Rock.
Rocks are a large, dual-purpose bird that were once the primary meat bird in
America. They mature at 7 to 9 pounds and are fairly quick growing in the backyard flock. The
hens lay brown eggs and can be expected to produce several eggs each week. The chickens are very
cold-hardy, and they tend to have a calm and nonaggressive temperament. One thing to be aware
of is that strains of the White Rock are the parent strains for Cornish Cross broiler hybrids, and
these strains may be unsuited for living in a backyard flock. Choose your Plymouth Rocks from
breeders that will provide you with the heritage strains that are true to their American origins:
economical, intelligent, and friendly. Barred Rocks, the black and white feathered variety, is one of
the most popular varieties and is highly attractive.
Rhode Island Red.
One of only two chicken breeds that became a state bird (the other is the
Jersey Giant), the Rhode Island Red is a beautiful breed with roosters in the iconic rooster coloring.
Rhode Island Reds are prolific layers that produce more than five eggs per week in the first year.
They mature between 6
1
⁄
2
and 8
1
⁄
2
pounds relatively quickly and are one of the parent breeds of the
Black Sex Link layers. While the breed is generally considered friendly, roosters of certain strains
can become aggressive with age and should be culled from the backyard flock.
Sex-linked hybridS
Most chicks look the same in coloration in both male and female chicks. Sex-linked breeds and hybrids
have different coloring in the males and females, making it easy to sex the chicks just by looking at them.
For example, when a Rhode Island Red rooster is crossed with a Barred Rock hen, the female chicks are
born black and mature black with reddish neck feathers, while the male chicks are born black with barred
(white) markings and mature to display scattered white and barred markings throughout. Rarely are pure
chicken breeds able to be sexed visually as chicks but those breeds include Cream Legbar, Amrock, and
Barred Plymouth Rocks, among a handful of others.
Cuckoo Maran.
This dual-purpose breed from France looks similar to the Barred Plymoth Rock
but the barring is lighter and more muddied. The Cuckoo Marans lay a deep chocolatey-brown egg
that is often speckled. Expect 150 to 200 eggs in a year and a mature size of 7 to 8
1
⁄
2
pounds in the
average Cuckoo Marans. Some strains rarely go broody, while other backyard farmers report their
Cuckoo Marans do nothing but brood, so it seems to vary a lot depending on the breeding line.
