• Chicken Breeds

One of the most popular commercial chicken breeds is the Leghorn chicken. Leghorn chickens are generally white, although there are different varieties which have their own distinctive colours. 

Leghorn chickens are prolific egg layers which makes them one of the most common breeds used for commercial egg laying in the Untied States. This breed can easily lay  over three hundred white eggs a year. However, then tend to be rather noisy and excitable, they mature fast but do not grow into particularly large birds and are not often used for their meat. 

The Campine chicken are quite small and although they prefer to be free range are easily adaptable to confinement. This breed is not a particularly hardy bird and is usually used as an ornamental bird due to their golden and silver colourings or for their white egg production. 

Marans are one of the smaller chicken breeds which are also used for their egg laying rather than their meat. The eggs are dark brown and on average they lay one hundred and fifty eggs each year. There are nine different varieties of Marans chicken with the Black Copper being the most common. Other varieties of Marans chicken include the Golden Cuckoo, Black Birchen, white and Columbian. All of the nine varieties have white feet and red or orange coloured eyes.  

New Hampshire chickens lay a reasonable amount of brown eggs and are used as a dual purpose chicken chosen for both their meat and eggs. The hens can weigh approximately six and half pounds, while the pullets approximately five and half pounds, the cocks and cockerels are even larger which makes then suitable as a medium sized table bird. They are a quite a new breed which has been bred extensively from the Rhode Island breed to produce birds which have fast growth, early maturity and commercial economic viability.  

One of the United Kingdoms chicken breeds which is used commercially for both its eggs and meat is the Orpington chicken, an average Orpington weighs between seven and ten pounds, however, this breed is also used as a show bird due to their large size and rich colourings.