Standard Chicken Breeds

Egg-Laying Breeds

• Chickens bred for laying eggs produce a high number of eggs, but often have small bodies, making them ineffective meat producers. These breeds often originated in the Mediterranean area. Eggs with white shells are produced by White Leghorn, Minorca and Andalusian chickens and brown-shelled eggs are produced by Golden Comet, Red Sex Links and Rhode Island Red chickens.

Meat-Producing Breeds

• Chickens grown to produce meat are often hybrids of other breeds. These chicken strains are developed to grow quickly with a high feed efficiency, but are often poor egg layers. Some meat-producing chickens are also selected because they produce a high amount of breast meat. Often meat-producing chicken strains are named for the companies that developed them, like Arbor Acres, Ross and Hubbard. Breeds that naturally make better meat-producing chickens include Cornish and Jersey Giant chickens.

Dual-Purpose Breeds

• Dual-purpose breeds are good choices for smaller farmers who want to produce meat and eggs from a small number of chickens. These chickens do not produce as much meat and eggs as more specialized breeds, but they are better layers than meat-producing chickens and have larger bodies than egg-producing chickens. These breeds include New Hampshires, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes and Sussex chickens.

Exhibition Breeds

• Chickens displayed in poultry expositions in the U.S. Midwest have been bred and raised to meet the American Poultry Association's American Standard of Perfection. These exhibition chickens are evaluated based on the color, weight and other characteristics expected for their breeds. One of the most popular exposition chicken breeds is the Bantam breed, known for its small size and small eggs. Other exhibition chicken breeds include Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, Black Australorps and Leghorns. These breeds can also be used for meat or egg production.