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What Does a Cornish Hen Look Like?

Cornish hens are a large breed of chicken originally bred for the meat industry. They were inducted into the American Standards in 1893, and the breed is unusual in that male and females posses similar body conformations. The original breed is considered slow-growing, and thus is no longer strongly favored in the meat industry.

Cornish Hen Features
- Cornish chickens possess a small red pea comb or crest, red earlobes and red wattles. Their small beaks are yellow and their eyes are a pearl color. Cornish hens have yellow shanks and, in contrast to many other species breeds, their legs are short and stocky. They have yellow feet with four toes on each.
Cornish Hen Coloring
- Cornish hens are available in three primary colors. White Cornish hens have white coloring all over. Dark Cornish hens have deep purple plumage on the head and neck. Its breast, wing and tail feathers are a mixture of purple and rich brown. The white-laced red hen has a mottled white head and neck, and brown and white breast plumage, wing and tail feathers.
Cornish Size
- Cornish hens are a very large breed of chicken. Standard males average between eight pounds and 10.5 pounds, while standard females reach up to eight pounds. Bantam varieties of Cornish chickens are much smaller, with roosters averaging around 2.75 pounds or 44 ounces, and hens averaging 2.25 pounds and 36 ounces.
Cornish Hen Temperament and Characteristics
- Despite their large size, Cornish hens have easy and docile temperaments. When they are kept together with other breeds of chickens, they tend to occupy the lower end of the pecking order. Cornish hens are not particularly energetic birds and are poor foragers. In general, they do not make particularly good pets.

Animals & Science