If you’re just getting into chicken keeping, you’ll soon discover there’s an astonishing array of breeds to choose from.
But what are the best chicken breeds for beginners?
And what breeds will serve you best as an emergency food source in a survival situation?
7 Starter Chicken Breeds for New Backyard Chicken Keepers
As a newbie chicken keeper, it’s best to choose low-maintenance breeds. You want good layers that are also hardy and well-suited to whatever climate you live in.
On top of that, it helps if your chickens are reasonably friendly, not too flighty, and good at foraging.
Finally, if you plan to process your own birds, look into dual-purpose breeds that will supply you with both eggs and meat.
The following list is a good place to start.
1. Rhode Island Red
The iconic Rhode Island Reds are highly popular among backyard flock owners, and for good reason: these robust medium-to-large-sized birds are great layers that do well in both warm and cold weather.
The hens produce beautiful, large brown eggs and will seldom go broody.
First developed in the 19th century as a cross between brown Leghorns and oriental breeds, the Rhode Island Red was originally a dual-purpose bird, but has later been selectively bred for prolific laying.
Some breeders still offer the rarer dual-purpose heritage strains. In any case, surplus Rhode Island Red cockerels can make a good stew.
Curious and independent, Rhode Island Reds are highly suitable for free-ranging. They’re capable foragers, which is a useful trait when you can’t or prefer not to rely on commercial feed.
- Temperament: Calm and friendly
- Egg Production: 200-300 eggs per year
- Egg Color: Brown
- Hardiness: Tolerates a wide range of temperatures, from below-freezing to hot weather
- Size: Standard
- Lifespan: 5-8 years
- Special Traits: Exceptionally hardy and adaptable
- Noise Level: Moderate
2. Plymouth Rock
Another well-loved breed, the Plymouth Rock is a large, cold-hardy chicken that originated in Massachusetts in the mid-19th century.
Before industrial farming took over, Plymouth Rocks were highly popular thanks to their low maintenance, good egg production, and decent growth rate (although, as a side note, heritage breeds will never grow as fast as commercial meat birds).
The Plymouth Rock is often known as “Barred Rock,” since barred is its most popular color variety. However, you can also find Plymouth Rocks in buff, white, and other feathering colors.
All Plymouth Rocks will give you lovely medium-to-large brown eggs, although egg shades may vary among different strains.
Plymouth Rocks can adapt to pretty much any climate, but will suffer in extreme heat. Hens from some strains tend to go broody and make excellent mothers.
These friendly birds get along well with other breeds. They’ll thrive both in confinement and as free-range chickens.
- Temperament: Docile and calm
- Egg Production: 200 to 280 eggs per year
- Egg Color: Light brown
- Hardiness: Hardy and suitable for almost any climate
- Size: Standard
- Lifespan: 6-8 years
- Special Traits: Dual purpose, traditional farm chicken
- Noise Level: Fairly quiet
3. Fayoumi
The Fayoumi is a smart choice if you live in an area with extremely hot weather.
Although the classic homestead breeds like Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks can tolerate heat to a certain degree, they might do less well in some parts of Arizona, Florida, or Texas.
Fayoumis are lightweight, tough, disease-resistant birds that hail from Egypt. A word of warning: this is a highly active, flighty, and often noisy breed that won’t be as docile as other popular backyard chickens.
However, few breeds can beat the Fayoumi’s heat tolerance or outdo it in a free-range setting. Fayoumis are outstanding foragers and excellent at evading predators.
Another perk of raising Fayoumis is their quick maturity. The hens will start laying as early as four or five months of age.
Their eggs are fairly small and they aren’t very prolific layers, but will produce eggs consistently unless they go broody. Fayoumi hens are reliable setters and good mothers.
- Temperament: Active and flighty
- Egg Production: About 150 eggs per year
- Egg Color: Off-white
- Hardiness: Extremely hardy and heat tolerant
- Size: Standard, but on the small side
- Lifespan: 5-8 years
- Special Traits: Independent and alert to predators
- Noise Level: Loud
4. Sussex
A well-known heritage British chicken, the Sussex is a fairly large, heavy bird that comes in speckled, light, red, and other attractive color varieties.
They’re one of the oldest known chicken breeds, valued both for their consistent egg production and for their meat.
The Sussex is docile, friendly, and easy to handle. Some varieties, especially the light and speckled, tend to go broody in warmer weather and are good mothers.
They tolerate confinement, but are also active and like to forage. They’ll do best with a large run or access to pasture.
Like other popular farm chickens, the Sussex works well as a dual-purpose breed. The pullets will start laying when they’re about eight months old, and often continue producing eggs well into the winter.
Meat birds are usually ready for harvesting at six to eight months.
- Temperament: Calm and friendly
- Egg Production: 200-250 eggs per year
- Egg Color: Light brown
- Hardiness: Hardy and cold-tolerant
- Size: Standard, fairly large
- Lifespan: 7-9 years
- Special Traits: Versatile, low-maintenance dual dual-purpose breed
- Noise Level: Moderate
5. Australorp
The Australorp is a large Australian breed famous for its egg-laying prowess. Descended from the Black Orpington (today primarily a show bird), Australorps were bred for prolific egg production.
An Australorp hen had actually set a world record of 364 eggs in a year.
Australorps are heavyweight birds with profuse, fluffy feathers. This makes them fairly cold-tolerant. However, they have large combs and wattles which could be susceptible to frostbite.
The hens will sometimes go broody but aren’t the most reliable setters and may abandon their eggs mid-hatch.
While Australorps do well in confinement, they will also appreciate the chance to free-range. These sweet-tempered birds are a great choice if you have young kids who like to help with your backyard flock.
- Temperament: Calm and docile
- Egg Production: 250-300 eggs per year
- Egg Color: Light brown
- Hardiness: Hardy and cold-tolerant
- Size: Standard, on the large side
- Lifespan: 6-10 years
- Special Traits: Prolific layers, gentle-tempered
- Noise Level: Quiet
6. Leghorn
The Leghorn is a heritage chicken breed originating from Tuscany.
As a Mediterranean breed with a large comb and wattles, the Leghorn is particularly well-suited to warm climates, but can also thrive in moderately cool regions.
With time and selective breeding, Leghorns have gained the spotlight as commercial egg producers thanks to their prolific laying capabilities.
However, as a backyard chicken keeper, you should purchase stock from a breeder offering heritage Leghorn strains. Traditional Leghorns may lay slightly fewer eggs, but they’ll be hardier and more disease-resistant.
Leghorns can be somewhat flighty and skittish. They won’t be cuddly, docile pets, but they’re absolute champs at free-ranging and fending for themselves.
They’re also a fairly economical breed with a great feed-to-egg ratio. Leghorn hens rarely go broody.
- Temperament: Active and independent
- Egg Production: 280-300 eggs per year
- Egg Color: White
- Hardiness: Adaptable, heat-tolerant
- Size: Standard, lightweight
- Lifespan: 5-7 years
- Special Traits: Excellent layers, rarely broody
- Noise Level: Loud
7. Wyandotte
The Wyandotte is a beautiful American chicken breed with stunning color varieties like silver-laced, golden-laced, and silver-penciled.
Besides its dazzling looks, it’s a practical, dual-purpose bird for any backyard flock. Wyandottes will give you a steady supply of lovely large eggs and often continue laying throughout the winter, albeit more slowly.
Wyandottes are heavy-feathered chickens with a rose comb: the perfect combination to withstand cold and frostbite.
They’re good foragers who like to range free, but will also do just fine in confinement. Some Wyandotte hens tend to go broody and, when they do, make reliable setters and mothers.
Docile and calm, Wyandottes are easy to handle even if you’re completely new to chickens. Wyandotte roosters tend to be friendly and non-aggressive, but also very protective of the flock.
- Temperament: Calm and friendly
- Egg Production: 200-240 eggs per year
- Egg Color: Cream or brown
- Hardiness: Hardy and cold-tolerant
- Size: Standard, medium to large
- Lifespan: 6-12 years
- Special Traits: Dual-purpose, easy to work with
- Noise Level: Quiet
Crosses and Mixed Chickens
What about crosses?
Personally, I favor heritage chicken breeds over commercial crosses like ISA Browns and Golden Comets.
Commercial crosses are typically bred for intensive laying, and will often “burn out” after a short period of about two years.
Heritage breed chickens tend to be hardier. You can expect them to live and stay productive longer.
They also usually do better as a self-sustaining flock that free-ranges and reproduces without the assistance of an incubator. This gives them extra points in a long-term survival scenario when you want to raise your own chicks.
This doesn’t mean you should only go for purebred chickens. Mutts, i.e., backyard crosses between various chicken breeds, can also be great layers, broody hens, and meat birds.
Mixed chickens can have somewhat unpredictable traits, but will usually show some sort of blend of the parents’ qualities.
