Descriptions of chicken breeds for meat and egg production for breeding at home

Using meat and egg breeds of chickens for breeding at home is a cost-effective and interesting activity. Due to its unpretentiousness, fairly high egg production, high live weight, and good gastronomic properties of the resulting products, such poultry is raised not only by owners of private farmsteads, but also by medium-sized and fairly large farms.

Features of meat and egg chickens

Meat and egg chickens have the following features:

1. Possibility of obtaining two main types of products - eggs and chicken meat.
2. Rapid sexual maturity - laying hens are able to produce eggs as early as 6 months of age.
3. Balanced character - birds of these breeds are distinguished by a calm character and lack of aggression in behavior.

Also, females of this direction are wonderful and caring hens. Thanks to this, when breeding offspring, it is often not necessary to use various expensive incubators.

Main advantages and disadvantages

The main advantages of meat and egg chickens include:

• high vitality;
• not demanding conditions of detention;
• high percentage of fertilization;
• significant tendency to forage (the fastest possible breakdown of consumed food by the bird’s body);
• excellent gastronomic qualities of the resulting meat and egg products.

The disadvantages of such poultry include:

1. Slow, compared to pure meat breeds, rate of gain of live weight.
2. There is a high risk of reducing the number of livestock when kept in a limited space (aviaries, cages).
3. Low egg production with poor care.

The best breeds

There are more than 200 breeds of meat and egg chickens in the world. The most common and popular of them will be described below.

Australorp black-and-white

Australorps - chickens with lush black plumage, clearly visible, evenly spaced white patches, a small head with a leaf-shaped erect crest of red color, short legs with clearly expressed pigmentation.The bird's down is light, and the skin underneath the plumage is white.

The maximum weight of roosters is 2.6 kilograms, chickens - no more than 2.2 kilograms. Over the course of a year, the productivity of Australorps in egg production is 200-220 eggs.

Adler silver

Possessing light yellow plumage, Adler silver chickens have a very dense build - a massive chest and back, a large and rounded head topped with a leaf-shaped crest, a powerful beak and unfeathered legs of a bright yellow color.

Egg production is relatively small - no more than 180 pieces. The weight of males reaches 4 kilograms, females - no more than 3 kilograms.

White Moscow

White Moscow is a breed of Russian selection, characterized by pure white even plumage, long and strong legs, a fairly powerful build, a drooping leaf-shaped red crest crowning a medium-sized head.

The productivity of the White Moscow is quite good: the maximum egg production is 220 eggs; The weight of roosters can reach 3.5 kilograms, while laying hens can weigh no more than 3 kilograms.

Hungarian giant

Hungarian giants have beautiful lush dark brown plumage, a massive large body, a small head with an inconspicuous crest, and yellow eyes. The weight of adult chickens and roosters is 3.6 kilograms. Egg production is not bad - up to 180-200 pieces.

Wyandotte

Sedentary and calm black and white motley Wyandotte chickens have a small annual productivity of egg products (up to 175 pieces), a fairly large live weight (up to 4.0-4.2 kilograms).

Zagorskaya salmon

An unpretentious and highly productive breed of Russian selection. Females are capable of producing up to 250-260 large eggs per year.The live weight of an adult bird reaches 3.6 (roosters) and 2.7 (chickens) kilograms.

California gray

A breed characterized by a calm and non-aggressive character. Californian sulfur laying hens have a high egg production - up to 240 eggs.

With proper feeding, maintenance and care, California gray chickens and roosters can gain up to 3-3.5 kilograms of live weight.

Kuchinskaya Yubileinaya

The bird of this breed has a large body, pale brown plumage, and an erect, jagged crest. Egg production – up to 220 pieces; The live weight of an adult bird can reach 4 kilograms.

Maran

Breed of French selection. Its representatives have very beautiful feather coloring, a massive and dense body, short and featherless legs. In a year, females are capable of producing up to 170 large eggs with chocolate-colored shells. Appreciated Maran chickens due to its rapid growth, as well as the excellent taste of the meat.

Moscow black

A breed that has similar characteristics to the Moscow White. The only difference is the black coloring of the feathers interspersed with copper shades.

New Hampshire

A very common breed in private backyards and poultry farms. Egg production is high - up to 220 pieces per year. The live weight of adult individuals ranges from 2.5 (chickens) to 3.5 (roosters) kilograms.

Orpington

Orpington is a breed characterized by a variety of plumage colors, a massive body, and small legs. The live weight of adult individuals is up to 4.5 kilograms. The egg production of laying hens is average - does not exceed 160 pieces.

Plymouth Rock

American breed with variegated plumage. It is characterized by the following productivity indicators: maximum live weight of an adult bird - 5 kilograms, annual egg production - 200-210 pieces.

Poltava clayey

A breed of Ukrainian selection. It is characterized by a massive body, unfeathered yellow limbs of short length, a pink-shaped, ruby-colored crest crowning a relatively small head. The productivity of the Poltava clay plant for egg products per year is up to 210 pieces. Live weight when grown for meat products ranges from 2.5 to 3.8 kilograms.

Pushkin breed

It includes two lines - Sergiev Posad (Moscow) and St. Petersburg. This bird has a massive body covered with variegated white and gray plumage. Legs are of medium length, without feathers, cream color. The head is round and medium in size. The comb is small, erect, leaf-shaped (near the Moscow line) or rose-shaped (near the St. Petersburg line).

The breed has average productivity indicators: egg production of laying hens does not exceed 200 eggs; The live weight of adult individuals ranges from 2 to 3 kilograms.

Rhode Island

A traditional breed of meat-and-egg chickens, the representatives of which have a massive body, brown-red plumage, and an erect, leaf-shaped comb. Rhode Island females produce up to 200-210 eggs per year. Adult Rhode Island hens and roosters weigh up to 3.8-4 kilograms.

Ukrainian earflaps

Unpretentious and moderately productive, this previously widespread breed of Ukrainian selection is now rare. A characteristic feature of the Ukrainian earflaps is small tufts of feathers at the ears.

Laying hens have an egg production of up to 190 eggs. With proper care and feeding, Ukrainian earflap chickens and roosters reach 3.5 kilograms in weight.

Faverolles

Possessing lush plumage and characteristic “whiskers,” adult individuals of this breed weigh up to 4 kilograms. Egg production of chickens is 180 pieces.

Shaver

A breed of Dutch origin with three plumage colors - white, dark brown, dark. Adult birds weigh on average 2 kilograms. The low live weight of the bird is compensated by its high egg production - laying hens of this breed produce 220-250 eggs per year.

Why is it profitable to raise chickens of meat and egg breeds?

The benefits of raising chickens of these breeds are:

1. Receiving 2 types of products - domestic eggs and chicken.
2. Unpretentiousness to conditions and resistance to diseases.
3. Receiving chickens in a natural way - chickens of this type are caring hens, which eliminates the need to purchase chickens or a special incubator.

In addition, these breeds have an easygoing nature, so caring for the bird will not cause much trouble.

How to choose chickens?

You should purchase chickens for home keeping at poultry farms or from trusted sellers involved in breeding certain meat and egg breeds.

When purchasing chickens, the following are assessed:

1. Appearance - healthy chickens are covered with even fluff, their eyes are wide open and shiny, small wings are pressed tightly to the body.
2. Behavior - a healthy chicken stands confidently on its feet, moves quickly, and squeaks loudly.

A sick chicken is covered with tousled down, its eyes are half-closed, and its behavior is sluggish or completely passive.