Find your breed

Set what matters to you — egg color, climate, temperament — and see which breeds fit. 18 breeds shown.

Breed	Eggs / yr	Egg color	Temperament	Cold-hardy	Beginner	Weight
Ameraucana	150–200	Blue	Active, alert, friendly	Yes	Yes	5.5–6.5 lb
Australorp	250–300	Brown	Calm, friendly, notably quiet	Yes	Yes	6.5–8.5 lb
Brahma	150–200	Brown	Gentle giant — calm and docile	Yes	Yes	8–12 lb
Buff Orpington	180–250	Brown	Exceptionally docile and affectionate	Yes	Yes	8–10 lb
Cochin	150–180	Brown	Extremely docile and gentle	Yes	Yes	8–11 lb
Easter Egger	200–280	Blue / green	Friendly, curious, hardy	Yes	Yes	4–6 lb
Faverolles	150–200	Cream to light brown	Exceptionally gentle and sweet	Yes	Yes	6.5–8 lb
Jersey Giant	150–200	Brown	Calm, docile, gentle	Yes	Yes	10–13 lb
Leghorn	250–320	White	Active, alert, flighty — not a lap hen	No	No	4.5–6 lb
Marans	150–200	Dark chocolate brown	Calm, quiet, easygoing	Yes	Yes	6.5–8 lb
Olive Egger	180–240	Olive green	Friendly, hardy, varied	Yes	Yes	5–7 lb
Plymouth Rock	200–280	Brown	Docile, friendly, calm	Yes	Yes	7.5–9.5 lb
Polish	150–200	White	Gentle but easily startled (limited vision)	No	Yes	4.5–6 lb
Rhode Island Red	200–300	Brown	Hardy, active, hens calm; some roosters assertive	Yes	Yes	6.5–8.5 lb
Silkie	100–120	Cream to tinted	Calm, gentle, people-friendly	No	Yes	~2 lb (bantam)
Speckled Sussex	200–250	Cream to light brown	Friendly, curious, talkative	Yes	Yes	7–9 lb
Welsummer	160–200	Dark terracotta brown, often speckled	Calm, friendly, intelligent	Yes	Yes	5–7 lb
Wyandotte	180–260	Brown	Calm but confident; can be dominant	Yes	Yes	6–8.5 lb