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MODULE #: 8�CHICKEN BREED SELECTION

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Red Jungle Fowl

Meat chicken

(Broiler)

Egg producer

(Layer)

Purebreds

(For show)

Dual purpose

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MEAT PRODUCTION

Options:

Fast-growing (Cornish cross; broiler)
Slow-growing (Red ranger or Freedom Ranger)
Dual purpose breeds

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The poultry breeder companies use specific breeding programs in the development of different strains of chickens. They have different pure lines of chickens that they maintain. These pure lines have been selected for specific traits such as age at sexual maturity, feed efficiency, breast size, leg strength, etc. Males from one pure line are crossed with females from another to create the grandparents. Hens and roosters from these hybrid crosses and then bred together to create the parent stock. The parent stock then produce the eggs that are set in incubators to hatch out the chicks that will eventually become broilers.

Crossing a rooster and hen from the commercial broiler line will not have the same production efficiency as those produced through this selection purpose. As a result, new chicks must be purchased each year rather than breeding your own birds. This is much like the case with hybrid corn and other field crops, where new seed is needed each year.

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FAST-GROWING STRAINS

4-8 weeks

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FAST-GROWING STRAINS

CORNISH

36 days

FRYER

42 days

ROASTER

56 days

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SLOW-GROWING STRAINS

12-14 weeks

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CORNISH VERSUS RED RANGER

CORNISH

RED RANGER

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DUAL PURPOSE BREEDS

Rhode Island Red
Plymouth Rock

Up to 20 weeks

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CORNISH VERSUS RHODE ISLAND RED

CORNISH

RHODE ISLAND RED

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DELAWARE

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Red Jungle Fowl

Meat chicken

(Broiler)

Egg producer

(Layer)

Purebreds

(For show)

Dual purpose

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EGG PRODUCTION

Options:

Commercial egg-laying strains

Brown eggshells
White eggshells

Sex-link crosses
Dual purpose breeds
Specialty breeds

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EGG PRODUCTION

Options:

Commercial egg-laying strains

Brown eggshells
White eggshells

Sex-link crosses
Dual purpose breeds
Specialty breeds

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RED SEX-LINKS

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EGG PRODUCTION

Options:

Commercial egg-laying strains

Brown eggshells
White eggshells

Sex-link crosses
Dual purpose breeds
Specialty breeds

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BARRED

PLYMOUTH ROCK

RHODE ISLAND

RED

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EGG PRODUCTION

Options:

Commercial egg-laying strains

Brown eggshells
White eggshells

Sex-link crosses
Dual purpose breeds
Specialty breeds

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MARAN

Dark brown

ARAUCANA

Blue

AMERAUCANA

Light blue, green, or pink

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Red Jungle Fowl

Meat chicken

(Broiler)

Egg producer

(Layer)

Purebreds

(For show)

Dual purpose

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Red Jungle Fowl

Meat chicken

(Broiler)

Egg producer

(Layer)

Purebreds

(For show)

Dual purpose

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White bantam cochin

White crested

Black Polish

Black-tailed white

Japanese

White Yokohama

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CLASS

A group of breeds originating from the same geographic location

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CLASS

AMERICAN

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BREED

A group which possesses a given set of physical features such as:

shape or type,
skin color,
carriage or station,
number of toes, and
feathered or non-feathered shanks

CHICKENS

CLASS

CHICKENS

BREED

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BREED

Class: American

Breed: Jersey Giant

Class: Asiatic

Breed: Cochin

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VARIETY

A sub-division of a breed with different characteristics such as:

Plumage color
Comb-type
Presence of a beard and muffs or not

CLASS

CHICKENS

BREED

CLASS

CHICKENS

BREED

VARIETY

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VARIETY

Class: American

Breed: Wyandotte

Variety: Silver-laced

Class: American

Breed: Wyandotte

Variety: Golden-laced

Examples can be seen with the Wyandotte breed – two varieties are Silver-laced and Golden-laced.

In figuring out where these chickens fit in the American Poultry Associations system we first need to look at where they were developed to know the class – in this case, the American class. You can see that their type and shape is the same. They also have the same skin color. The feather coverings make it difficult to see the skin color so you’ll have to take my word on that, I guess. Because they have the same features, they are both of the same breed, that is, the Wyandotte.

The difference between the two is plumage color – one has silver-laced feathers and the other one golden-laced feathers, putting them in different varieties.

So both pairs would be grouped with chickens of the same variety of the Wyandotte breed which would be included in the group of breeds from the American class.

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STRAINS

Strains: Families or breeding populations possessing common traits

The product of one person’s or one organization’s breeding program

CLASS

CHICKENS

BREED

VARIETY

CLASS

CHICKENS

BREED

VARIETY

STRAIN

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STRAINS

Tom’s chickens

Tabitha’s chickens

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