Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Ornamental chickens are bred mainly for aesthetic purposes. Since ancient times, these birds have adorned the yards of wealthy gentlemen. With their participation were cockfights.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

At present, decorative hens can lay eggs well, which makes them important members of the household.

Features

For more than a decade, decorative chickens and roosters have adorned farmsteads. Consider the main features of these birds.

  • Unusual coloration. This is the first thing that catches your eye. Such birds may have multi-colored feathers, a monophonic unusual color. For example, the Ayam Tsemani breed, which is very rare in our time, has a black plumage, crest, eyes and even bones!
  • Dwarfism or gigantism. The size of ornamental chickens may also differ from the standard. They are often tiny – their weight does not exceed a kilogram. And, on the contrary, huge, with a weight approaching broilers.
  • Interesting feathers. The shape of the feather in ornamental chickens may differ from the feathers of their counterparts. For example, the Chinese crested chicken has feathers that resemble fluff, and from a distance they look like chickens or fluffy balls.
  • Additional decorations. Often hens of this type have a comb, crest, feather cuffs on their legs, especially a long tail. All these elements clearly emphasize the difference between ordinary chickens and decorative ones.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Top Breeds

Decorative chickens are so diverse in their appearance that it is not always possible to understand at first glance that these are, indeed, chickens. We give a description of the most beautiful and interesting breeds of this poultry.

  • Chinese silk chicken. This bird resembles a soft ball of light fluff. Chickens owe this appearance to their plumage. Each feather is modified and resembles a fluff. Due to this feature, the plumage of Chinese silk chickens is used as a filler for pillows and clothes. The beak, paws and even the skeleton of these birds are completely black.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

The sizes of the chicken and cockerel are small, so the breed is classified as dwarf.

  • Araucan. This breed is also called Easter because of their fantastically colored eggs. It can be bright blue, turquoise and even emerald green. On the head of these birds there is an unusual lush plumage, as if the chicken had grown mustaches and sideburns. Some individuals may lack a tail. These birds differ not only in appearance, but also in their character. Roosters often fight for leadership, territory, and females.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

The weight of an adult individual does not exceed two kilograms.

  • Benthamka. Chickens and chickens of this breed are very small. Benthams have the most diverse color. You can find yellow, golden, silver and black and white birds. Females take care of their offspring and carry up to 120 eggs per year.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

  • Ga Dong Tao. This breed is very rare, but very interesting for breeders and lovers of ornamental chickens. The most obvious difference between these birds is their legs. They are very thick and covered with scales. The comb is also fleshy and looks like a nut.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

These chickens are very large. The rooster reaches seven kilograms, and the laying hen – five.

  • Russian crested chicken. The decorativeness of this bird is manifested in its tuft, as it were combed back. Traditionally, these chickens are white. Quite a calm breed that breeds well. Laying hens have a developed maternal instinct, they rush well. Quite large birds, reaching 2-3 kilograms in weight.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

  • Pavlovskaya. In color, these chickens resemble wild pheasants. The feathers at the base are bluish-black, and then continue with a silvery or golden color. The plumage near the bottom of the beak forms a kind of beard. This breed perfectly tolerates cold and various diseases.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Chickens are active, bring about 130-140 eggs per year.

  • Malaysian Serama. Dwarf birds whose weight does not exceed 600 grams. In size, such a chicken is similar to a pigeon. The appearance of this bird is very unusual. The tail is directed perpendicular to the floor, the neck is arched. Laying hens bring very few eggs – up to 30 pieces per year.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Malaysian Serams are demanding in terms of living conditions, they love warmth and perfect care.

  • Viandot. The breed is quite compact and cold-resistant. The weight of an adult individual reaches 3,5 kg. Chicks grow up to six months of age and can already be laid. Demanding on lighting: they love the sun.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

  • Russian kings. The progenitors of this breed are benthams. These dwarf birds were previously bred exclusively for decorative purposes, so that they walked around the yard of the nobles. The weight of an adult individual does not exceed a kilogram. Egg production is high – up to 140 eggs per year. The breed is distinguished by good adaptability to adverse environmental conditions. Cold and illness are not very terrible for Russian kinglets.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Chickens are great at incubating eggs, so they sometimes put them from other breeds.

  • Loose-legged chickens. Created by selection in Russia. A distinctive feature are the legs, covered with numerous thin feathers. The head has a beard and sideburns. The color does not differ in variety – it is golden-beige. The weight of an adult individual reaches three kilograms. This breed brings quite a lot of eggs – up to 160 per year. The eggs are covered with a brown shell.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

  • Seabright. Another descendant of the bantam cat, which formed an independent breed. The most interesting thing about this chicken is the color of plumage. The tail resembles a fan due to the special arrangement of feathers. Each feather is covered with a black edging, and the main color is brownish. Both hens and roosters have the same plumage color. Egg production is very low – about 50 eggs per year. But females can serve as mothers for broods of other breeds, as they have a well-developed maternal instinct.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

The weight of a rooster reaches 700 grams, and a hen weighs an average of 500 grams.

  • Brahma. This bird is a real giant compared to other breeds of ornamental chickens. A rooster can weigh as much as five kilograms, while a female reaches a weight of three kilograms. Unpretentious birds are not used as meat, as their meat is tough when eaten.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

  • Leggorn. A dwarf breed of ornamental chickens, the weight of an adult individual of which does not exceed 1 kilogram 700 g. They are exclusively white in color, the crest is small, the beak and eyes are yellow. A useful feature of these birds is a modest appetite.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Feeding them is quite easy, unlike their other decorative counterparts.

  • Phoenix. A distinctive feature of this breed is a long tail dragging along the ground. It can reach 10 m, and every year it grows by almost a meter. The homeland of these decorative chickens is China, where they used to symbolize the empire.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

And in Japan, these chickens are considered sacred.

  • Paduan. Decorative chickens with excellent egg production. A variety characterized by its tuft. The body is elongated, the chest is convex, the eyes are large red or orange. The plumage is dense, black and white, silvery or golden. High egg production – up to 120 eggs per year. The average weight of an adult hen is 1,5 kg, and a rooster is 2 kg.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

Content Rules

The content of decorative chickens is different from the care of ordinary poultry. If you want to breed these breeds in your backyard, you should pay attention to the features of their content.

  • Good feed. The nutrition of ornamental chickens should be more varied and rich in vitamins. Every day they should eat vegetables: cabbage, carrots, oats, beets and other similar products. In addition, you can not do without mineral supplements. Usually they grind chalk, eggshells, gravel. If chickens eat a balanced diet and such additives, they will remain healthy and will not lose their decorative qualities. Fresh drinking water should always be available in bird dwellings.
  • Weather. The difficulty of breeding decorative chickens in central Russia is that most of them can hardly tolerate the cold. Yes, and fresh vegetables are difficult to get in the winter. If you keep them in a heated room, then its size becomes important. In small cells, they will lose their decorative effect.
  • Equipped perches. Many ornamental chickens cannot fly. Therefore, they require the equipment of special low perches.
  • The chicken coop must be in a certain place. It is better to equip such premises on a hill so that the increased humidity inside does not cause diseases in chickens. Ventilation will also contribute to a good microclimate inside.
  • Habitat lighting. In the summer, the place for walking chickens should be lit by 50%, and the remaining half remains in the shade. Birds must be able to get away from the scorching sun to avoid overheating.
  • Keeping little chicks. Chicks up to a certain age should not live with other adults, except for the hen. They should have their own place for walking and a separate room with clean water and fresh food.

Breeding

When breeding ornamental chickens, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the breed: many tolerate cold well, and in the heat they can die, others get sick with high humidity.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

The optimum temperature for a chicken and its offspring is +22.25 degrees Celsius.

Chickens with hens should live separately, where perfect cleanliness will be maintained. To do this, it is convenient to make a wooden flooring, and cover it with an easily swept-away material on top. In addition, it is important to protect the room with chickens from the penetration of animals: cats, ferrets, rats and foxes.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

To obtain healthy offspring of laying hens, it is necessary to feed food rich in vitamins: oats, barley, various vegetables, yeast, germinated grains.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

There are no special subtleties in breeding decorative chickens – everything happens in the same way as ordinary domestic breeds. The main thing is to monitor the health and convenience of laying hens.

Decorative chickens: popular breeds and features of their content

For decorative chickens, popular breeds and features of their content, see the following video.

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Anna Evans

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