You’re standing in a feed store, or maybe you’re scrolling through a hatchery website, and suddenly it hits you: there are way too many birds to choose from. It’s overwhelming. You just wanted a few fresh eggs for your morning toast, but now you’re staring at terms like "Heritage," "Bantam," and "Auto-sexing" like they're some kind of secret code. Honestly, figuring out what types of chickens are there is a bit like trying to categorize every single kind of dog—from the tiny Chihuahuas to the massive Great Danes—except chickens also have to provide you with breakfast.
Chicken breeds aren't just about looks. Some are basically tiny feathered athletes. Others are lazy couch potatoes that just happen to lay blue eggs. If you pick the wrong one, you might end up with a bird that hates the cold when you live in Maine, or a "meat bird" that grows so fast it can barely walk after two months.
We need to break this down by how these birds actually live and what they give back to you.
The big divide: Production vs. Heritage breeds
When people ask about what types of chickens are there, they usually start with the "big names" they see on egg cartons, but there’s a massive difference between a bird bred for a factory and one bred for a backyard.
Production birds are the Ferraris of the poultry world. Take the White Leghorn or the Rhode Island Red (the production strain, specifically). These birds are engineered—literally selected over generations—to pump out an egg almost every single day. They’re efficient. They eat less feed per egg. But, they burn out fast. By year three, a production bird is often physically spent. It's a short, high-intensity life.
Then you have Heritage breeds. These are the "old school" birds. To be officially called Heritage by the Livestock Conservancy, a breed has to meet strict criteria: they must be slow-growing, mate naturally, and come from a stable genetic line that dates back decades or centuries. Think of the Orpington or the Delaware. They don't lay as many eggs as the production hybrids, but they’ll keep laying for five or six years, and they generally have much sturdier immune systems. They’re the marathon runners, not the sprinters.
Dual-purpose birds: The Swiss Army knives of the coop
Most backyard keepers end up here. If you aren't trying to run a commercial egg empire and you aren't raising birds specifically for a Sunday roast, you want a dual-purpose breed. These are birds that are heavy enough to eventually provide meat but talented enough to keep the egg basket full.
The Plymouth Rock is the classic example here. You’ve probably seen the "Barred" version—they look like they’re wearing black-and-white striped prison uniforms. They are calm. They are hardy. They don't freak out when a cat walks by.
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Another heavy hitter is the Sussex. Originally from the UK, these birds are foragers. If you have a big backyard with lots of bugs, a Sussex will basically feed itself halfway. They’re chunky birds. That extra weight isn't just for show; it acts as insulation. If you’re wondering what types of chickens are there that can survive a brutal Minnesota winter without their combs freezing off, you’re looking for these heavy-bodied, dual-purpose breeds with small combs.
The color palette: It's not just brown and white
We have to talk about the "Easter Eggers." This isn't actually a single breed, but rather a category of hybrids that carry a specific gene—usually from Araucana or Ameraucana ancestry—that turns their eggshells blue or green.
It’s a bit of a genetic lottery. You buy an Easter Egger chick, and you won't know until she’s six months old if she’s going to give you seafoam green, sky blue, or even a weird pinkish-tinted egg. Marans, on the other hand, are the specialists. They lay eggs that look like they’ve been dipped in dark chocolate. If you mix a Marans with an Ameraucana, you get an "Olive Egger," which produces—you guessed it—deep olive-green eggs.
Tiny but mighty: The world of Bantams
Sometimes space is the limiting factor. Or maybe you just think tiny things are cute.
Bantams are "miniature" chickens. Some are "True Bantams," meaning there is no large version of them—like the Belgian d'Uccle or the Sebright. Others are just shrunken versions of standard breeds. A Bantam Cochin looks like a round, walking basketball of feathers. They have feathers on their feet, which is adorable until it rains and they get muddy, but hey, that’s the price of fashion.
Why get them?
- They eat about a third of the feed.
- You can fit three Bantams in the space of one Jersey Giant.
- They make incredible pets for kids because they’re easy to pick up.
The downside is the eggs. They are small. You’ll need three Bantam eggs to equal two large "supermarket" eggs. Also, because they’re small, they are much more vulnerable to hawks. A hawk might hesitate with a 9-pound Brahma, but it’ll take a 2-pound Silkie in a heartbeat.
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Ornamental and "fancy" types: Poultry as art
If you want your neighbors to stop and stare, you look into the ornamentals. These aren't really about the eggs, though they do lay some. These are about the "wow" factor.
The Polish chicken is the most famous here. They have a massive "crest" of feathers on their heads that looks like a 1980s rock star's hair. It’s hilarious, but it’s also a liability. Because they can’t see upward through their "pom-pom," they are notoriously jumpy and get surprised easily. You often have to trim their head feathers just so they can find their food bowl.
Then there’s the Silkie. Silkies don't have regular feathers; they lack "barbicels," so their feathers look like fur or satin. They have black skin, black bones, and five toes instead of the usual four. They are the "lap dogs" of the chicken world. They also have a biological urge to sit on eggs—any eggs. A Silkie will try to hatch a golf ball if you leave it in the nest long enough.
What types of chickens are there for specific climates?
Climate is the great filter. You can love the look of a bird, but if it's not built for your weather, it’s going to be a miserable experience for everyone involved.
In the heat (think Arizona or Florida), you want birds with large combs and sleek feathers. The comb acts like a radiator, releasing heat from the body. Leghorns and Minorcas thrive in the sun. If you put a heavy, fluffy Orpington in the Mojave Desert, she’s going to spend all day panting and might even drop dead from heatstroke.
In the cold, it’s the opposite. You want those "fluff-butt" breeds. Wyandottes are fantastic for the North because they have "rose combs"—flat, bumpy combs that sit close to the head and won't get frostbit. A bird with a tall, single comb in -10 degree weather will likely lose the tips of that comb to frostbite, which is painful and can lead to infection.
Understanding the "Meat Bird" reality
We can't talk about what types of chickens are there without mentioning the Cornish Cross. This is the bird that provides 99% of the chicken meat in the United States. It isn't a "breed" in the traditional sense; it’s a four-way cross.
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These birds are controversial in the backyard world. They grow so fast that they can go from hatchling to a 5-pound roaster in 6 to 8 weeks. Because of this unnatural growth rate, they have heart issues and leg problems if you let them live too long. They aren't pets. They are a food project. If you want meat but want a more "natural" bird, you look for "Rangers" or "Freedom Rangers," which grow slower (about 10-12 weeks) and actually act like real chickens—scratching, foraging, and running around.
The weird and wonderful: Rare and exotic types
If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, there are breeds that defy the standard "chicken" look.
- Ayam Cemani: A bird from Indonesia that is completely black. The feathers are black. The skin is black. The meat is black. Even the internal organs are black. They look like something out of a gothic fantasy novel.
- Onagadori: A Japanese breed where the roosters' tails can grow to over 20 feet long. They require special high perches so their tails don't drag and tatter.
- Naked Necks (Turkens): They look like a cross between a turkey and a chicken because they are born with no feathers on their necks. People either love them or find them terrifying. Interestingly, they are extremely heat-tolerant and very easy to pluck if you're raising them for meat.
How to actually choose: Actionable steps
Don't just buy the first cute chick you see at the store in the spring. That’s how people end up with roosters they aren't allowed to have or birds that die in the first heatwave.
First, check your ordinances. Most cities that allow chickens have a "no roosters" rule. This is important because even if you buy "sexed" pullets (females), there is usually a 10% chance you'll get a "sexing error"—a surprise rooster. Have a plan for where that boy is going to go.
Second, define your goal. If you want 300 eggs a year, get a Leghorn or a Rhode Island Red. If you want a pet that your kids can carry around like a doll, get a Silkie or an Orpington. If you want a "showpiece" for the yard, get a Polish or a Phoenix.
Third, look at your coop space. Heavy breeds need more room on the roost. They can't fly well, so they need low perches. Light, flighty breeds like Leghorns will roost in your trees if you don't have a covered run.
Fourth, consider the "Broody" factor. Some breeds, like Silkies and Sussex, go "broody" often. This means they stop laying eggs and insist on sitting on the nest to hatch them. If you don't have a rooster, this is just annoying because you get zero eggs for a month. If you want to raise your own chicks without an incubator, broody hens are a godsend.
The reality is that there isn't one "best" chicken. There's only the best chicken for your specific backyard, your specific climate, and your specific patience level. Whether you end up with a flock of black-boned Cemanis or a handful of reliable Barred Rocks, you’re participating in a tradition of poultry keeping that's thousands of years old. Just make sure you've got a sturdy fence—because everything, and I mean everything, likes the taste of chicken.
To get started, visit a local poultry swap or check the American Poultry Association breed standards. This will help you see the birds in person rather than just relying on photos. Once you’ve narrowed down your climate needs, reach out to a local breeder rather than a massive commercial hatchery if you want birds with better "Heritage" genetics and longer lifespans.