Breed refers to a group of domestic fowls with a common ancestry, and having similarity in shape, conformation, growth, temperament, shell colour of egg and breed true to type. Variety is a subdivision of a breed and within a breed, there may be several varieties. The term variety is used to distinguish fowls having the characteristics of the breed to which they belong but differing in plumage colour, comb type etc. from other groups of the same breed. A breed/variety may also have several strains or lines identified by a given name and produced by a breeder through at least 5 generations of closed flock breeding for a particular purpose. Several strains within a breed/variety phenotypically may look alike but often differ in their production performance depending upon their breeding history.
The most common method of classifying chicken has been the basis of their origin, viz. American, Asiatic, English and Mediterranean. A brief description of each class with breed characteristics for some of the important breeds is given below.
American Class
The most popular American breeds are the dual-purpose Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red and Wyandotte. These breeds are characterized by yellow skin, clean shanks, free from feathers and red car lobes. Eggs are brown-shelled, except in Lamana.
Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock is a much sought-after American breed because of its egg size and fleshing properties. Barred and White Plymouth Rocks are very popular. A number of other varieties such as Buff, Silver Pencilled, Partridge, Columbian and Blue are also recognized. White Plymouth Rock with a long body of good depth, and broad and prominent breast is especially favoured for broiler production.
The breed has a single comb. Barred Plymouth Rock possesses greyish-white plumage. The feathers are crossed by black bars even in width, straight and extending down to the skin. Each feather ends in a narrow dark tip. Alternate dark and light bars give a bluish cast to the surface colour. The barring in hackle and saddle of the male is narrower than in the other sections of the body. Solid black or partly black feathers are seen in a few birds only. Black spots on the shanks are common, particularly in females. Males are lighter in colour than females due to equal width of black and white bars. In females, the black bars are about one and a half times as wide as the white bars. The gene for barring (B) is located in the sex chromosome and is used for autosexing.
Standard weight (kg): Cock, 4-3; hen, 3-4; cockerel, 3-6; pullet, 2-7.
Rhode Island Red
This is a dual-purpose breed developed by farmers of Rhode Island in America; contains varying amounts of Malay game, Red Shanghai, Brown Leghorn, Cornish and Wyandotte blood. Single and Rose comb are the common varieties. Some single-comb Rhode Island Red are still very popular for commercial production of brown-shelled eggs. The most common colour is red buff; white and brown varieties are also found. The birds are characterized by long bodies, broad and deep breast carried well forward, flat back with red eyes and red car lobes. Legs and feet are deep yellow but may show brown colour. The male is dark red with a black tail, black colour can be seen in both primary and secondary feathers of the wing when open. The female is rich even red, with wing and tail markings as in male. Neck hackle shows a little black marking at the base.
Standard weight (kg): Cock, 3-8; hen, 2-9; cockerel, 3-4; pullet, 2-5.
New Hampshire
This breed was developed from Rhode Island Red by New Hampshire poultry farmers of America for early maturity, rapid feathering, large egg size and good quality meat. It is a popular breed. Some strains are used for broiler production and others for commercial production of brown-shelled eggs. The birds are characterized by chestnut red plumage, single comb and less rectangular body than the Rhode Island Red.
Standard weight (kg): Cock, 3-8; hen, 2-9; cockerel, 3-4; pullet, 2-5.
Asiatic Class
Brahma, Cochin and Langshan, the three recognized Asiatic breeds which are virtually extinct now, are characterized by large body with heavy bones, feathered shanks, red ear lobes and yellow skin (exceptBlack Langshan in which the skin is pinkish white). They are classed as broody and poor layers. These Asiatic breeds have contributed significantly to the development of American breeds.
Brahma
Brahma originated in the Brahmaputra Valley. It is known for its massive, well-feathered and proportioned body. Pca comb is one of the breed characteristics. Light, dark and buff are the most common varieties.
Standard weight (kg): Light Brahma – cock, 5-4; hen, 4-3; cockerel, 4-5; pullet, 3-6.
Dark Brahma – cock, 4-9; hen, 3-6; cockerel, 4-0; pullet, 3-1.
Buff Brahma which is similar in plumage pattern to that of Columbian Plymouth Rock, except that golden buff or buff is replaced by white, shows buff feathers on shank and on the outer toe of each foot.
Cochin
It is also known as Shanghai Fowl. It originated in Shanghai (China). Characterized by massive appearance, thickly feathered shanks, single comb and a cushion-like structure at the base of the tail. The popular varieties are buff, partridge, white and black.
Standard weight (kg): Cock, 4-9; hen, 3-8; cockerel, 3-6; pullet 3-1.
Langshan
This is a graceful bird with a well-proportioned body. It originated from Langshan region of China. The principal breed characteristics are shorter but deeper body than Brahma or Cochin, large tail feathers, tail carried high, long legs and single comb. Black and White are the two main varieties. Black Langshan is known for its dark brown beak, bluish-black shanks and toes, and pinkish-white toe. White Langshan has the plumage colour as that of White Plymouth Rock except slaty white to pinkish-blue back, slaty blue shanks and toes with pink between scales.
Mediterranean Class
The Mediterranean breeds of Italian origin include Leghorn, Minorca, Andalusian, Spanish and Ancona. They are light bodied and are developed for high egg production.
Leghorn
Leghorn is characterized by compact and light body, uniform blending, pretty carriage, long shanks, small head with well-set rose or single comb and early maturity. Popular varieties are White, Brown and Black. White Leghorn is most popular for its excellent laying performance.
Standard weight (kg): Cock 2-6; hen, 2-0; cockerel, 2-2; pullet, 1-8.
Minorca
Minorca is also known as Red-faced Spanish because of its resemblance and appearance to Black Spanish. They probably originated from the same common ancestors. Single Comb Black, Rose Comb Black, Single Comb White, Rose Comb White and Single Comb Buff are the 5 varieties. Comb is erect with 6 evenly and deeply serrated points. Beak is black, and shanks and toes are black or dark slaty.
Standard weight (kg): Cock, 3-5; hen, 2-9; cockerel, 2-9; pullet, 2-5.