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What You Can Learn from a Chicken’s APA Class

A mixed flock of chickens in a backyard

For exhibition purposes, large chicken breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) are organized into six classes. Most of the classes represent the geographic region where the breeds originated or were developed. Knowing a chicken’s APA class lets you infer a number of things about the breed, including temperament, laying ability, climate tolerance, and […]

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Hens Can Grow Spurs, Too

Chicken Spur

All chickens have spur buds. Roosters are well known for their spur buds developing into full-blown spurs. But hen’s can grow spurs, too. While some roosters — notably certain strains of Cubalaya — maintain only rudimentary spurs, some hens develop long rooster-like spurs. As with roosters, the longer the spur, the older the hen. Which […]

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Breed Spotlight: Lovely Longtail Chickens

Longtail Chicken Breeds

A longtail chicken is one of several breeds selectively bred for growing particularly long tail feathers. The roosters have two specialized genes that allow their tails to grow longer than those of other breeds. One is a nonmolting gene that causes some of their tail feathers to not molt. The other gene produces rapid tail-feather […]

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Poultry Breed Finder Index Page

STANDARD CHICKEN BREEDS Austra White Barnevelder Barred Cochin Barred Plymouth Rock Barred Plymouth Rock Exhibition Type Bielefelder Black Ameraucana Black Australorps Black Breasted Red Aseel Black Breasted Red Phoenix Black Cochin Black Jersey Giants Black Laced Gold Wyandotte Black Laced Red Wyandotte Black Laced Silver Wyandotte Black Sex Link Black Sumatra Blue Ameraucana Blue Cochin […]

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Chicken Breeds List Comparison Chart

Use the chicken breed list below to help you choose the right chicken. This list includes all of the chicken breeds that are for sale at Cackle Hatchery. Click the name of the chicken breed for more information, to see an image of that breed and for purchasing options. Chicken Breed Name Egg Production Egg Color […]

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Why Does a Rooster Have a Comb?

Why Does a Rooster Have a Comb?

One of the most outstanding features of a rooster is his comb — that fleshy crownlike protrusion on top of a chicken’s head. So why do roosters have such ornate combs? At about 3 to 8 weeks of age, depending on the breed, baby chicks start developing reddened combs. A cockerel’s comb will gradually become […]

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