Things You'll Need
- Chicken breed reference guide
Instructions
Visit your local library and check out a book on chickens, such as the "Storey Guide to Poultry Breeds" or request a catalog from a mail order poultry hatchery. These guides usually have detailed breed information including pictures.
Look at the size of the chicken. Large breeds are usually meat birds. Chickens with a slight build but still full-sized are usually egg layers. Birds that fall in between are dual-purpose birds raised for both meat and egg production. Chickens that are very small even as adults are bantams.
Look at the color of the chicken's feathers. Some breeds come only one or two colors. A white chicken is not going to be a Rhode Island or a New Hampshire Red. However, some breeds come in multiple colors. Also, check the leg and skin color to further narrow your choices.
Look at the chicken's comb. The comb can be a single crest, a double crest, a pea, a rose, a cushion or v-shaped.
Check the size and color of the eggs. Some breeds lay uniquely colored eggs. Ameraucanas lay blue-green eggs and Marans lay dark-chocolate-colored eggs.
Look for other distinguishing characteristics like tufts of feathers on the feet, cheeks, chin or top of the head. Ornamentals like the Polish or Crevecoeur have large puffs of feathers on top of their heads. Ameraucanas have tufts of downy feathers on their cheeks and sometimes on their chins as well. Cochins have tufts of feathers on their legs covering their feet.
Use your list of details and your breed guide to determine what breed of chicken you have.