The temperament of different breeds of chickens |
|
Written by Tim Daniels
|
|
Friday, 21 August 2009 17:26 |
|
The characteristics of different pure breeds of chickens can be quite different. Whilst it is true that originally, all breeds originated from the wild red jungle fowl of South East Asia, tens of thousands of years of selection by poultry keepers all over the World, have shaped the characteristics of the breeds we have today. In the past, many breeds would have been bred to be aggressive for cock fighting and sometimes, it is difficult to breed this trait out of a breed without losing some other characteristic so we have ended up with pure breeds that have different temperaments.
It is especially important if you have young children to choose a breed that has a suitable temperament. You can read more about assessing a cockerel's temperament with children if you are looking for a docile cock bird. I cannot emphasize how important this is, aggressive cockerels can jump a few feet off the ground, kicking out with their feet and spurs as well as peck, knocking a young child over and causing terrible damage.
The temperament of different breeds varies within different strains of the breed so don't assume that a breed listed below as ‘aggressive' will definitely be aggressive, or a bird listed as ‘docile' will definitely be docile, temperament varies from strain to strain and also according to the breeders' management style. This is however a good starting point and is a pretty good generalization of the extremes.
Docile Breeds
|
Flighty Breeds
|
Aggressive Breeds |
| Orpington |
Polish |
Cornish Cocks |
| Cochin |
Leghorn |
Rhode Island Red Cocks |
| Plymouth Rock |
Hamburg |
Aseel |
| Dorking |
Lakenvelder |
|
|
|
|
Here is a list of the pure breeds of chickens found in the UK and some information on the different classifications of chickens.
|
|
Last Updated on Sunday, 27 December 2009 20:33 |
Keeping Chickens 
