Breed, Hybrid: What’s This All About?

Leafing through the Hoover’s Hatchery catalog or clicking through its website is a fun way to discover the amazing diversity of poultry The sheer number of chicken types is fascinating but it can be confusing Just what is a breed? Hybrid?

 

Just What Is a Breed?

 

One thing is certain All chickens belong to the same species, whether they are immense Jersey Giants or diminutive bantams Such useful birds probably were developed from the Red Jungle Fowl, which still lives in the wild in some southern Asian forests Scientifically the modern chicken is Galus galus domesticus  

 

It can get complicated People

Founding Flocks, Part 6: The New Hampshire

FlockJourney America 250 Series, Part 6: The New Hampshire, the breed from the state that made America official

Top 3 Takeaways

  • New Hampshire is the state that wanted its own chicken New Hampshire’s poultry breeders watched Rhode Island get a breed named for it and decided to create their own By the mid-1930s they had, by refining Rhode Island Red stock in the Granite State into a faster-growing, dependable bird all their own
  • It is a working bird, bred to do two jobs well The New Hampshire lays about 240 brown eggs a year and grows quickly enough that it

Founding Flocks, Part 5: The Jersey Giant

Some Founding Flocks breeds get by on their looks The Jersey Giant gets by on sheer size Developed in New Jersey in the late 1800s, it is exactly what the name promises: the biggest chicken most backyard Keepers will ever raise Part five of our Founding Flocks series belongs to the gentle giant of the American backyard

Top 3 Takeaways

  • Built to be the biggest Developed in New Jersey specifically to be one of the largest breeds in the country, and it still holds that reputation today
  • Slow and steady Jersey Giants take

California Grey: An Unusual and Fun Hybrid Breed

Want to try an amazingly productive yet unusual chicken with a fascinating history?

The California Grey might be just right

What Makes California Grey Chickens Unique?

California Grey’s are oddballs Most families tending backyard flocks prefer brown egg laying, large bodied breeds and hybrids California Grey’s look like Barred Rocks with the distinctive barred feather pattern that gives them a name shared by a common night bird, the Barred Owl Some poultry fanciers call the color pattern “cuckoo”

Glance at a California Grey hen and it would be easy to assume it’s a slimmed down

7 Classic American Chicken Breeds to Raise for America’s 250th Birthday

This summer, the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, and there will be parades, fireworks, and bunting on every Main Street Meanwhile, the oldest American tradition on your block will be out back rather than on the parade route Backyard chicken keeping is older than the nation itself, and the good news for anyone carrying on that tradition today is that several of the very same classic American chicken breeds that helped settle the country are still scratching around farmyards right now In this guide we round up seven founding breeds and take a close look at the oldest

Why We Delivered Four Chicks to an Iowa Care Home

Why We Delivered Four Chicks to an Iowa Care Home

This morning, four chicks arrived at the IOOF Home and Community Therapy Center in Mason City They came with a brooder, a feeder, a waterer, a heat lamp, and a bag of feed

This isn’t a typical Hoover’s delivery We’ve been an Iowa hatchery since 1944 Most days, we ship chicks to backyards across all the country Today, four of them stayed close to home

The chicks will live at IOOF Home & Community Therapy Center for the next six to eight weeks while they grow their feathers and gain size Residents

Urban Chicken Noise: Living with Feathered Neighbors Who Love to Chat

Keeping chickens in the city brings fresh eggs and wholesome fun—but it also comes with a soundtrack that’s surprisingly lively Chickens aren’t quiet creatures; their range of clucks, squawks, and chatter can be a surprise to new urban flock keepers Most people think roosters are the only loud mouths, but they must not be aware of the daily song a hen sings after laying her egg!

What’s Making All That Noise?

Chickens vocalize for all sorts of reasons: socializing with the flock, alerting to potential danger, staking claim on favorite food, or just

Neighbors Help Make Backyard Flocks Possible

Occasionally a friend visits us at Winding Pathways  He’s a retired professor of ornithology…a bird guy The first thing he does is “go visit our girls” These girls are our backyard chicken flock

 

Our chickens are attractions that entice friends here and are ambassadors of positive neighbor relations Our hens give us eggs while showing visitors how well these fascinating food producing animals fit into modern lives and suburban backyards

 

We live in an urban world A couple of generations ago most Americans grew up on farms or in small rural towns Although they now live in a modern suburb they

Urban Chickens

Families frustrated by ordinances banning backyard chickens might be astonished to learn that flocks legally thrive in the Big Apple, America’s largest city   Many New Yorkers tend chickens both in backyards and community gardens, encouraged and helped by the New York Chicken Guy, Greg Anderson   

 

“Chickens have always been allowed in the City  Years ago the State Department of Health declared  that chickens and rabbits are pets This means the citizens of New York City can keep them as long as they are clean and safe  Unfortunately roosters aren’t included since their crowing can reach

Adventures in Ordinance Change

During the past few years thousands of American families have started a backyard chicken flock Bringing a breakfast’s worth of fresh eggs into the house is as prideful and delicious as growing and enjoying home grown vegetables

 

Gardening is legal and encouraged everywhere But sadly, many towns have enacted ordinances banning chickens inside city limits Positive change is sweeping the nation   Town and city councils everywhere recognize that many citizens want to legally keep a small flock They are learning that it can be done without causing problems So, many towns have changed anti chicken ordinances to allow families to