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

Rhode Island Red: The All-American Hen Behind Half Your Favorite Layers

Top 3 Takeaways

  • The Rhode Island Red is America’s most-raised backyard hen In a recent Hoover’s survey of 253 backyard keepers, 66% had raised one That’s two of every three keepers, and no other brown egg layer comes close
  • You may already be raising its descendants The Red Star, Black Sex-Link, Cinnamon Queen, and ISA Brown all trace back to a Rhode Island Red parent, and the New Hampshire was refined straight from Rhode Island Red stock One breed from one small state is the genetic backbone of the modern hen house
  • It delivers exactly what keepers say they

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