Most of us have seen a white chicken in our lifetimes, but many of us might not realize that there are quite a few different breeds of chicken. Join us while we take a look at all of the different white chicken breeds. We’ll tell you about each one and provide you with plenty of pictures so you can learn how to tell them apart. Keep reading to see if there are any breeds you didn’t know existed.
The 13 White Chicken Breeds
1. Araucana Chicken
- Weight: 4–5 pounds
The Araucana chicken is a breed from Chile. It’s one of the only birds that produce a blue egg. It’s distinguishable by tufts of feathers around the ears that make it look like it has an old-fashioned mustache, and they often lack a tail.
2. Ameraucana White Chicken
- Weight: 5.5–6.5 pounds
The Ameraucana chicken is another chicken that’s best known for producing blue eggs instead of the white and brown eggs we normally see. Many people label the Araucana and the Ameraucana chickens as Easter Egger chickens.
3. Asil Chicken
- Weight: 10–15 pounds
The Asil chicken is an aggressive bird that breeders originally used for cockfighting. They don’t lay eggs very well and may only produce 40 per year depending on their environment and how much it quarrels. Asil chickens often begin arguing with each other only a few weeks after they are born. There are many varieties and colors of the Asil chicken, including white. The largest variety of Asil can be as large as 15 pounds.
4. Australian White Langshan Chicken
- Weight: 6–7 pounds
The Australian Langshan is a chicken breed rarely seen outside Australia. It stands upright and has long legs, so it stands a bit taller than many other species. It can be white, blue, or black with a straight red comb.
5. Australorp Chicken
- Weight: 7–9 pounds
The Australorp is another Australian chicken that can lay more than 300 eggs per year. It became quite popular in the 1920s after breeders noticed how many eggs they can produce. In America, the only color recognized is black, but you can find white and blue versions in Australia.
6. Barnevelder Chickens
- Weight: 5–8 pounds
The Barnevelder is a Dutch breed created by mixing local Dutch chickens with Shanhai chickens to create a new species. It has yellow legs and a single vertical comb. It’s available in many colors, including white, silver, black, and blue.
7. Brahma Chicken
- Weight: 10–12 pounds
The Brahma chicken is a bird with some confusion surrounding its origin. Most experts believe Americans created it in the 1840s from Shanghai birds. Shanghai birds originate in China and have heavily feathered legs. There are light and dark-colored Brahmas, and they were the primary chicken used for food from the 1850s to 1930s.
8. Cornish Chicken
- Weight: 5–8 pounds
The Cornish chicken is a British game bird. It’s heavy with a broad chest and brown eggs. The white Cornish is the production breed used in many parts of the world for food. It’s resistant to many diseases that affect other chicken breeds but is susceptible to parasites.
9. Cochin Chicken
- Weight: 8–13 pounds
The Cochin chicken is primarily an exhibition bird bred for show. It’s extremely large and feathery and is the result of mixing the Shanhai bird with other heavily feathered birds in Europe. The Cochin feathers cover the legs and feet and are available in several colors, including white, black, blue, brown, and silver.
10. Croad Langshan
- Weight: 7–11 pounds
The Croad Langshan originated in China, but breeders continued to standardize the breed in Britain. It was almost extinct after World War II, but breeders were able to increase the numbers, and they were out of danger in the mid-1970s. They are available in white, but their main color is black with a green sheen.
11. Frizzle Chicken
- Weight: 7–7.5 pounds
The Frizzle chicken gets its name from its curly and messy looking feathers. The gene that causes the curly feathers is in many breeds, and the United States does not recognize it as a stand-alone breed, but many other parts of the world do.
12. Hamburg Chicken
- Weight: 4–5 pounds
The Hamburg chicken comes from Holland. It’s a small to medium-sized bird with slender legs, and a neat rosecomb available in several colors and patterns, including white and black, silver, and gold. It gets its color from dominant white genes.
13. Leghorn
- Weight: 4–6 pounds
The Leghorn chicken is an Italian bird that came to America in the 1820s. It’s a popular egg-laying chicken in many parts of the world, including America. It’s smaller than many of the other chickens on this list. It’s available in several colors, but white is the most popular.
Summary
As you can see, there are quite a few breeds of chicken that are available in white. The most popular chickens in America are probably the Leghorn and the Cornish. These breeds produce most of our meat and eggs. The other species are typically for show or even pets, though they also provide eggs and meat.
We hope you have enjoyed reading over this list and have learned something new about these important birds. If you were surprised by the number of white chicken breeds, please share this guide to 13 white chicken breeds on Facebook and Twitter.
Related Reads:
Featured Image Credit: ElisabettaDaniele, Pixabay