Discovering the Beauty of Yellow Chicken Breed: Characteristics, Care, and Breeding Tips
As you may already know, there are too many chicken breeds than you can count, and they come in various feather colors and textures. If you’ve ever seen a chicken with golden or yellow feathers you have probably been wondering which breed they are and how much they can contribute to the farm. Although golden or yellow hens and chickens, in general, have yellow feathers that look golden in the sun, know that it’s not the name to call them. Instead, chicken breeds that have yellow feathers usually are called buff chickens.
Most baby chicks are golden yellow once they hatch from the egg by pecking their way out of it. However, as they are growing, their feathers go through several changes that make their feathers appear completely different colors once they grow up.
They can be brown, teal, blue, navy, black, and even red and yellow. Yellow chickens are known as buff chickens mostly, and besides their beautiful golden color, you will notice that they contain the word “buff” in their name.
Similarly, as to how we call people with “yellow” hair blonde or fair, we also call the yellow chicken buff chicken. If you’re looking to add some buff chickens to the collection of your chicken farms, there are a lot of things to consider.
Some of these things include maintenance, health, egg production, and other factors like how they get along with other hens and roosters, and whether their behavior is aggressive and too territorial. With that in mind, we listed the 10 best buff chicken breeds for you to consider for your chicken farm.
Make sure to check all of them and weigh their behavioral patterns, characters, social habits, and maintenance and health habits. Some may be more expensive than others, but in the long run, buff chickens can be a great investment for your farm. Read on!
Also Read:
10 Yellow Chicken Breeds for Your Farm
Given that there are many buff chicken breeds, something you need to know is that not all of them are explicitly yellow. Some of them are beige, while the others can range from golden to honey and orange color chickens.
If you compare buff hens and roosters, you will see that some of the hens will appear lighter compared to the roosters, while others will have about the same shade of yellow color. When it comes to the hen eggs, some buff chickens will lay light yellow or beige eggs, while others will lay light brown eggs.
Since some of the buff chickens also make easter egger chickens, you may also be rewarded with blue, green, or teal eggs. Continue reading to learn which buff chickens are the best.
Buff Cochin
- Class: Asiatic
- Egg Production: Good
- Purpose: Ornamental, occasionally for eggs
- Egg Color: Brown
If you’re looking for one of the most popular buff chicken breeds, you should make buff cochin an addition to your chicken farm, especially if you’re looking for chickens that can grow into large hens. They are perfect for farm use and are often used for meat too.
They originate from China, but in the mid-19th century, they were brought into European and North American lands, after which they traveled to farms around the world. Although they can be used for eggs and meat, oftentimes they are used as ornamental chickens.
Even though farmers generally use their eggs, they have ornamental purposes because their eggs aren’t typical commercial standards. Growing up to 11 lbs heavy, they can be pretty large. They also have excellent egg production but are known to lay more eggs in the winter. They have friendly and approachable behavior, so it’s safe for the rest of the flock, as well if you have children.
Editor’s Notes: Even though they don’t have the most perfect eggs, they often assist other hens in laying the eggs. Alternatively, they can be used as foster mothers in helping hatch the eggs.
Buff Brahma
- Class: Asiatic
- Egg Production: Fair
- Purpose: Eggs and meat
- Egg Color: Brown
Originally, it came from the Asiatic areas, particularly, from a crossing between Chinese chickens and Malaysian chickens. That being said, this hen may have the traits of Chinese, Malaysian, and even Bengali chickens. They were crossed to achieve the perfect poultry meat at least that’s what the 19th-century farmers from the USA believed.
They have good behavior traits, are strong, and are quite gracious and elegant. It’s also worth noting that they are mostly known for their eggs, that they lay on loyally, and go the extra mile to take care of their chicks. They can also be quite protective of their chicks.
Given their majestic appearance, they are tall and have beautiful strong feathers that help them endure the colder climate. That being said, you’ll find them in the northern parts of the world. They can reach from 10 to 12 pounds in weight, which is why many consider them for their tasty meat too.
Editor’s Notes: They are available in many colors, but buff brahma simply looks more majestic than others and is oftentimes larger too. Their eggs are brown.
Buff Rock
- Class: American
- Egg Production: Excellent
- Purpose: Eggs and meat
- Egg Color: Brown
Buff rock is also known as Plymouth Rock. It is a chicken that originates from the USA and was first introduced to farms in the 19th century. If you’re looking for a loyal farm chicken breed with golden feathers, this is the best choice for you.
It has amazing egg production, but it’s also used for meat. It lays light brown eggs and can weigh anywhere from 6 to 10 pounds, which makes it smaller compared to some other chicken breeds that we listed in this article. They are considered to bear some of the best quality meat when it comes to all farm fowl.
Editor’s Notes: They also have a very peaceful and calm nature, so they’ll be friendly around other fowl, as well as children.
Buff Silkie
- Class: Continental, Asiatic
- Egg Production: Good
- Purpose: Ornamental
- Egg Color: Cream and brown
Buff Silkie has been on the farm for the longest time. They are among the oldest breeds and although it’s not exactly clear where this breed originated from, many believe that it’s from continental China. It has been used for egg and ornamental purposes for hundreds of years.
They are friendly, curious, intelligent, and active among other fowls on the farm. However, they have been used for ornamental purposes due to their silky feathers, after which it was named. It has among the most beautiful golden brown feathers.
They only weigh a few pounds, which doesn’t make them a good choice. They are however quite broody and devoted to their chicks and are open to adopting chicks that have been left behind.
Editor’s Notes: It is so friendly and peaceful that it is known to adopt eggs of other birds on the farms such as duck and turkey. Additionally, it is believed that this breed was documented by Marco Polo during his journeys.
Buff Easter Egger
- Class: American
- Egg Production: Excellent
- Purpose: Eggs and meat
- Egg Color: brown, blue, green
Like all Easter Eggers, Buff Easter Egger shares a lot from its relatives that were crossed – Ameraucana and Araucana, which makes them not quite purebred chickens. Their size and personality will always vary, but they are interesting chickens to have around. They are also known to reach their breeding maturity a bit later compared to other chicken breeds.
They are beautiful and will also lay even more beautiful eggs such as teal, blue, green, and even red. However, classical cream or light brown eggs are also common among them. They have beautiful golden feathers and can appear quite tall and majestic.
Editor’s Notes: Keep in mind that their size, weight, and other appearance traits depend on their parental crossbreed, so it always varies. They are more commonly used for eggs than meat.
Buff Laced Polish
- Class: Continental
- Egg Production: Fair
- Purpose: Ornamental
- Egg Color: White
If you’ve ever seen a laced polish, you will know that it’s an ornamental fowl. It’s gorgeous and has majestic golden feathers that won’t make it hard to spot in your flock. They have unique head feathers that they use to brag around and sometimes even taunt other chickens.
They were most commonly seen in Eastern Europe, and that’s where it’s also believed that they were urbanized in the first place. Still, their real origin is unknown to this day. They were most commonly used from the 19th century on.
Initially, they were used for egg production, but it was visible that their eggs can’t reach the commercial standard for breeding hens. That’s why they became strictly ornamental. They are also not too heavy and can weigh up to 7 pounds.
Editor’s Notes: Their white eggs are super-popular especially just before Easter when some people paint the eggs in pastel colors.
Buff Leghorn
- Class: Mediterranean
- Egg Production: Excellent
- Purpose: Eggs
- Egg Color: White
Buff Leghorn is another type of fowl that will produce white eggs, which are perfect for the Easter holidays. They were mostly urbanized in Italian areas. The white class of this breed mainly appears in movies and cartoons, but this golden variation is gorgeous and majestic no matter the farm.
Although it is predominantly used for eggs, it can sometimes be used for meat too. They can weigh from 4 to 6 pounds, so they’re not the largest choice for chicken meat. They are rare, and as such, they’ll also be more expensive on the market.
Editor’s Notes: Their eggs are of excellent quality and they also make good mothers and may sometimes adopt other chicks.
Buff Orpington
- Class: English
- Egg Production: Good
- Purpose: Eggs, meat
- Egg Color: Brown
Buff Orpington is some of the most beautiful chicken breeds especially if you look at their gorgeous golden leather and feathers. They were urbanized in the late 19th century. They could commonly be found in Orpington, but their beautiful appearance and good egg production introduced them to the rest of the world.
They also have very thick feathers, which makes them ideal for wintry areas and climates. They can weigh up to 10 pounds which also makes them a good choice for meat.
Editor’s Notes: They are a popular choice for chickens especially because of their motherly behavior and tendency to adopt.
Hungarian Yellow Chicken
- Class: Continental
- Egg Production: Good
- Purpose: Eggs, ornamental
- Egg Color: Cream
Although they are extremely sought after, Hungarian Yellow Chicken is considered quite rare, and it is nearly considered a collectible in the avian set. They are purebred chickens that were urbanized more than 300 years ago. Sometimes, they can be found in the United States too.
Being so rare, and hard to source they can sometimes cost more than $100. They are gorgeous, boasting large, and thick golden feathers and even though they can’t be found outside of their home country, they are well-prepared for colder climates.
Editor’s Notes: It’s interesting to note that Dr. Roy D. Crawford a professor of poultry science contributed to these chickens not going extinct because of their extreme rarity.
Buff Showgirl Chicken
- Class: Continental
- Egg Production: Fair
- Purpose: Ornamental
- Egg Color: Brown
Buff Showgirl Chicken is the last from our list, but it’s a fascinating-looking hen that you won’t always see around. They took over the traits of their ancestors, given that they’re crossbreds between a silkie and turken chickens. This crossing resulted in them not having any feathers on their necks.
They have a small, yet fluffy build that will make you want to hug them, and they like to flaunt their feathery mess on their heads and show off. Farmers prefer having them because of their broodiness so they will also make great mothers, and also tend to adopt chicks from other animals like ducks.
Since they’re small, they’re not commonly used for meat, but they fit in perfectly into any coop and will generally communicate and get along with other hens.
Editor’s Notes: Their egg quality is fair and they only produce 80 to 150 eggs per year, which doesn’t make them a good source of eggs to look for.
