Reviews by Devw

These are such a wonderful breed to own. They come in a lot of colors, though few of them are actually accepted. My favorite is the blue-laced red, and my personal opinion is that it's by far the most eye appealing.

They are loose feather breed, so they look incredibly puffy. They have great form, and have a pea comb (making this breed really cold hearty, with addition of its feather type). This bird grows to be a good size (my hens average 6-7 lbs).

All of my birds have been friendly, and at least tolerant of being handled. I have yet to find a rooster that has been aggressive.

This breed lays large brown eggs consistently, and make good meat birds.

If you're looking for a great breed to start out with, or even just to add to your current flock, this is a great breed to try out. They're beautiful to look at, great personalities, and lay lots of big eggs. Just great overall dual purpose birds.

When I first got into poultry, I bought a bunch of silkie chicks from a hatchery. They were a delight to have. I currently own some show silkies, white. They have great personalities, each one is different. Some absolutely love to be held and coddled (they will search you out and bug you until you do), and I have had some roosters defend my from my aggressive leghorn and plymoth rock roosters.

They lay decent sized bantam eggs, and lay frequently...but they go broody so quickly that there isn't much egg production. On the bright side, they are great broody mothers (I use mine to hatch Japanese bantams and wyandottes. )

Since I show my silkies, I can say that it is somewhat difficult to prep them for a show. Some silkies tend to get dirty butts, and their leg feathers collect all kinds of gross stuff. Their feathers tend to yellow if exposed to sunlight for too long. When at the shows, you need to blow dry the chickens to make them "fluffier".

It's also important to keep in mind that if you live in an area/having a bad year with mites, silkies are prone to mite infestation. Once silkies have them, it takes forever to get rid of, and truly ruins their feather quality until their next molt. Also note if that beautiful head of feathers gets ripped out/damaged in some way, they very rarely grow back the same way, and won't be as cushion-y and full.

Overall, this is a fun breed to have (and make great land gnomes, which is what I use my lower quality birds for). It can be a bit challenging to own in terms of maintenance, but they make up for it in other ways.

When I was testing out breeds to figure out what breeds I wanted for my flock, I headed to the leghorns first. I purchased approximately 20 white hens, and have tried two different roosters. I can say that these are probably the best egg producers I have ever owned (with the exception of the red stars maybe).

However, I find these birds flighty, and tend to avoid interacting with people. The most accessible comb variety is the single comb, and this overall thin bird does not make this bird cold hardy.

The roosters are one of the most aggressive roosters I have ever owned. I tried two different roosters, from two different hatcheries, and both were extremely aggressive. Over the top aggressive.

I keep one hen around, for egg production, but once I decide on the breed I want for white eggs I plan on selling her. Owning this breed was not an enjoyable experience, and while others may say otherwise, I would not recommend for anything besides egg production.

This bird is one of the few breeds that can capture the attention of anyone that walks by it. This breed has extremely short legs (a quality bird's leg is about the average length of a thumb, really nice ones are half that). Its squirrel tail is incredibly beautiful (especially on the roosters, which have extremely long sickles). The tail also fans out and stands upright forming a 'V' with its head, unlike other breeds, which really shows off its sleek feathers. Another key feature is that this breed's wings actually stand nearly vertically when relaxed, allowing the primaries to cover the legs and drag on the ground. This breed also has a large comb on the rooster, and large eyes (prone to frost bite and dryness if your not careful). The overall physique of this bird is extremely unique, and makes this bird incredibly beautiful to look at.

Japanese bantams also come in a variety of colors; black, white, black tailed white, black tailed buff, brown red, mottled, wheaten, and my personal favorite (and the variety I raise) the gray. The most commonly found colors are white, black, and black tailed white. The gray looks very similar to birchen.

Personality wise, these birds reign supreme. I have yet to meet a rooster sweeter than the ones the Japanese throw, and each bird is extremely affectionate. All my Japanese love to be held, and love baths. Honestly, their personalities are such a joy to interact with, and they are always excited to see you.

These are by far my favorite breed of bird, and one of the key reasons I'm so involved with poultry (and showing poultry).

As much as I truly, truly love this breed of bird, there are some cons to owning them.

They are difficult to keep in condition (especially with shows in mind.) Their wing feathers become shredded and covered with whatever is left on the ground when they aren't given routine baths and soft bedding. Their tall tail feathers also are prone to crimping (mostly the roosters), and the long sickles are easily snapped off. If you keep the hens and roosters together, this becomes even more of a problem.

Another con is that this breed produces lethal genes, from their short legs. This means that when you breed two short legged Japanese, 25% of the eggs will develop, but will die days before they're supposed to hatch. However, I personally have not had an issue with breeding my bantams in terms of the lethal gene.

This breed is technically an oriental breed, so don't get this breed expecting to get a huge egg producer. They lay eggs 2-3 times a week, and go through resting periods during the winter. Their eggs are smaller than the average bantam egg.


Overall, this breed is such a treat to own, despite the difficulties in maintaining it. I also want to mention the hens go broody fairly often. It's best to avoid hatchery Japanese chicks, as I guarantee from personal experience they won't look how you're expecting. They have pinched tails, and poor coloration. They also tend to be taller than they really should be, also known as "leggy". This is also a "true bantam" breed, meaning there isn't a larger version of it. Also note that there is no such thing as a "fan" tail variety of this breed. I have met people who have shown this, thinking that this is an accepted form of tail. Its not, and is actually just a pinched tail (a fault).

I recommend this breed to anyone looking for a unique bantam that has a great personality. It's fun to show, and beautiful to look at (and it will get you a lot of attention.) It's great for the hobbiest, the 4H project, and for the serious breeder. Just an awesome breed.

These are some of the best birds I have ever owned, and are a staple in my flock. The roosters are consistently the sweetest full-sized roosters I've ever owned. The hens are lovely to have around, and are more than willing to be handled.

Their feathers or ridiculously shiny at times. They don't peck at each others feathers, and don't fight or pick on each other (or other breeds). Their pea combs makes them fantastic for the winter, and are the only American developed pea comb (and are specifically bred to be cold hardy.) They are a good sized breed, and their meat is wonderful.

I honestly could go on and on about the great things about this breed. Personally, I think they should be renamed the awesome-st birds alive (but that might just be me). They are a fabulous breed, for the new and the old.

They're a great dual purpose breed, but primarily are used for meat. They don't grow as fast as some of the modern cross breeds do, but they grow faster than other heritage breeds.

The only fault I have for this breed is that few people raise them, and they are on the critical-endangered chicken breed list. If you want a great, all around breed, this is the breed for you.

This is one of the first breeds of chickens I owned (and still have two lovely girls). They consistently lay large brown eggs. These birds are very active, and very curious. My favorite thing about them is how investigative they are. If I'm doing something in the yard, they will hang out and watch what I'm up to (and then precede to get in the way). They are fairly affectionate, and don't mind being handled. I also am a fan of their coloration, with the deep oily black tones with the striking orange/red feathers on their breast.

The only downside is that, as with all sex links, will not produce sex links. They're great egg produces, but unless you want a lot of mutt chickens they are useless breeding wise. I highly recommend these for first time chicken owners, as they are low maintenance and a blast to own.

I have always been a fan of Ameraucanas. They come in gorgeous, vibrant colors. Their blue eggs are definitely a plus, and mine lay on a near daily basis.
The couple that I have mix well with the flock, and are fairly quiet. They are low maintenance, and as their comb is small (pea comb) they are resistant to cold winters. I would definitely recommend this as a starter chicken breed, since they are a really easy breed to own, and look beautiful.

The only "problem" I really have with the breed is that they tend to be a bit people shy. This might not be a problem for others, but as I show my birds it can be a bit challenging to prepare for shows and handling them for maintenance. It's also difficult, compared to other breeds, to find a nearby breeder that sells and shows quality birds. Many online hatcheries sell "Ameraucanas", but they're usually Easter Eggers or mutt Ameraucanas (colors crossed that create unaccepted variations). It's also not uncommon for Ameraucanas to have "leaks" in their coloration, such as red feathers found on a black Ameraucana.


If your intention is to have this breed for their eggs, then they are a great breed to invest in. However, if you're looking to show these birds it definitely requires some research in finding nice quality birds.