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Common Crested Chicken Breeds

A Few Fancy Crested Breeds and Where To Get Them

Here are the most common crested breeds that are available at most hatcheries. Yes! You can mail-order chicks and when they arrive at your local post office they will notify you.
We frequently order from Meyer Hatchery and have been very satisfied with their service, and the quality of their chicks. You don’t have to order a lot of chicks either, but keep in mind, chicks transport better when there are at least six.

Polish
Houdan
Sultan

My Favorite…

Silkie

Polish: The Polish chicken is a very popular breed of crested chicken known for its distinctive feather crest on its head. They come in a variety of colors including white, black, silver, and golden.
Houdan: The Houdan chicken is another popular breed of crested chicken known for its feather crest and muffs.
Sultan: The Sultan chicken is a unique crested breed known for its fluffy feather crest, beard, and feathered feet. They come in white and black varieties.
Silkie: The Silkie chicken is a crested chicken known for its soft, fluffy feathers and black skin.

Want to Research Other Breeds?

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Cookies and Cream Hybrid Chicken

A Crossbred Chicken, with Mystery Breeding

Cookies & Cream Hybrid

The Cookies & Cream chicken is a hybrid, meaning it is created by crossing two different parents and will not breed true. Crosses are generally created for egg production qualities, egg color, or feather color variations or patterns. When fully grown this breed will be a medium size, with feathered legs and mottled feathers. Cookies and Cream hens will produce cream-colored eggs, have a crest and beard, and may or may not have 5 toes.
Meyer Hatchery has partnered with chicken enthusiast, Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily to bring you the Cookies and Cream Hybrid. The breeds used to create this chicken are not disclosed, so your guess is as good as mine what they are mixed with. I’m guessing you’re buying a Silkie Cross.

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Steele Egger, What’s The Buzz About?


I Did My Homework on This So-Called Designer Bird & Here’s What I Think

Steele Egger
Steele Egger Chicks

Clever name for this grayish breed because this hybrid was created by Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily. Hybrids AKA crossbreeds are created specifically for egg production qualities, feather patterns, or egg colors. The Steele Egger’s color is considered blue or splash, but from what I’ve seen the mature hens are mostly gray. The chicks are gray, or yellow, or a mix of gray and yellow.
Be Advised, Hybrids are created by crossing two different parents and will not breed true. In this case, we know the Easter Egger lays blue-green eggs, but what we don’t know is the breed it was crossed with. There’s no guarantee the Steele Egger will lay colorful eggs, there is a 1 in 64 chance the Easter Egger will lay a tan or tinted egg. However, if you’re looking for a prolific egg layer, the Easter Egger is a superstar, so whatever breed it’s crossed with was probably chosen to create a super superstar. Or, it was bred for colorful eggs as the priority. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!
The Steele Egger is an exclusive breed at Meyer Hatchery, unfortunately, Meyer Hatchery does not disclose what breed or breeds is used to create the Steele Egger. But I have my suspicions, time will tell, and eventually, that information will leak from somewhere.
What the heck, I’ll put my two cents in now just for kicks, I say a Cream Legbar. Why? Because a crest is mentioned as a possibility, it’s cream with gray barring, AND this breed lays a pale blue egg. Kind of a no-brainer, but who knows!

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5 Chickens That Lay Colored Eggs

Looking To Add Some Color To Your Egg Basket?

Ameraucana: This breed is known for its blue or green eggs. The color can range from light blue to a darker green.
Easter Egger: This is a mixed breed that is often confused with Ameraucanas, but can lay a wider variety of colors, including blue, green, brown, and even pink.
Marans: This breed is known for its dark brown eggs. Some Marans can lay eggs with a deep red color, which is highly prized by some egg enthusiasts.
Welsummer: This breed is known for its dark, terracotta-colored eggs. The eggs can have speckles or spots of a darker color.
Olive Egger: This is a mixed breed that is created by crossing a dark brown egg-laying breed (such as Marans) with a blue or green egg-laying breed (such as Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers). The resulting eggs can be a shade of olive green.

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Chickens That Are Known to Be Flighty

Six Breeds That Have a Tendency to be Easily Startled and Prone to Flight

Leghorn: Known for their flighty nature and agility.
Hamburg: Flighty behavior. They are fast and agile, and they can fly great distances if they need to.
Campine: Campines are a Belgian breed of chicken known for their flighty nature.
Polish: Polish chickens are known for their fancy head feathers, but also known for being flighty.
Araucana: Araucanas are a South American breed of chicken known for their flightiness.
Minorca: They are very active and love to fly, so they need plenty of space to explore.

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What is a Proper Roost for Chickens?

What Should a Roost Be Made Of, How High, and What Size?

This can be a complicated question because the answer somewhat varies. Although most articles you’ll read will say 8 inches per bird, this in my opinion is an argument waiting to happen. When it comes to chickens, space means everything. Bigger is better to keep peace among a flock. If the roost is too small the birds lowest in the pecking order will be bullied.
It’s best to avoid plastic and metal roosts, plastic is slippery, and metal can be either too cold or too hot, depending on the climate where you live.
Wooden 2×2 roosts are the favorite, the flat surface allows chickens to roost comfortably and also allows them to cover their feet in cold weather. Round roosts make keeping their feet warm difficult. You can use 2×4 roosts too, but keep in mind that’s a bigger surface and may be harder to keep clean.
The roost should be long enough to accommodate all the chickens in the flock. Ideally, each chicken should have at least 10 – 12 inches of roosting space.
The roosting bars should be higher than the nest boxes, at least 3 feet high, but some higher would be preferred with a ladder or ramp to access. This also helps prevent injuries from your birds jumping down from a high roost. Harmony among the flock keeps everybody happy, so having more than one roost is recommended.

Need Some Help Choosing a Roost?
Here Are Over 50 Different Types and Creative Ideas To View

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Hen and Hatch-a-Longs Join the Flock

Hen Brings Her Two Week old Chicks To the Outdoor Run to Join the Flock

Having a hen raise chicks is a natural and effective way to ensure they receive the care and nurturing they need to thrive. Not to mention, it’s so much easier to have a hen raise chicks. Brooder chicks require more work, which is time-consuming and can be challenging at times.
Hens are maternal animals and have a strong instinct to care for their offspring. They know how to keep the chicks warm, protect them from danger, and teach them how to find food and water.
These two little fuzzy butts are hatch-a-longs, meaning I introduced day-old chicks to my broody Silkie on day 21 of her dedicated broody cycle. She has been kept in the coop with her babies since day one and has done an incredible job keeping them safe from the rest of the flock. On week two she brought them out of the coop to join the flock in the outdoor run. As you can see in this short video, total harmony.

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