Tag: Hybrid

Definition of Ornamental, Exotic, and Designer Chickens

What’s the Difference & Where to Find Them

Not all chickens are bred just for eggs or meat, some are raised for their beauty, uniqueness, or both. You’ll often hear the terms ornamental, exotic, and designer used to describe different kinds of specialty breeds. You’ll find a link below to help direct you to U.S. based hatcheries who may have these special breeds available.
Here’s what sets these specialty breeds apart:
Ornamental Chickens
Ornamental chickens are the showstoppers of the poultry world. These birds are bred mainly for their appearance rather than production. With their fancy plumage and striking colors, they’re often found in exhibition shows or simply admired by the backyard chicken keeper. A few common examples of these birds are the Sultan, Polish, Silkie (my favorite), and the Sebright.

Sultan
Polish

Silkie
Sebright


Designer Chickens (Sometimes called hybrids)
Designer chickens are all about creativity and crossbreeding. These birds aren’t purebred but are intentionally mixed to bring out special traits, like unique feather colors, egg hues, or personality. They are usually created by hatcheries or breeders for specific visual or egg color traits, blending both aesthetic and functional qualities, unlike exotic or ornamental breeds, which are historic or purebred.
A good example of designer chickens are Olive Eggers (a cross between Ameraucanas and Marans) and Easter Eggers, known for their colorful blue-green eggs. Both are prolific egg layers.

Olive Egger
Easter Egger


Exotic Chickens
“Exotic” refers to breeds that are rare or foreign to your region. I have never seen any of these birds in real life, but here are a few examples.
Ayam Cemani (Indonesia), Onagadori (Japan), Phoenix (Germany, derived from Japanese stock), Svart Hona (Sweden)

Ayam Cemani
Onagadori

Phoenix
Svart Hona

How & Where to Find Specific Breeds

First Time Buying from a Hatchery? Here’s What to Expect

Most hatcheries have a minimum order of 3 to 15 chicks to keep them warm in transit. You’ll choose your preferred breeds and check for an available shipping date at checkout. Hatcheries only ship newly hatched chicks so they can safely survive the journey without food or water due to absorbed yolk nutrients. Chicks are shipped via USPS Priority Express or Priority Mail. Delivery usually takes about 2 days. Your local post office will call you when your chicks arrive.

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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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