6 Cool Types of Chickens

Chickens have to be one of the coolest birds out there. I mean, they are related to dinosaurs, they cannot fly, and, contrary to popular belief, they do not actually enjoy being killed and eaten! Hmmm, I wonder why. Anyways, there are many cool types of our avian (and sadly, sort of tasty) friends.

1. Afro Chickens

Okay, I’ll admit, they are not actually called Afro Chickens. They’re Polish Chickens, which aren’t actually from Poland, but rather originate in the Netherlands. (Way to go stealing the spotlight, Poland)! And come on. LOOK AT IT:

The reason they look like that is because of a strip of bone placed on its head, making its feathers curve forward, giving them their Afro. Yes, they can see and yes, they still dislike being eaten. I like to think that if they could talk, they would have a hilarious sense of humor.

2. Seramas

There are many different versions of this chicken. The breed can come in an array of colors, feather types, and feather patterns. They can have curly feathers and down feathers, with varieties that even have feathery feet. They can be born in over 2,500 colors and in Malaysia, where they are from; they hold beauty pageants for these small birds. Most are the size of a pigeon

Image from backyardchickens.com

As you can see, some are really small. Some are actually even smaller! Seramas are the recommended breed if you plan on getting a household chicken (Yes, that is a thing), because of their size and how nice they are.

2. Crevecoeur

This type of chicken has a fluffy beard and a crest sort of like Mr. Afro we heard about earlier. They originate from France, so their name translates to “broken heart” for some reason.

Crevecoeurs lay big white eggs and they are friendly towards most people, making them very popular as a backyard chicken. That is also a thing apparently. Okay then. They were popular for quite a while because of their fine white meat. Too bad they also don’t enjoy being eaten. Boo Hoo.

4. Silkie

These chickens look like living balls of fluff. You just want to hug them.

They can be blue, black, white, and grey. They are called silkies because their feathers feel like silk (gee, what a surprise). They are calm and friendly animals, making them a good pet. They actually fly worse than other chicken breeds because the feathers on their wings are shredded. They have blackish bluish skin and meat, which is shown to have different nutrients in their meat then chickens which white meat (shame they also don’t like to be eaten). Silkies are also born with five toes, which is pretty strange considering most chickens are born with four toes. If you want to watch a great informational video about Silkie chickens, check out this youtube video on Avi Birds. Their page features facts about a host of beautiful and unique bird breeds!

5. Featherless Chicken

A team of scientists at the genetics faculty of the Rehovot Agronomy Institute by Tel Aviv, Israel thought it would be a smart idea to remove all feathers from chickens genetically to solve the problem of overheating chickens with feathers. I mean, I like chicken as much as the next guy, as long as the next guy was a vegetarian, but really? Featherless chickens? Really? Anyway, as you may have already figured this out, almost all of them died off in all of five minutes ( I might be exaggerating a little bit). They got severe sunburns and were very susceptible to all types of predators. It looks like a cooked chicken walking around on two legs (still doesn’t like being eaten though). What did you really expect from something that looks like this?

6. Onagadori

This breed originates from Japan, as you might have guessed from its pretty name. It can be silver, red, golden, and white, to name a few.

A rooster of the Onagadori species can have tail feathers that can be as long as 8.2 meters. As you have to brush and keep the tail feathers clean after a day of rummaging outside, the Onagadori roosters are high maintenance. They have to have tall stumps to sit on to keep their tail feathers off the ground. Onagadori’s tail feathers look beautiful, but they definitely come at a price to keep.

Finally, I am a big fan of chickens — holding them, playing with them — but NOT of eating them. Here are some pictures of me with chickens over the years: