Are you thinking of chickens only for eggs and meat? Think again! Ornamental chickens can turn your dull farms or backyards into a bird-watching haven.
Not only roosters but hens are equally beautiful in fancy chicken breeds.
Whether you’re a hobby farm owner or poultry enthusiast, here are must-have 20 ornamental chickens.
1. Silkie
Trust me! These are not dipped into the colored bucket. Not color sprayed either.
Silkie chickens are miniature birds in buff, blue, black, white, splash, and partridge shades. They have crested heads and are bearded or non-bearded and muffed.
These chickens highlight fluffy plumage, which feels silk- or satin-like when touched.
Their soft feathers are all over their bodies so that you won’t see their comb and earlobes. Don’t worry! They aren’t noisy.
Silkies have docile, friendly, and quiet personalities, which makes them perfect pets at home or on a farm.
2. Polish
Polish chickens are known for their large hat-like crests atop their heads. It is because of a bony cone or a protuberance on their skull that keeps the cool-looking crest.
Due to their thick, fluffy, feathery crown, chickens have hidden small, v-shaped combs and white ear lobes.
But red wattles are somewhat visible from the front. The chickens also highlight clean, feather-free legs and feet.
Some fowl varieties do also have beards and muffs.
They can be in many colors, including white, black, silver-laced, buff-laced, golden-laced, blue, and others.
3. Frizzle
I have white, red, black, buff, silver-gray, and brown Frizzles. But these chickens are also white columbian, blue, black-red, brown-red, duckwing, cuckoo, and other shades.
They are unique with their feathers that curl, making them look ruffled and fluffy.
Their curly feathers show as if the birds are in the storm, which is blowing their plumage in the opposite direction.
So, Frizzle fowls look puffier and rounder than other chickens.
They have full breasts and short, erect bodies. Also, pronounced tails, long wings, and blunt beaks enhanced their overall appearance.
4. Sebright
I swear, I haven’t drawn with pen these fowls, they are all nature in the coop.
Sebright chickens have rose combs, bright red or mulberry, rounded wattles, ear lobes, and dark black eyes.
They have full, convex breasts, short backs, and large wings that hinge downwards. Also, they carry full tails above the horizontal.
Serbright are compact, beautiful bantams with laced feathers, known as purely ornamental chickens.
You can find them either silver-laced or golden-laced.
While Silver-laced sebrights are white with black outlines on plumage, Gold-laced chickens have red feathers with black outlines.
5. Phoenix
Phoenix are small, slender, pheasant-like chickens known for their shoulder hackles, long saddle hackles, and signature long tail feathers.
Their tails also look beautiful due to a lush and green sheen.
They also highlight a small and round head, with a bright red comb and wattles and white ear tops.
Their shanks and feet are clean and smooth and light to dark blue or slate in shade. The fowls have reddish-brown eyes, which look alert as if the bird is smart enough in the flock.
Some popular varieties include white, silver, black breasted, red, and golden duckwing.
6. Japanese Bantam
This is a true bantam breed with short legs, large combs, and an arched tail. Its large upright tails reach horizontally over the bird’s head.
Japanese bantams are compact, petite, and stout-figured chickens – true feathery showstoppers!
They come in various colors, including black, mottled, black-tailed white, black-tailed buff, and gray.
You will notice their feathers with a mixture of white and blue, making a splash-like pattern.
The fowls have low stance over the ground and possess very short, stocky legs and a short back.
7. Sultan
Though Sultan chickens come in white, blue, and black, snow white is the popular color.
They are small, fully feathered birds that have decorative plumage, including crests, beards, long tails, and profuse foot feathers.
Their neck possess heavy feathers, providing a head a shortened look.
Also, their small heads have three clumps of feathers that create a beard and a huge, globular crest. And a crest hides the V-shaped or horn comb inside.
Their legs are feathered, and birds have vulture hocks
Sultan chickens have slate blue shanks and toes and tend to stand somewhat erect.
8. Ayam Cemani
Do you know that Ayam Cemani is a symbol of mystique and exoticism in the poultry world?
Ayam Cemani are all black chickens, including skin, feathers, and even flesh, bones and organs.
Due to their striking jet-black appearance, these chickens are considered a high-value breed. They are black due to a dominant gene that causes hyperpigmentation.
The birds have large compact bodies with broad backs in a U or nice curve shape.
Their head is round with thick, upright combs.
These Indonesian chickens produce an iridescent sheen on feathers, reflecting shades of green and purple under particular lighting conditions.
9. Yokohama
Yokohama are also regal, slim chickens with long tails and elegant carriage, similar to Phoenix.
They are descendants of domestic Japanese long-tailed breeds and are considered ornamental chickens, which look like game birds.
These small chickens usually have long tails and long, rich trailing saddle feathers. Their saddle plumage provides sickle feathers that touch the ground, making tails 3 – 4 feet long.
The fowls also highlight pea- or walnut-comb, yellow beak, feet and shanks.
Anyway, Yokohama chickens are multiple colors such as black-tailed buff, spangled, black-red, golden duckwing, blue-red, spangled, and silver duckwing
10. Serama
Seramas are known for their miniature size, making them the world’s smallest chicken breed.
They have a small, compact body with full breasts and an upright posture. Their vertical tail feathers are held upright and tight up to their body, and vertical wings run down almost touching the ground.
Also, their feathers create a frizzled effect, as if they are alive, looking like fluffy little clouds. Though seremas are small, they are very confident.
These chickens also display red colored single combs, red wattles, and red earlobes.
Keepers can find Serama in several different shades, including black, white, blue, splash, chocolate, and ginger red.
11. Pavlovskaya
Pavlovskaya are slender birds with a small, tightly built structure. They are an ancient Russian breed with unique feathering.
Their body are almost horizontal, with very high tails.
They have distinctive tufts or crests with feathers pointing upward on the head, which look like a Polish chicken’s crest. The crest is shaped like a helmet.
Besides, they possess dark, full beards and dark-colored legs and toes covered with feathers all sides like a grouse.
The short, tight plumage on the legs and toes does not stick out like small wings.
Their feathers feel soft and fluffy, helping to add ornamental appeal.
Anyway, Pavlovskayas are available in different shades, including white, silvery, black, smoky, salmon, porcelain, golden, and yellow.
12. Cochin
Unlike other small birds, Cochins are giant chickens with low and full breasts, short, broad, and round backs.
Overall, they have a stocky, broad, well-rounded body with lots of soft, fluffy feathers grown down to their legs and feet.
Keepers can select chickens from different varieties, including white, blue, brown, buff, black, silver-laced, golden-laced, and barred.
They look like a heart-shaped fluff ball when looking from a side.
I like their full and soft feathering, unlike the Rhode Island Red. Also, Cochins make great broiler chickens for meat production.
13. Houdan
In the farm, Houdan are bred for table birds and eggs, but they also add beauty to the flock and farm.
They have large, heavy-looking birds with large and crested heads with short beaks and leaf-type combs. That comb looks like a butterfly at the base of the beak.
And they have a full, bouffant crest, well-developed beard, and muffs that veil small earlobes and wattles.
Houdans are either white or mottled. They have a glossy green-black background with pure white mottles.
The chickens have glossy green-black background with pure white mottles.
Besides, they are medium-sized birds with a long, compact, and well-proportioned body. They have cylindrical body wide at shoulders, and leaning down to back.
14. Onagadori
Onagadori chickens are a Japanese breed with ultra-long tail feathers.
Their colorful plumage are long and beautiful like peacock. They come in several colors including white, black, blue, green, and brown.
The popular ones have brown feathers with white spots.
The chickens are medium-sized birds that have well-rounded, red faces and medium-sized wattles. Also, they highlight white earlobes, slate blue legs, and beaks.
They have slender bodies with sloping backs and a low tail carriage and stand erect.
Anyway, Onagadori enjoys human interaction.
Though they are not not built for flying, due to size, they still can climb the tree. Also, their tail continues growing so keepers need to pay additional care to that.
15. Brabanter
Brabanter is a European breed with a unique spiky crest. They have dense and straight feathers grown on their small head with little or no feathers on each side of the head near the eyes.
Their crest looks like a long spiky hairstyle.
The chickens have beard all around their face with small and white, and the wattles hidden. But a V-shaped comb is visible.
You can tell Brabanters by their laced feathers and upright stance.
You can have many options in this breed ranging from black, white, chamois, cuckoo, to laced blue, gold spangled, and silver spangled.
16. Appenzeller Spitzhauben
Appenzeller Spitzhaubens are beautiful birds with a bright red, V-shaped comb and blue legs.
They have well-rounded bodies with spiky crests tipped on small heads, forward over the face. Unlike others, their crest feathers don’t cover their eyes and comb.
Their crest also looks like a mohawk.
Also, the chickens have full hackles and fairly hard, tight plumage and white skin over the whole body.
Spitzhauben chickens are available in silver spangled, gold spangled, black-mottled, black, blue, or chamois spangled.
17. Booted Bantam
You can tell a booted bantam by the long feathers on its legs and feet. These feathers look as if the birds have worn long, fluffy boots.
Though booted bantams are small with a short stature, their feathers on their feet can grow up to 6 inches in length.
They have a short compact body, short back, and puffed breasts.
These bantams also have single combs with red earlobes, and moderately long wattles. They also boast short neck and short backs with tails held high.
You can find booted bantams in multiple varieties, including black, porcelain, self blue, and white.
18. Barbu d’Uccle
This is also a bantam breed with a full beard and a muff and and feathered feet.
They also boast single rose combs and red or orange eyes. Though they have low posture, they have well developed neck, body broad and deep.
Their tail is also well furnished and carried over a wide back , which is almost covered by the neck hackle.
Overall, Barbu d’Uccle have a round, compact body with broad breast. The tiny birds with a profusion of feathers provide a fluffy appearance.
Keepers have options choose these chickens from different colors such as blue, cuckoo, millefleur, porcelain, lavender, black, white and others.
19. Crevecoeur
I personally like Crevecoeur for several purposes including meat and egg as well as display.
Crevecoeurs are medium-sized chickens with compact, lean, or well-shaped bodies and clean, short legs.
They also have nice looking crest with feathers flowing backward. This make them look as if they have been combed naturally for a long time.
Beard? Yes, a white or black beard on the face. They also add beauty with V-shaped combs and reddish wattles and earlobes.
Besides, these birds come in smoky white and black plumage with a green sheen.
Chickens also highlight a steep chest and a rounded back. They work with pale grayish black beaks, shanks, and feet.
20. Lakenvelder
Lakenvelders known for its unique color pattern. Their neck, saddle, and tail feathers are black, while their breastwings, back, and are white, making great white and black chickens.
This pattern provides them with a belted appearance similar to Hampshire hogs and Dutch Belted cattle.
Anyway, these are medium-sized birds with well-rounded breasts, closely held wings, and long, full tails.
A single comb, red wattles, deep red eyes, white earlobes, slate-colored beaks, and shanks and toes are additional beauty.
The slim, active, built birds have tight-fitting soft plumage to make them more attractive.
There are also several yellow chicken breeds that are prized for their distinctive looks and adorable personalities.
Final Thoughts
After learning about popular ornamental chickens, you’re free to experiment with the birds on your farm.
Keepers can consider bird size, plumage color, and their habits to choose the best-suited fency chickens. For a small space, docile bantams can be good for beginners.
Avid keepers can go with chickens looking like game birds or demanding ones.
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