Breeders and fanciers of chickens accurately describe the colours and patterns[1] of the feathers of chicken breeds and varieties. This is a list of the terms used in this context.
Self[edit]
Self-coloured chickens are those which display one solid colour without patterning of any kind.
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 
|
|
Green iridescence is desired for "beetle black" show chickens. |
| Blue |  Sumatra |
 dark blue-laced Andalusian |
|
| Splash or Blue Splashed White |  Sumatra |
 Silkie |
Splash is the homozygous form of Blue |
| Buff | 
|
|
|
| Lavender | 
|
 Red lavender |
|
| Red | 
|
|
Red is the intensified version of Buff |
| White | 
|
 Silkie
|
Barred and cuckoo[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barred |  Barred Rock Hen
|
 Dark Barred Australian Plymouth Rock |
Divided into Dark and Light in Australian Plymouth Rocks |
| Crele | 
|
The cuckoo pattern with black-breasted red pigmentation | |
| Silver Cuckoo | 
|
||
| Golden Cuckoo |
Columbian, belted[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Columbian | 
|
 Sundheimer |
Called 'light' in the Brahma and Sussex[2] |
| Buff Columbian | 
|
||
| Golden Belted | 
|
|
Belted resembles Columbian but the head and neck are solid black, not merely striped |
| Silver Belted |  cock and hen |
 chick |
Duckwing[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Duckwing | 
|
||
| Blue Golden Duckwing | |||
| Silver Duckwing | 
|
|
|
| Blue Silver Duckwing | |||
| Fawn Silver Duckwing | 
|
Laced[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Laced | not used; black-laced plumage is named after the red series colour instead: "golden laced" for black and red, "citron laced" for black and buff, "silver laced" for black and white | ||
| Blue Laced | 
|
|
|
| Blue Laced Red | 
|
|
|
| Buff Laced | 
|
Alternatively known as Chamois.[3] | |
| Golden Laced |  Sebright |
|
|
| Silver Laced | 
|
|
Pencilled[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birchen | Sometimes called Grey in Japanese bantams. | ||
| Golden Pencilled | |||
| Silver Pencilled | 
|
Mottled, spangled, mille fleur[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Mottled | 
|
||
| Citron Spangled | 
|
||
| Golden Spangled | 
|
||
| Silver Spangled | 
|
||
| Mille Fleur | 
|
|
Called 'speckled' in the Sussex. |
| Lemon Mille Fleur | |||
| Porcelain | A diluted version of Mille Fleur |
Black-tailed[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black-tailed Buff | 
|
||
| Black-tailed White | 
|
||
| Black-tailed red | 
|
Black-breasted[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Breasted Red | 
|
||
| Blue Breasted Red | 
|
||
| Partridge | 
|
||
| Wheaten | 
|
||
| Blue Wheaten |
Others[edit]
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brassy Back | |||
| Blue Brassy Back | |||
| Blue Light Brown | |||
| Blue-red | |||
| Brown | |||
| Brown Red | Sometimes called Gold Birchen. | ||
| Coloured | |||
| Coronation | |||
| Cream Light Brown | 
|
||
| Dark brown | |||
| Exchequer | Found only in Leghorns with the exception of Serama.[4] | ||
| Ginger Red | |||
| Golden Neck | |||
| Golden-necked mille fleur | |||
| Gray | |||
| Lemon Blue | |||
| Light Brown | |||
| Pyle | Alternatively spelt Pile. | ||
| Red Pyle | 
|
||
| Quail | 
|
|
|
| Salmon | 
|
|
|
| Silver Blue | 
|
|
|
| Silver Gray | 
|
||
| Splash |
|
||
| Tolbunt | Seen only in Polish chickens | ||
| White Laced Red |
References[edit]
- ^ All About Chickens: All the chicken colours under the sun Archived 2012-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Accessed January 2012.
- ^ David Scrivener (2014). Popular Poultry Breeds. Ramsbury: Crowood. ISBN 9781847979711.
- ^ Wright, Lewis (2005). The new book of poultry. Ripol Classic Publishing House. p. 447. ISBN 9785878653336. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ scnaonline.org