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]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 | |||
Chocolate | Sex-linked recessive. Found rarely in Orpingtons and Wyandottes.[5] |
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
- ^ Li; Bed'hom; Marthay; et al. (20 November 2018). "A missense mutation in TYRP1 causes the chocolate plumage color in chicken and alters melanosome structure". Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research. 32 (3): 381–390. doi:10.1111/pcmr.12753. PMID 30457703.