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
editSelf-coloured chickens are those which display one solid colour without patterning of any kind.
| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | .JPG)
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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 | 
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| Lavender | 
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 Red lavender |
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| Red | .jpg)
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Red is the intensified version of Buff |
| White | 
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 Silkie
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Barred and cuckoo
edit| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barred |  Barred Rock Hen
|
Divided into Dark and Light in Australian Plymouth Rocks | |
| Crele | 
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The cuckoo pattern with black-breasted red pigmentation | |
| Silver Cuckoo | 
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| Golden Cuckoo |
Columbian, belted
edit| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Columbian | 
|
 Sundheimer |
Called 'light' in the Brahma and Sussex[2] |
| Buff Columbian | 
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| Golden Belted | 
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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 | 
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| Blue Golden Duckwing | |||
| Silver Duckwing | 
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| Blue Silver Duckwing | |||
| Fawn Silver Duckwing | 
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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 | .jpg)
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.jpg)
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| Blue Laced Red | .jpg)
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| Buff Laced | 
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also known as Chamois[3]: 447 | |
| Golden Laced |  Sebright |
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| Silver Laced | 
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Pencilled
edit| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birchen | Sometimes called Grey in Japanese bantams. | ||
| Golden Pencilled | |||
| Silver Pencilled | .jpg)
|
Mottled, spangled, mille fleur
edit| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Mottled | 
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| Citron Spangled | 
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| Golden Spangled | .jpg)
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| Silver Spangled | 
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| Mille Fleur | 
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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 | 
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| Black-tailed White | 
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| Black-tailed red | 
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Black-breasted
edit| Colour | Cock | Hen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Breasted Red | 
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| Blue Breasted Red | 
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| Partridge | 
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| Wheaten | 
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| 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 | 
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| Dark brown | |||
| Exchequer | only in the Leghorn[4]: 187 | ||
| Ginger Red | |||
| Golden Neck | |||
| Golden-necked mille fleur | |||
| Gray | |||
| Lemon Blue | |||
| Light Brown | |||
| Pyle | Alternatively spelt Pile. | ||
| Red Pyle | 
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| Quail | 
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| Salmon | 
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| Silver Blue | 
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| Silver Gray | 
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| Splash |
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| Tolbunt | Seen only in Polish chickens | ||
| White Laced Red | |||
| Chocolate | Rare; bred in Orpington (chicken bantams in the 1990s[2]: 163 [5] |
References
edit- ^ All About Chickens: All the chicken colours under the sun. Archived 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b David Scrivener (2014). Popular Poultry Breeds. Ramsbury: Crowood. ISBN 9781847979711.
- ^ Lewis Wright (1902). The New Book of Poultry. With Forty-Five Plates, by J.W. Ludlow, and the Poultry Club Standards of Perfection for the Various Breeds. London; Paris; New York; Melbourne: Cassell and Company.
- ^ J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119509141.
- ^ W.C. Carefoot (1996). Chocolate: A sex‐linked recessive plumage colour mutant of the domestic fowl. British Poultry Science. 37 (4): 867–868. doi:10.1080/00071669608417915.