It’s easy for one to get clucky over a dozen fluffy chicks but for those wanting to keep hens for egg production or even the pot there is a variety of choices available. 

• Australorp chickens have black plumage with an intense beetle-green sheen. They lay brown eggs, and are good egg producers with fair meat production. An Australorp hen holds the world record for egg production, laying 364 eggs in 365 days.
• Plymouth Rock chickens come in barred or white, buff or partridge varieties. A docile breed, it lays brown eggs, and is generally kept for meat and egg production. The hens can be broody and make good mothers.
• Rhode Island Red – another brown egg producer. This is a good dual-purpose, medium-heavy fowl useful for both egg and meat production. They are relatively hardy, and are the best egg layers of the dual-purpose breeds, so are a good choice for the small flock owner.
• Leghorn is usually white, black, brown or buff. Kept mainly for egg production, they rarely go broody. They are good foragers and if they have a big range they can find much of their own food.
• Minorca is black, white, blue or buff. Eggs are chalk-white and egg production fair. They are attractive birds with characteristic white wattles.
• Wyandotte is a popular heavy breed, a handsome bird with silver or gold lacing on its feathers. The eggs are brown. They are a good medium fowl for egg and meat production, and hardy.
• Sussex comes in various varieties including Light, Speckled and Red. The eggs are brown. The Sussex is a good general-purpose breed for meat and eggs and the birds are alert, attractive and good foragers.
• Anconas are small fowl that lay a fair number of rather small eggs. They are good foragers and very hardy. They have beautiful, glossy black plumage with a green sheen and white-tipped feathers.
• Orpington can be black (pictured below), blue, buff or white. The eggs are brown. It is a relatively big and heavy chicken and is docile. Hens can show broodiness and make good mothers. They are late-maturing but are the largest roosters to fatten.