12 Golden Breeds of Chickens

Yellow Chicken Breeds featured image

If you want to add lighter and brighter colors to your chicken yard, consider some yellow, buff, or golden chickens. There are many different breeds of yellow chickens, each with their own unique characteristics and traits.

The Charming Buff Orpington

Buff Orpington chicken on grass

Probably the most popular breed of golden chickens, the Buff Orpington is a breed that originated in the city of Orpington, England in the late 1800s. This breed quickly gained popularity for its docile nature and large eggs, making it a favorite among backyard chicken keepers.

Buff Orpingtons are a heavy breed, with hens weighing around 7-8 pounds and roosters weighing around 8-10 pounds. They have a soft, fluffy appearance due to their abundance of feathers, which range in color from a light beige to a rich, golden buff.

One of the most endearing qualities of the Buff Orpington is its docile nature. These chickens are known for being friendly and gentle, making them a great addition to any backyard coop. They are also excellent foragers and will happily spend their days scratching and pecking around the yard.

Buff Orpingtons are excellent layers, producing around 170 to 280 large eggs annually. Orpingtons are also available in black, white, and blue.

The Majestic Buff Brahma

The Buff Brahma chicken is a large golden breed that originated in China. They are known for their feathered legs and feet, which give them a distinctive appearance. Brahmas were first introduced to the United States in the mid-1800s and quickly became popular among farmers and backyard chicken keepers.

The Buff Brahma chicken is mostly golden with black neck and tail feathers. They were originally bred for meat production, but their calm and friendly temperament soon made them a popular choice for backyard flocks.

The Buff Brahma chicken is a large breed, with roosters weighing up to 12 pounds and hens weighing up to 9 pounds. They have a broad, deep body and a small head with a pea comb.

They are also good layers, with hens laying up to 280 extra-large eggs per year.

The Stunning Lemon Pyle Brahma

The Lemon Pyle Brahma is another yellow variety of the Brahma breed. They are known for their gentle and docile temperament, which makes them a great choice for families with children.

The Lemon Pyle Brahma is a relatively new variety of Brahma chicken, having only been recognized by the American Poultry Association in 2019. This breed is known for its striking lighter buff and white feathers, which make it a popular choice for backyard chicken keepers and poultry enthusiasts.

While this breed is not typically raised for its egg-laying abilities, hens can lay up to 200 extra-large brown eggs per year.

Although quite large, Brahmas are not usually raised for meat because reaching that large size takes a long time.

The Fluffy Buff Cochin

Buff Cochin chicken

The Buff Cochin chicken is a golden variety of the Cochin breed, which originated in China. They are a large breed, often referred to as “gentle giants” due to their size and easy-going nature. Buff Cochins have a round body shape, with a full, fluffy feather coat that comes in shades of buff or golden-yellow.

These chickens are excellent foragers and can adapt to a variety of living conditions. They are also known for their ability to lay a good amount of eggs, making them a practical choice for backyard chicken keepers.

In cold winter months, the Buff Cochin’s thick feather coat provides excellent insulation, allowing them to stay warm and comfortable even in freezing temperatures.

The Delicate Buff Silkie

Buff Silkie chicken

The Buff Silkie bantam chicken is a variety of the Silkie breed, which is known for its black skin and meat. It is a popular breed for backyard chicken keepers due to its appearance and friendly personality.

The Buff Silkie is known for its beautiful, fluffy feathers that look and feel like silk. Its small, round body and short legs give it a cute and cuddly appearance.

This breed is very friendly and loves to be around people. They are known for their broodiness and for their excellent mothering skills. They are not a great choice for egg production because they tend to go broody and don’t lay a lot of eggs in general.

The Buff Silkie Chicken is a low-maintenance breed that is easy to care for. They do not require much space and are happy in a small coop or backyard.

The Unique Buff Easter Egger

Buff Easter Egger chicken

The Buff Easter Egger Chicken is a crossbreed between the Araucana, Ameraucana, and other breeds. The most unique feature of the Buff Easter Egger is its ability to lay blue, green, brown, and even pink eggs, making them a popular choice for backyard chicken keepers. Note that these egg differences vary between individual chickens in the breed, not within one chicken. Each individual hen will lay eggs that are generally the same color every time.

The Easter Egger comes in many different colors, including buff-colored plumage that can range from light to dark shades of brown. They also have a small crest of feathers on their head and a beard of feathers under their chin, which adds to their distinctive appearance.

In addition to their friendly nature, the Buff Easter Egger is a hardy breed that can withstand cold temperatures and adapt to different environments.

The Hardy Buff Rock

Young Plymouth Rock chicken
Young Plymouth Rock

The Buff Rock chicken, which is just one of the color varieties of the Plymouth Rock breed, is a dual-purpose chicken that can provide plenty of eggs, while extra males can provide a nice chicken dinner.

The Buff Rock chicken is a medium-sized bird that typically weighs between 7 and 8 pounds. This breed is known for its ability to adapt to a wide range of climates and environments, which makes it a great choice for backyard flocks.

One of the key characteristics of the Buff Rock chicken is its hardiness. This breed is known for its ability to withstand cold temperatures, which makes it a great choice for colder climates.

The Exotic Black-Tailed Buff Japanese

The Black-Tailed Buff Japanese chicken is a bantam breed that originated in Japan. As the name suggests, this chicken has a black tail and a buff-colored body. They weigh only 3-4 pounds, and are known for their distinctive appearance and friendly disposition.

The Black-Tailed Buff Japanese chicken is a hardy breed that is able to withstand cold temperatures. They are also easy to care for and make great pets. However, due to their small size, they are not typically used for meat or egg production.

In Japan, these chickens are considered a national treasure and are highly valued for their beauty. They are often featured in traditional Japanese artwork and are a popular subject for collectors.

The Showy Buff-Laced Polish

Buff Laced Polish chicken

The Buff Laced Polish chicken is a beautiful bird that is known for its showy appearance. It is one of the many ornamental birds that are kept for their aesthetic value. The Buff Laced Polish chicken is a breed that is particularly popular among show bird enthusiasts.

The Buff Laced is just one of the varieties of Polish chicken. It has a buff-colored body with laced feathers that are white around the edges. Its crest of feathers atop its head is a distinguishing feature of the breed, which blocks its field of vision, making this breed unsuitable for free-range conditions due to its inability to evade predators.

The Buff-Laced Polish is native to Poland. It is a small breed that lays small to medium white eggs. The Buff-Laced Polish is a show bird, which means that it is bred for its appearance rather than for its meat or egg production.

The Golden Comet Egg Layer

Baby Golden Comet Chick
Baby Golden Comet Chick

The Golden Comet is a popular hybrid breed that is known for egg production. This breed is a cross between a Rhode Island Red rooster and a White Rock hen, resulting in a chicken that is hardy, docile, and easy to care for.

The Golden Comet is an excellent egg-laying breed, known for its ability to produce large, brown eggs consistently. This breed is known to start laying at a young age, typically around 16-18 weeks, and can lay up to 300 eggs per year. Additionally, the Golden Comet is known for its ability to lay eggs consistently throughout the year, making it a popular choice for those looking for a reliable egg-laying breed.

Bright Buff Leghorns

The Buff Leghorn is a golden variety of the Leghorn breed. It is a medium-sized breed that is primarily raised for egg production. If you want the egg-laying abilities of the Leghorn breed but are worried about having white chickens in a free-range environment, the Buff Leghorn might be an option for you.

They have a distinctive appearance, with a single comb and feathers that are a light, golden buff color. Buff Leghorn roosters weigh up to 6 pounds and hens up to 4.5 pounds. They are popular among backyard chicken keepers and small-scale farmers, as well as commercial egg producers, but are not raised for meat due to their small size.

The Heritage Buff Minorca

The Buff Minorca chicken is a variety of the Minorca breed that originated in Spain. It is a large, dual-purpose breed that is primarily raised for egg production, but it can also be used for meat production.

Buff Minorcas are known for their good temperament, hardiness, and excellent egg-laying abilities. They have a single comb and yellow feathers. The Minorca breed also comes in other colors, such as white and black.

Minorca chickens are a large breed, with roosters weighing up to 9 pounds and hens weighing up to 7 pounds. They lay about 140 to 220 large white eggs annually, depending upon the genetics, and usually do not go broody.

What yellow-golden chicken is right for you?

Although there are more, we’ve shown you twelve yellow breeds of chickens that are popular among farmers and backyard poultry keepers.

Buff Orpington is a great breed for beginners because it is friendly and easy to handle. The Leghorn is a lightweight breed that is known for its high egg production and is commonly used in commercial egg-laying operations, but as a Mediterranean breed, it may not thrive as well in a colder climate.

If one or a few of these breeds piqued your interest, be sure to click on the highlighted link in each section to go to our full article on that breed to learn more!

Want to learn about raising chickens? This Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens (+Pro Tips) will help you ask yourself all the right questions, and it will also give you a realistic idea of what to expect as a chicken owner.

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12 Yellow Chicken Breeds

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