42 Pure Breed Chickens Available In Australia

Are you an avid pure breed chicken enthusiast? Thinking of breeding? Or maybe you just want to have a beautiful flock of pure breed chickens running around your backyard. Not every pure breed chicken is available in Australia, but there’s certainly a wide variety of chickens that are. From Maran chickens to Minorcas, you’re destined to find one to suit your tastes. 

Here’s a list of pure breeds that can be found in Australia, along with some information about each of these marvellous birds.

Aseel (otherwise known as Asil)

• Origin: Asia-India

• Varieties: light red, dark red, red wheaten

• Egg Colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Is believed to be the oldest gamefowl breed.

Andalusian

• Origin: Spain

• Varieties: blue

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Are quite a rare bird in Australia

Indian Game

• Origin: Cornwall, England

• Varieties: dark, jubilee, blue

• Egg Colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Known as the Cornish chicken in America

Malay Game

• Origin: Asia

• Varieties: black, white, spangled, pile, duckwing

• Egg Colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Are very long and leggy in appearance

French Maran Chicken

• Origin: France

• Varieties of Maran Chickens: black, dark cuckoo, golden cuckoo, silver cuckoo, black tailed buff, brown red, copper blue, silver black, white, wheaten and columbian

• Egg Colour: chocolate brown

• Interesting Fact: Maran chickens lay incredibly dark, chocolate brown eggs.

Old English Game

• Origin: England

• Varieties:black, blue, black red, pile, duckwing, crele, spangle and more

• Egg colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Originally bred for the now-banned sport of cockfighting

Ancona

• Origin: Italy

• Varieties: mottled

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Very productive egg-layer - expect 260+ eggs!

Araucana

• Origin: Chile and Peru

• Varieties: lavender, black, blue, black red, duckwing and more

• Egg Colour: blue/green

• Interesting Fact: They lay beautifully hued, green/blue eggs

Frizzle

• Origin: China

• Varieties: black, white, buff, blue

• Egg Colour: white/cream

• Interesting Fact: It’s incredibly tight wound, curly feathers give it a very unique appearance.

Hamburg

• Origin: Europe

• Varieties: gold spangled, silver spangled, gold pencilled, silver pencilled

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Known as ‘Dutch Everyday Layers’ in England

Leghorn

• Origin: Italy

• Varieties: Comes in a wide variety of colours - black, brown, blue, white

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Great layers - egg-spect one everyday!

Minorca

• Origin: Spain

• Varieties: black, white, buff, blue

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Are the heaviest of the Mediterranean chicken breeds, weighing in at approximately 3.1kg-3.6kgs

Campine

• Origin: Belgium

• Varieties: silver, gold

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Love to forage and explore

Polish

• Origin: Europe

• Varieties: white-crested black, chamois, white crested blue, white, gold, silver

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: A very old chicken breed that has a distinctive, large crest

Silkie

• Origin: Believed to have originated in China

• Varieties: Come in a wide variety of colours - most common are white, black, gold and blue

• Egg Colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Has five toes on each foot!

Spanish

• Origin: Mediterranean

• Varieties: black

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Is a striking chicken because of its white face.

Welsummer

• Origin: Holland

• Varieties: The males are black-red, the females are partridge

• Egg Colour: brown/dark brown

• Interesting Fact: Is the breed that Cornflakes based their logo off

American Game

• Origin: America

• Varieties: red, duckwing, dark grey, brown red, ginger breasted, ginger red, blue, piles, whites, blacks, brassy backs, furnaces, spangles, creels, birchens

• Egg Colour: white, cream, light brown

• Interesting Fact: Originally bred for the now-illegal sport of cockfighting

Barnevelder

• Origin: Holland

• Varieties: black, double laced

• Egg Colour: deep brown

• Interesting Facts: Named after the region in Holland that they originated from - ‘Barneveld’.

Brahma

• Origin: Asia

• Varieties: light, dark, white, gold, birchen

• Egg colour: tinted

• Interesting Fact: Known as the ‘King of All Poultry’ due to their enormous size and stature

Dorking

• Origin: England

• Varieties: silver, grey, red, white, dark, cuckoo

• Egg colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Is another of the quirky breeds that have five toes.

Faverolle

• Origin: France

• Varieties: black, salmon, ermine, blue, buff, white

• Egg Colour: tinted

• Interesting Fact: Are heavily feathered - they have a beard, feathered feet and also have five toes.

Langshan

• Origin: China

• Colour: black

• Egg colour: tinted/brown

• Interesting Fact: Comes in two varieties - Croad and Chinese.

New Hampshire

• Origin: America

• Varieties: red, orange

• Egg colour: tinted/brown

• Interesting Fact: Is derived from the Rhode Island Red

Orpington

• Origin: England

• Varieties: bluff, blue, white, black

• Egg Colour: light brown

• Interesting Fact: Very commonly used in exhibition because of their heavily feathered appearance

Plymouth Rock

• Origin: America

• Varieties: barred, partridge, buff, white, black

• Egg Colour: tinted

• Interesting Fact: At one point, the Plymouth Rock was the most popular breed in America

Rhode Island Red

• Origin: America

• Varieties: red, white

• Egg Colour: light brown/brown

• Interesting Fact: The official bird of the state of Rhode Island in America

Silver and Speckled Sussex

• Origin: England

• Varieties (of pure breeds Available in Australia): speckled, sussex

• Egg Colour: tinted

• Interesting Fact: The speckled varieties feather colour is known to give them camouflage from predators.

Transylvanian Naked Neck

• Origin: Hungary

• Varieties: white, black, blue, cuckoo, buff, red

• Egg colour: tinted/cream

• Interesting Fact: Has no feathers on its neck- which is bright red.

Wyandotte

• Origin: America

• Varieties: Comes in a wide range of colours - white, blue, buff, red, black, barred, cuckoo, laced, columbian, crele, silver pencilled

• Egg Colour: tinted/light brown

• Interesting Fact: Have very fluffy rear tail feathers

Belgian Barbu d’Anvers

• Origin: Belgium

• Varieties: black, mottled, porcelain, self-blue, quail

• Egg Colour: white/tinted

• Interesting Fact: A very old breed of ‘true bantam’, which means it does not come in a standard size.

Belgian Barbu d’Uccle

• Origin: Belgium

• Varieties: mille fleur, porcelain, black mottled, self blue, blue mille fleur

• Egg Colour: white/tinted

• Interesting Fact: Have fabulously feathered legs-  are referred to as the ‘Mille Fluer d’Uccle in America.

Belgian Barbu de Watermael

• Origin: Belgium

• Varieties: Comes in over 30 varieties, including mille fleur, quail, white, blue, cuckoo

• Egg Colour: white/tinted

• Interesting Fact: Also known as booted bantams.

Cochin

• Origin: Asian

• Varieties: black, buff, partridge, white, barred, brown red, gold laced, mottled, silver laced, birchen, blue, columbian, red

• Egg Colour: brown

• Interesting Fact: Became famous when a Cochin chicken was given as a gift to Queen Victoria of England.

Houdan

• Origin: French

• Varieties: white, mottled

• Egg Colour: white, mottled

• Interesting Fact: Have five toes and a beard.

Japanese Bantam

• Origin: Japan

• Varieties: black-tailed white, black, mottled, black-tailed buff, grey

• Egg Colour: cream or tinted

• Interesting Fact: Is a ‘true bantam’, which means it has no standard counterpart.

Jungle Fowl

• Origin: Believed to be India or South-East Asia

• Varieties: Males are a vibrant golden orange, with a red crown, neck feathers and a dark green tail. Females are a dull brown colour.

• Egg Colour: Eggs can vary in colour, from white to light brown.

• Interesting Fact: The Jungle Fowl is the ancestor of all domestic chickens. Pretty impressive!

Phoenix

• Origin: Japanese

• Varieties: silver, gold

• Egg Colour: cream or tinted

• Interesting Fact: An ancient Japanese breed whose heritage traces back 1000 years.

Shamo

• Origin: Thailand

• Varieties: black, black-breasted red, brown red, buff columbian, dark, spangled, wheaten, white

• Egg Colour: pale brown

• Interesting Fact: The first Shamo chickens known in America were transported by G.I’s returning home from duty.

Yokohama

• Origin: Japan

• Varieties: white, red shouldered

• Egg Colour: cream or tinted

• Interesting Fact: They have an exceptionally long, silky tail.

Sebright Bantam

• Origin: United Kingdom

• Varieties: Silver, golden

• Egg Colour: Cream or tinted

• Interesting Fact: Females and males have exactly the same feathering.

Sicilian Buttercup

• Origin: Italy

• Varieties: white, blue, black and black-breasted red

• Egg Colour: white

• Interesting Fact: Their unique ‘buttercup’ comb is specific to their breed - no other breeds share the same comb.

There are lots of different pure breeds available in Australia, and most breeders will love to chat to you about the chicken they specialise in - so there won’t be any shortage of information!  Pure bred birds really are a beautiful sight to behold, and keeping non-crossed versions of these chickens helps ensure the species survive.

Our chicken coops will make the perfect home for your pure bred beauties - they have all the things your chickens could ever want to stay healthy and happy. Ample nesting box space, roosts to sleep on, and room to scratch around and enjoy the fresh grass! Such impressive birds need an impressive coop! Try our Taj Mahal, Penthouse or Mansion coop - your purebred darlings will be right at home.

Whether you choose one of these beautiful purebreeds, or are swayed by a bantam, hyrbrid or heritage, you've got a tough decision to make! Become a chicken parent is the easy part. The hardest is deciding on your favourite breed! There are so many amazing breeds to consider when starting your own flock. It can be eggstremely overwhelming to find the perfect breeds for you and your family. From looks, to traits to egg-laying talents - where should you begin?

Cluckily, our friends over at Chickenpedia have created an amazing Chicken Breeds Course. This extensive online course shares useful advice on choosing the right chickens for you as well as size & frequency of eggs laid. It really is a great way to find your perfect backyard buddies which is why I highly recommend them to all of my readers! You’ll even learn about their individual personalities, and be able to use their family-friendly compatibility scale through this well-structured program. The courses are beginner-friendly and filled with vital information to help you raise a happy, healthy flock.

As chicken keepers, we want to do an eggcellent job when caring for our feathered friends. Unfortunately, many of us struggle to handle chicken health or behaviour issues, especially in the first few years of having a flock. Chickenpedia have a full range of comprehensive online courses that cover everything you didn’t know you need to know and then some more! From healthcare to raising baby chicks to feeding and behavior, get the knowledge and confidence to successfully look after your chickens.

As a member, you will get access to ALL their fantastic courses. So, no need to wing it, become a confident chicken keeper. Click here to check out Chickenpedia today!

Sources and further reading