The 9 rarest chicken breeds in the world (2024)

The rarity of a chicken breed is somewhat subjective.

How many times have you seen chickens advertised as rare or even extremely rare, only to discover that while the breed is unusual, it's actually not that rare?

Today we're going to take a looksome breeds that are really rare.

Livestock Conservancy's definition of rare isfewer than 1000 birds worldwide.

In addition to the Conservancy's numerical requirements, we added another parameter: the breed must be older than 200 years.

This way we can also highlight some breeds from all over the world.

Are you ready to learn more about the rarest chicken breeds? Read more…

1. Dong Tao

The Dong Tao or Dragon Chicken is perhaps one of the most unusual chickens you will ever see.

It is a giant chicken with roosters reaching 12 pounds and even chickens reaching 9 pounds.

Although their body is large, so is ittheir legs being the main attraction.Their legs are red and scaly and can be as thick as a man's wrist.

This rare breed is considered a food delicacy in Vietnam and was once bred only for royalty.

Today, a pair of Dong Tao breeding birds can sell for as much as $2,000.

In appearance, they have a pea comb with bright red earlobes and peas. The chickens have off-white colored plumage, while the boys are red with black breasts.

Interestingly, chicks are usually hatched by machine as mom's large feet tend to crush the eggs.

Also the chickensare cyclic layers– this means they lay eggs for 2-3 months and then rest for a while before starting again.

In this way they lay about 60 eggs per year.

In general, this rare chicken is good-natured, calm and friendly to people.

2. Sultan

Sultan chickens come with all the designer features: V-crest, main crest, muffs, large noses, vulture beaks, drooping wings and long tail.

A healthy sultan is a beautiful sight to see.

You can find these chicks in three colors: black, blue, and white. White is the easiest to find and the most familiar. Blue Sultanas are very rare.

They originated very early in the Ottoman Empire (14th century) and were kept as ornamental birds in the Sultan's palace.

Their Turkish name (Serai Tavuk) means chickens of the sultan's palace.

This is a standard size chicken with 6 pound roosters and 4 pound hens. They also come in bantam size, which is even rarer!

Hens are poor layers and if you are lucky they will lay two eggs a week.

Today, sultanas are purely decorative andmake large domestic chickens.

3. Brabant

Brabanters are an ancient breed, dating back to (at least) 1676. During this time they were developed in historic Brabant, where their name comes from.

Brabants are small chickens with roosters weighing 4-5 pounds and chickens weighing even less!

They are unusual looking chickens with a comb and beard. Their nostrils are large and wide, and they usually have no nostrils.

You can find them in different color variants, including gold, silver sequins or cuckoo.

In the backyard they are a shy, quiet, intelligent and friendly chicken. They like to roam freely and lay about three large white eggs every week.

Another bonus is that she wants torarely comes true.

The breed was almost extinct in the 20th century, but they were saved by enthusiasts.

Vanstill very rare and in need of conservation.

4. The arrow

La Fleche is oneold French breedand their name translates as broken arrow.

This breed is believed to have originated from the town of La Fleche near Le Mans in France.

In the fifteenth century it was very popular as a table bird. But this chicken grows slowly and it may take about ten months before it is ready for market.

It's thisslow growth that probably caused the gradual death of this beautiful chick.

They are not only a food bird, but also lay moderate layers of large white eggs. You can expect an average of about three per week or 180 per year.

La Fleche is a unique looking chicken.

They have a V-shaped crest and are therefore known as the Devil Bird.

You can expect roosters to weigh about 8 pounds and hens to weigh 6.5 pounds.

These chickens are not suitable for city life as they prefer to roam freelyfly a little.

Fortunately, the breed has started to gain interest again in recent years. However, they are still rare.

5. Breda

The Breda hen is also a very old breed from the Netherlands.

They have been depicted in paintings as early as 1660, when they were shown as barnyard chickens.

She was popular in the US before the Civil War and was known by a number of names, including: Gelderland, Kraaikops and Kraaienvelden. But their popularity began to fade in the 19th century until it disappeared completely from the United States.

Happythe Dutch preserved the breedbut there too its popularity quickly declined.

This is a calm, friendly, curious and attentive chicken.

They love to roam freely, but seem content to remain in their home area after their daily walk.

The Breda has a very upright posture with vulture-like beaks and feathered legs. Their thighs are muscular and if startled, they can do a pretty good standing jump.

She is well suited to cold climates, which she doesnot have a crest. Instead, they have small tufts of feathers on their heads that are not prominent.

The earlobes are white and the small wattles should be red - just like the Brabander, the Breda has large noses.

Breda hens are medium laying hens with large white eggs and can produce about three eggs per week.

You will find them in black, white, blue, splash and melange.

Currently, the Breda is not a recognized breed in the United States, but enthusiasts are working to follow the Dutch standard of perfection.

Bantams also existbut they are extremely rare.

6. Old English pheasant

The Old English pheasant is onevery old breed from England.

They are made from various species of domesticated birds that were popular on farms in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Many of the old pheasants were apparently registered in the Hamburg breed, but a group of enthusiasts crisscrossed the country and found birds that were not registered. As a result, the chickens were given the name Old English Pheasantfowl in 1914 to protect the breed.

The Old English is an active and volatile breed that does best when left free standing; they do not tolerate confinement at all!

It is a beautiful chicken with sleek brown and black feathers.

This plumage acts as camouflage and helps protect them from predators while they roam freely.

Chickens are good layers and produce 160-200 medium white eggs per year - about 3-4 eggs per week.

They are not overly broody, but they are good mothers when they have young.

All in all, this is a rare dual-purpose chicken that would be ideal for home farming.

7. Burmese

The Burmese bantam chickenis perhaps the rarest chicken.

Unfortunately, they have been teetering on the brink of extinction for decades.

At one point it was even considered extinct. But in the 1970s, a few birds were found in a very small flock.

The fertility of this breed was not the best, so they were bred with other similar breeds - Barbu D'Uccles is one of them. Fortunately, this has blown up the breed and the herd continues to grow slowly. We know that the breed is ancient, as they were mentioned in one of Charles Darwin's books (The variation of plants and animals during domestication).

Burmese are true dwarfs: they have a single crest with a light tuft/top of head feathers.

Their plumage is white and they have vulture-like beaks with feathered legs that are pale yellow in color.

You will notice that they have abnormally short legs. This is caused by a 'creeper' gene that unfortunately also causes high mortality in embryos, which is probably why it is so rare.

Roosters weigh about 600 grams, while chickens weigh only 500 grams.

Chickens lay 3 small brown eggs every week and are good mothers when they hatch.

Overall, this is a calm and friendly girl who would make a wonderful additionyour backyard audience.

8. Scots Dumpy

Scots Dumpys come from Scotland and are an endangered breed.

In 1970 they were thought to be extinct. But a small herd was in Kenya and returned to Britain.

They are a good dual-purpose breed.

Chickens lay about 3 white eggs every week; they are good babysitters and are also good mothers.

She is a good little collector and loves to run free.

There are four color variants: black, cuckoo, dark and silver gray.

You might be wondering why it's called a Dumpy?

The Scots Dumpy harcreeper-gen (chondrodystrofi)causing them to have abnormally short legs. Over the years they were also called Creepers or Crawlers.

Unfortunately, this dwarfism gene causes many embryo deaths.

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists them as endangered and in need of adopters.

9. Onagadori

Onagadori is beroemdbecause of their tail.

In fact, they are often used in competitions to see who has the longest tail. In case you're wondering, the longest tail ever measured was a whopping 27 meters (88 ft).

Only a rooster's tail can grow like that under certain conditions.

A chicken's feathers are more like those of a normal chicken and will not grow as extremely long.

Breeding of this chicken began in the seventeenth century in Kochi Prefecture in Japan.

In 1952, Onagadori was designated as a Japanese National Natural Treasure.

Unfortunately, there are now only a handful of breeders -It is estimated that only 250 chicks now exist.Today the Onagadori is purely an ornamental breed.

Hens only lay about 80-100 small light brown eggs and are not sitters.

To care for this chicken, you must be an experienced poultry farmer.

Their house and run should be large and kept very clean. Perches should also be placed high to protect their tail feathers.

Cv

We have showcased some of the rarest chicken breeds here.

Unfortunately, some of these breeds are threatened with extinction in the near future.

While survival funds do their best tobreed these breedsthey need more help!

If you have seen breeds here that you think are interesting or that you think you would like to travel with, please contact your local Rare Breed Trust and see how you can help.

The Livestock Conservancy is a good place to start in the US. Other organizations such as Rare Breeds Canada or the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust also maintain lists of endangered breeds.

Maintaining genetic diversity is of great importance for the health of current breeds and the future of poultry.

We hope you enjoyed this small selection, as it was difficult to choose from so many deserving breeds!

Let us know in the comments below...