Chickens are incredibly beautiful, handy, and attractive earthly birds; they can be a part of your hobby if you want to keep them in your backyard or in the coop at your farm. They can not only be a pet but also a great source of getting healthy fresh meat, eggs, and cute baby chicks for an exhibition at your farm or backyard.
Chickens come in a great variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and breeds. There are more than 350 kinds of chicken breeds with varying body weight, color, feathers, and physical features.
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Buff Chicken General Attributes
One of the best kinds of chicken that is very healthy and flavorful is a yellow chicken breed. Yellow chickens are also called as “buff”.
Buff means a self-colored yellow to beige and some times golden to orange color chickens. In some breeds, the female chicken is a lighter color and less body weight than the male.
Egg color can vary from very light yellow to dark beige or light brown color. Though, there are some buff breeds that will produce blue or green eggs!
When born, buff chicks are almost always a nice golden chick color that makes them extra adorable. Not all yellow chicks will turn out to be buff though! It is important to know what breed you are looking at.
Here are some Yellow chicken breeds according to the variety of features and characteristics;
Top 10 Yellow Chicken Breeds
| Breed | Class | Body Size (lbs) | Purpose | Egg Production | Egg color |
| Buff Cochin | Asiatic | 9 – 11 | Ornamental | Good | Brown |
| Buff Orpington | English | 7 – 9 | Eggs, Meat | Good | Brown |
| Buff Brahma | Asiatic | 8 – 12 | Eggs, Meat | Fair | Brown |
| Plymouth Rock | American | 6 – 9 ½ | Eggs, Meat | Great | Brown |
| Buff Silkie | Continental | 1 – 3 | Ornamental | Good | Cream |
| Chabo | Japanese | 1 – 1 ½ | Eggs, Ornamental | Fair | Cream |
| Easter Egger | American | 6 – 7 | Eggs, Meat | Great | Brown |
| Leghorns | Mediterranean | 4 – 6 | Eggs | Great | White |
| Polish | Continental | 4 – 6 | Ornamental | Fair | White |
| Wyandotte | American | 5 – 8 | Eggs, Meat | Great | Brown |
1. Buff Cochin
The Buff Cochin is one of the large chicken breeds for domestic and farm use. Cochins mainly belongs to China and in the 1850s they were brought to North America and Europe and now they are developed all around the world for ornamental purpose too.
The Cochins look like big birds as they have plumage feathers on their body especially on legs. They can weigh up to 9 to 11 pounds though there are bantam varieties as well. They lay more eggs in winter and stay calm.
The hens are famous for their broody nature and they lay medium-sized brown eggs throughout the year and now they are used as foster mothers for other breeds to hatch chicks from eggs. They also have a good nature so they can be a good addition to your backyard coop.
2. Buff Orpington
The Buff Orpington is one of the beautiful breeds that are mainly from England. It was developed in 1880 in the city of Orpington. It is very popular in America due to its great production in meat and eggs.
It has a plumage of feathers on its whole body that supports giving warmth in cold climates. It has a weight of about 7 to 9 pounds. Hens are broody and good mothers and develop a good number of chicks.
The Buff Oprington is a good source of healthy meat and its eggs can be a good replacement to broiler eggs that we mostly use in the kitchen. Orpington lays about 300 eggs a year.
If you are planning to fill your coop with yellow chickens, the Buff Orpington is a very popular choice.
3. Buff Brahma
The lineage Buff Brahma was developed by the poultry lover’s in the United States in 1800’s by crossing feather legged Chinese chickens with Malaysian type chickens from Bangladesh.
The Buff Brahma is considered gracious, strong muscled, and majestic. Brahmas can be broody and make good mothers.
One of the most visible characteristic of Buff Brahma’s is there strikign leg feathers and tall appearance. These feathers give them an advantage to endure harsh cold weather climates.
Buff Brahmas typically weigh 8 to 12 pounds. They lay eggs throughout the year and help in the production of big buff roasters too for the meat causes.
This breed lays a brown egg and has yellow skin. While the Brahma breed comes in many different colors, the Buff Brahma’s look fancier and charming due to their vibrant yellow and beige color.
4. Buff Rock (Plymouth Rock)
Buff Rock or Plymouth Rock was urbanized in the early or middle of the 19th century in America. It is the most popular breed among chicken lovers or farm chicken breeds.
The standard “Barred Rock” is actually a barred Plymouth Rock. The Buff Rock, is the yellow variety of this very common breed.
Rock chickens are regular egg layers and have good production abilities. They are known to not go broody very often and make a great addition to a backyard flock.
The Buff Rock has yellow skin and lights brown eggshells. It weighs about 6 to 9 ½ pounds. They are also developed for eggs and meat purposes. In fact, they bear all the best qualities of long-established farm fowl.
5. Buff Silkie
Buff Silkies are one of the oldest farm fowl breeds. We know the breed originated in China and there are accounts of the breed from Marco Polo in 1300.
The silkie is one of the most adorable and trendy chicken breeds among ornamental farm fowls due to its silky smooth feathers that cover all of its body.
The black and white varieties are very common but silkies also come in the beautiful, golden buff color.
Silkies are bantam birds weighing only 1 to 3 pounds. They are typically very broody and loving mothers that they even adopt the chicks hatched from other eggs or even duck’s eggs.
Buff Silkies cannot fly due to their silky, hair-like feathers and are a favorite family pet due to their docile and friendly nature.
6. Black-Tailed Buff Japanese (Chabo)
The Black-Tailed Buff is one of the finest miniatures known as Japanese bantam breeds. It has tiny legs and a small delicate body with a long tail that reaches up the head.
This breed is more favorable for an ornamental pet. They typically weigh 1 – 3 pounds and, while they lay eggs throughout the year, you’ll probably want to rely on a different breed to help out at the breakfast table.
They can be used for meat but, that isn’t common due to their small size. The meat color is yellow and hens will lay light brown eggs.
7. Buff Easter Egger
Buff Easter chickens look like Americana or Aracauna but, they aren’t actually purebreds (though breeders have developed buff chickens in those breeds).
Easter Egger chickens can be any color or type of chicken that has the gene for blue/green eggs. Because easter egger chickens are typically mixed with other varieties, their size, appearance, and egg production can vary.
Buff easter eggers are particularly beautiful. You’ll often find they have beautiful golden feathers and, if you are lucky, some cheek feathers or even a beard!
8. Single Comb Buff Leghorns
Leghorns have mainly been developed in Italy. Most of us know the white variety of this breed made popular in childhood cartoons.
The Leghorn is an egg-type chicken with yellow skin. Primarily used for eggs, the breed can also be used for meat. Leghorns typically weigh between 4 to 6 pounds.
Buff Leghorns are particularly rare but there are some hatcheries and breeders that sell them. This upright and majestic bird is sure to be a beautiful addition to any flock.
9. Buff Laced Polish
The Buff Laced Polish is strictly an ornamental fowl. They are easily spotted due to their hilariously unique head feathers, the hallmark of the variety.
They are one of the oldest chicken breeds that their origin is not clear but they were urbanized in Eastern Europe and became popular in 1830.
Buff Laced Polishers were used for egg production but now they are being kept for ornamental purposes. Hens lay white eggs and the birds can range between 4 – 6 pounds.
10. Buff Laced Wyandotte
Wyandottes were developed in New York state in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The buff laced variety is a much newer addition and something that breeders are still working hard to refine.
While beautiful lacing at the tip of each feather is the hallmark of most Wyandottes, the buff-laced Wyandotte typically has a beautiful light buff feather with a defined white laced edge.
They are used for eggs and meat purposes. Their skin color is yellow and the eggshell color is brown. Hens are broody and good mothers they give 200 to 280 eggs in a year. The Buff Laced Wyandotte typically weighs between 5 to 8 pounds. (Source)
Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed this list of 10 beautiful buff chicken breeds. Keep in mind that these are not the only breeds of chicken that can have a beautiful, golden color.
If you are just starting your flock, you could have all buff chickens of different breeds or, a rainbow of colors including one or more of the yellow chicken breeds listed here. The possibilities are endless.
Teri Vazquez
Tuesday 29th of June 2021
Thanks for sharing this information on Buff Chickens. I did not realize some of these breeds were available in buff color.