The New Hampshire Chicken, A Fine American Breed
May 21, 2008
The New Hampshire breed was developed by researchers at the New Hampshire agricultural experiment Station and by New Hampshire farmers in the early years of the 20th century. They selected Rhode Island Reds for faster growth and feathering, not color, resulting in a lighter color than seen in Rhode Island Reds. They also selected parents more for meat production than for egg production, ultimately yielding a dual purpose chicken that dresses out as a nice, plump broiler or a roaster.
New Hampshires are adaptable to either confinement or free range. They are usually calm, though some are aggressive. They mature early and are fairly cold hardy, though their combs are susceptible to frostbite in extremely cold climates.
Hens lay a fair number of large brown eggs and are good brooders and excellent mothers. The New Hampshire was first admitted to the APA in 1935. The New Hampshire is a standard American Bantam single comb, clean legged chicken. The standard cock weighs 8 1/2 pounds and the average hen is 6 1/2 pounds. Beak color is reddish-brown, plumage in both sexes is primarily a lustrous golden bay to chestnut red with some black in the tail.
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