Red, White, and Blue Chicken Breeds
How to Care for Chickens During Summertime Celebrations
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Happy 4th of July! I have been playing around with my chicken run garden and taking some photos of the chickens enjoying the flowers. The garden is right in front of the chicken coop and run so they only have access to it when I am supervising free-range time.
This year, I bought only red, white or blue flowers for the display. I love an Americana theme for summer and enjoyed planning the garden, but then I started thinking about what a flock of red, white and blue chicken breeds would look like. Patriotic chickens for a flock is totally something attainable. If you think this would be a great idea, too, here is a list of some chicken breeds by color.
Red Chicken Breeds
New Hampshire
Production Red
Red Sex Link
Cinnamon Queen (a variety of production red)
White Chicken Breeds
Delaware
Light Brahma Chicken
White Rock
White Leghorn
California White
White Ameraucana Chickens
Blue Chicken Breeds
Delaware Blue
Iowa Blue (nearing extinct status)
Blue Laced Andulasians
Lavender Orpingtons (they are really a greyish not really, a shade of purple)
Blue Polish
Blue Cochins
A Few Golden Chicken Breeds For The Stars
Buff Orpington Chickens
Buff Brahmas
Golden Comets
Gold Stars
Now that you have your Red, White and Blue flock set up, you can add plants and flags to the run and have the best patriotic coop in town.
Holiday Safety Reminders For Your Flock
Remember, fireworks can startle your pets and livestock. Have your furry and feathered critters locked up secure before dark so they don’t fly away or run off during fireworks.
Summer means hot weather for many of us. It’s important to learn how to keep chickens cool in summer. Keep the water cool by frequently changing it out and refilling. A shallow pan of water for the chickens to stand in will help them cool down, too.
Some traditional picnic food is good for your flock, too. Can chickens eat watermelon? Yes! Watermelon is a big favorite. Save the corn cobs for the chickens too. Leftover green salad is a good treat too, and some tomatoes are fine as long as no tomato leaves or plants are tossed in too. Other typical summer salads such as mayonnaise-based macaroni salad might upset their digestion. I don’t feed our chickens potatoes, so a potato salad would not be fed to our flock. A vinegar-based pasta salad in moderation should be ok but make sure there is no avocado involved.
A good rule of thumb with feeding chickens scraps is moderation. The flock members will love the treat but it’s not good to overload them with richly prepared people food either.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
Originally published in 2015 and regularly vetted for accuracy.
