If you have decided to raise your own flock of chickens, the first thing you would want to figure out is what you want to raise them for. There are a numerous amount of chicken breeds available that are bred for specific reasons. The purpose for most of these breeds would be for laying, eating or showing. Another thing you want to keep in mind is what type of weather you will be raising them in. Some breeds can tolerate certain weather conditions better than others. Listed below is a chart showing several different breeds to choose from, what they are bred for and what weather conditions they are most hardy in. In this chart you will find brooding, which describes how much or less the hens tend to want to lay on their eggs to hatch them out. Also, you will find hardiness, which describes how well the separate breeds can handle different types of weather conditions, with robust meaning they can equally tolerate all types of weather. Finally, the types that are listed are whether the chickens are preferred more for their eggs(layer), meat(game) or showing abilities(fancy). Dual purpose breeds are preferred for both laying and meat production.

 

BREED BROODING HARDINESS TYPE
Ameraucana Occasional Very Cold Hardy Layer; Fancy
Andalusian Non-setter Heat Tolerant Layer; Fancy
Araucana Frequent Cold Hardy Layer; Fancy
Brahma Frequent Robust Dual Purpose; Fancy
Buckeye Occasional Cold Hardy Dual Purpose
Campine Non-setter Comb Subject to Frostbite Layer; Fancy
Catalina Non-setter Very Heat Tolerant Layer
Chantecler Frequent Extremely Cold Hardy Dual Purpose
Cornish Game Occasional Cold Hardy Game
Cubalaya Frequent Not Feathered for Cold Temp. Game
Delaware Occasional Robust Dual Purpose
Fayoumi Non-setter Tolerant to Extreme Heat Layer
Hamburgh Non-setter Cold Hardy Layer
Holland Occasional Cold Hardy Dual Purpose
Jersey Giant Occasional Very Cold Hardy Dual Purpose
Lakenvelder Non-setter Cold Hardy Layer
Langshan Occasional Cold Hardy Dual Purpose; Fancy
Leghorn Non-setter Heat Tolerant Layer
Malay Occasional Not Feathered for Cold Temp. Game
Minorca Non-setter Very Heat Tolerant Layer
Modern Game Occasional Not Feathered for Cold Temp. Game
Naked Neck Occasional Cold Hardy Fancy
NewHampshire Occas. to Freq. Robust Dual Purpose
OldEnglishGame Frequent Not Feathered for Cold Temp. Game
Orloff Non-setter Cold Hardy Fancy
Orpington Frequent Very Cold Hardy Dual Purpose
Penedesenca Non-setter Very Heat Tolerant Layer
Plymouth Rock Rare Robust Dual Purpose
Polish Non-setter Not Heat Tolerant Fancy
RhodeIslandRed Rare Robust Dual Purpose
Silkie Frequent Robust Fancy
Sultan Non-setter Not Heat Tolerant Fancy
Sumatra Occasional Not Feathered for Cold Temp. Game
Sussex Frequent Robust Dual Purpose
Welsummer Occasional Cold Hardy Dual Purpose
Wyandotte Rare Robust Dual Purpose
Yokohama Occasional Not Heat Tolerant Fancy

As you can see, there are several breeds to choose from, depending on what your intentions for raising them are and where you plan to raise them. There are even more available, than what is listed above, to choose from. These are most of the more common types.