Adelaide Chicken Breeds

These are the chickens we see at Walkerville Vet, your local chicken friendly vet. All these birds are hens except the Australorp at the end.

See a list at the end on where to buy chickens in Adelaide. Please note that we do not sell chickens or have any other information on where to buy them.

Read more on choosing chicken breeds and chicken care here.

Barnevelder

Barnevelder hen breed


A little less common than the others, but a pretty bird and a slightly smaller size.

Dorking

Dorking chicken


Actually we haven’t seen one of this rare breed yet, but the lovely folks at Keelan Grain & Fodder sometimes have them, along with Australorp and HyLine or ISA Brown hens. They’ll also be about to offer good chicken foods that go along with our chicken diet advice.

Buff Orpington

HyLine or ISA Brown

ISA brown hen


This breed is quite prone to egg peritonitis (sometimes erroneously called egg binding)

Leghorn

leghorn hen chicken

Light Sussex

light sussex hen


Don’t poop on our keyboard!

Silver laced Wyandotte

wyandotte chicken hen

Gold Laced Wyandotte

gold laced wyandotte

Rhode Island Red

chicken rhode-island red

Australorp

australorp chickens


By Bodlina (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Where to Buy Chickens

Chickens (like many other animals for better or worse) are often advertised on Gumtree, so it’s a good idea to create a search alert or check frequently.

We can’t promise all these sellers are current. If you know of any more, please let us know.

Backyard Poultry Noticeboard

This is the SA page; choose a different state from the drop-down menu.
People advertise to buy and sell, and the country auctions post notices as well.

Pretty Poultry   – Gumeracha
Orpingtons, Barnevelders, Rhode Island Reds

Fodder Stores

Adelaide fodder stores nearly all have HyLine or ISA Brown and some also have heritage chicken breeds from time to time.  Most will post on their Facebook when a new group arrives but you’ll need to be quick!  Here are just two:

Sandersons Grain & Fodder Store
432 Main Road
Coromandel Valley SA 5051
Phone: (08) 8270 2173

Keelan’s Grain and Fodder
164 Gorge Rd, Newton
Phone: (08) 8362 4178

Lastly…

The South Australian Poultry Association
lists shows, auctions and meetings of all SA poultry clubs.

We would encourage anyone to go and visit the breeder, rather than picking up the hens from a meeting place, so they can see the operation and the health of the hens, and ask questions about their feed.