Pekin
The Pekin is a small, heavily feathered ornamental chicken known in Britain and many Commonwealth countries as a true bantam, while related naming can overlap with Cochin bantams in other places. It has a rounded body, short legs hidden by abundant feathering, and a soft, compact look. Pekins come in many colors and are kept mainly for exhibition, brooding, and companionable small-flock poultry rather than large-scale egg production.
Pekins need dry, clean footing because their feathered feet collect mud, bedding, and ice more readily than clean-legged breeds. Their calm nature makes them popular with families and hobby keepers, but they still need predator-safe housing and careful mite control under dense feathering. Breeders select for round shape, correct color, short back, foot feathering, and vigor. Hens often go broody, which can be useful for hatching but inconvenient for steady egg collection.
Colors: Barred, Birchen, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Duckwing, Gold, Gold Laced, Laced, Lavender, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Partridge, Penciled, Porcelain, Red, Silver, Silver Laced, Spangled, Splash, Wheaten, White
