California Gray
The California Gray, also written California Grey, is an American chicken breed developed in California in the early twentieth century from Barred Plymouth Rock and White Leghorn ancestry. It was intended to combine Leghorn-style egg production with a larger barred bird that could also provide a usable carcass. Adults have clean legs, single combs, and gray-and-white barring, with hens often appearing darker than males. The breed is also known as a parent behind the California White commercial hybrid.
Small-flock keepers value California Grays as active layers of large white eggs and as birds that can make good use of range. They do best with roomy pens or supervised pasture rather than tight confinement, and their single combs need some protection in hard freezes. Breeding stock should be selected for clear barring, body size, sound legs, and steady production. Because true California Grays are less common than California Whites or ordinary barred crosses, buyers should ask about the source line before choosing chicks or hatching eggs.
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
