New Hampshire

The New Hampshire is a medium-sized American chicken, bred for meat as much as for eggs. It came about in the early twentieth century out of Rhode Island Red stock, with breeders selecting for quicker maturity, earlier feathering and a strong laying habit. What you end up with is a practical farmyard bird that earns its keep at the table and in the egg basket, without any fuss.

Out in the run, New Hampshires forage away happily and get on well with people, settling into a flock without much bother. Their chestnut red plumage and steady nature have made them a popular choice on smallholdings and in back gardens the length and breadth of the country.

The breed lays brown eggs and puts on weight fast enough to double as a meat bird, which is really what dual-purpose means in practice. Hens go broody often enough, so a New Hampshire flock can hatch and rear its own chicks without any help from an incubator.

Who it suits

The New Hampshire suits keepers after one breed that will deliver a steady run of brown eggs and a decent bird for the pot besides. It stands up well to the cold, forages with purpose and does fine in a run once there's room enough to move about. Anyone who wants a level-headed, low-drama flock with a handy broody streak will get on well with it. It's less suited to those chasing the highest possible egg count from a dedicated laying breed.

The New Hampshire started out as a selective branch of the Rhode Island Red. From around 1910, poultry keepers in the state of New Hampshire worked with Rhode Island Red birds but had a different aim in mind. Instead of chasing plumage and show type, they bred for production: fast growth, early feathering, early maturity and plenty of vigour.

Over roughly twenty years of careful selection, the line had moved far enough from its parent stock to stand as a breed in its own right. The American Poultry Association admitted the New Hampshire to its Standard of Perfection in 1935.

The breed found favour because it matured quicker than the Rhode Island Red, which made it useful for broiler production and egg laying on the one farm. Through the middle of the twentieth century it saw wide use in commercial flocks and fed into several hybrid meat crosses.

Once specialised commercial hybrids took over the large operations, the pure New Hampshire fell out of favour in industry. It has held its place, though, on smallholdings and among keepers who value a proper dual-purpose bird.

The New Hampshire carries a broad, deep body that sits lower and rounder than the Rhode Island Red's. The plumage runs chestnut to medium red, often lighter and more golden than the deep mahogany of its parent breed. Cocks show darker, richer tones, and both sexes carry a single red comb, red wattles and red ear lobes. The skin and legs are yellow, and the beak a reddish horn colour.

Coat and colours

The standard colour is a single shade known as chestnut red. The hackle and tail feathers often carry black, and the main tail is black with a green sheen to it. Some feathers show a lighter base close to the body. A bantam version exists too, at a fraction of the standard weight, with the same colouring and shape scaled right down.

The New Hampshire has a calm, good-natured way about it that makes it easy to keep. Birds are generally friendly with the people who handle them and take routine care in their stride. They're active and forage with real purpose when given range, but they settle fine into confinement too, once the run gives them room enough.

Within a mixed flock, New Hampshires hold their own and can be a bit pushy at the feeder, so they keep their place among other breeds without turning into bullies. They're not especially flighty, and with regular gentle handling plenty of them grow tame enough for children to manage. Hens go broody readily, which suits anyone after natural hatching, though it can knock a hole in laying for a spell.

The breed is moderately vocal. Hens will announce an egg and kick up when disturbed, but they're not among the noisiest birds in the yard. Strangers get a wary look at first, and the flock settles once a routine is in place.

The New Hampshire is a practical breed that asks little in the way of specialised care. Its close, single-layer feathering looks after itself well enough, and ordinary flock husbandry covers most of what it needs. The bird stands up to the cold, though the single comb can suffer in a hard frost.

Grooming

• Give the birds a dry dust bath area so they can see off mites and lice themselves
• Check the vent, feet and under the wings once a month for parasites
• Trim nails and check the beak only if it's grown out of shape
• Keep the feathering in good order with dry bedding rather than washing the bird

Exercise

• Let the birds into a run or supervised range daily to forage
• Aim for at least 1 square metre of run space per bird where you can manage it
• Scatter feed or greens about to get them scratching naturally
• Fit perches at different heights for movement and roosting

Environment

New Hampshires do well in Ireland's cool, damp climate thanks to their body mass and dense feathering, though that same dampness is what you need to watch. Give them a draft-free, well-ventilated coop with dry bedding, and in a hard frost, protect the comb with a thin smear of petroleum jelly. In a warm spell, shade and a steady supply of fresh water keep heat stress at bay.

Being a dual-purpose breed bred for quick growth, the New Hampshire does best on a complete commercial poultry feed sized to its life stage. Chicks need a high-protein starter, growers need a transition ration, and laying hens need a layer feed with added calcium for shell quality. Birds being reared for meat can stay on a higher-protein grower ration for longer. Clean water needs to be on hand at all times, and insoluble grit is needed whenever birds are eating anything besides complete feed.

Treats and supplements

Greens, mealworms and scratch grains are grand in small amounts but shouldn't take the place of complete feed. Offer crushed oyster shell free choice for laying hens so each one can take what calcium she needs. Provide grit whenever birds forage or eat whole grains. In warm weather, electrolytes added to the water can help see them through heat stress.

The New Hampshire is a robust breed with no widespread genetic disorders. Given clean housing, parasite control and good feeding, birds commonly live 6 to 10 years, though hens laying heavily may have shorter productive lives. Most health troubles are the general poultry concerns rather than anything specific to the breed.

Preventive care

• Keep the coop dry, well-ventilated and clear of droppings
• Provide a dust bath area and check for parasites monthly
• Quarantine new birds before letting them into the flock
• Supply fresh water and a complete, life-stage ration
• Follow a deworming and vaccination plan suited to the region, with a vet's advice

The New Hampshire settles well into back garden and small-farm housing. It does best with a predator-proof coop for shelter overnight and a fenced run or range area for foraging by day. The breed's mass and feathering suit it to a cold climate, but it still needs good ventilation to keep the air dry and free of ammonia, which matters all the more given how damp Irish winters can get. In warm spells, shade and airflow count for most.

Setup checklist

• Predator-proof coop with secure latches and fencing buried or skirted against digging
• Dry, absorbent bedding such as wood shavings or straw
• Roosting bars set above the nest boxes
• Clean nest boxes with soft bedding for laying
• Constant fresh water and a shaded spot outdoors
• A dust bath area of dry soil or sand

New Hampshire eggs follow the standard chicken incubation period of about 21 days. The breed keeps a strong broody instinct, so a sitting hen will hatch and rear chicks perfectly well on her own. For bigger numbers, or more control over the process, an incubator gives steadier results. Getting a good hatch comes down to steady temperature, the right humidity and turning the eggs consistently through the first 18 days.

Hatching steps

1. Pick clean, well-shaped fertile eggs and store them pointed end down below 18 C for no more than 7 days
2. Warm the incubator to a steady 37.5 C before setting the eggs
3. Turn the eggs 3 to 5 times a day through day 18 to stop the embryo sticking
4. Stop turning on day 18 and raise the humidity for the final lockdown stage
5. Leave hatched chicks in the incubator until dry and fluffed up before moving them to a warm brooder