Are Redcaps good for showing?

Yes — they're a recognized APA **English**-class breed (added in 1888), and their enormous rose comb makes them a striking exhibition bird. Judges focus on a large, broad, well-pointed comb with a clean backward leader, plus rich mahogany-red color with black spangling and active carriage.

How hard are Redcaps to hatch?

No harder than any chicken — **99.5°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**, with no breed-specific quirks. The main catch is that Redcap hens rarely go broody, so you'll usually need an incubator or a foster broody of another breed.

Why is the Redcap's comb so big?

The oversized rose comb is the breed's defining, deliberately selected trait — the British standard calls for a notably large comb. It's broad and covered in fine rounded points with a straight backward-pointing spike (the leader), which gives the bird its 'red cap' look.

Very. The Livestock Conservancy classifies the Redcap as **Critical**, its highest-priority endangered category. Keeping and breeding them well is a meaningful contribution to the breed's survival.

Rarely. Like their Hamburg ancestors, Redcap hens are not reliable setters, so most breeders hatch with an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. Individual hens vary.

Redcap: The Oversized Rose-Comb Heritage Breed

Q: What color eggs do Redcaps lay?

**White** eggs, occasionally with a faint tint. They are productive layers for a heritage breed — commonly cited at around 120–200 white eggs per year — and hens often continue laying for several years.

Verified September 2026White eggs

The short version

The Redcap (or Derbyshire Redcap) is a rare English heritage breed defined by its enormous rose comb — the largest of any standard breed — which sits on the head like a broad red cap. It originated in England's Derbyshire and Pennine region, was admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection in 1888, and lays white (slightly tinted) eggs. The Livestock Conservancy lists it as Critical, its rarest category, so nearly every bird you keep matters to the breed's survival.

APA class: English

Egg color: White

Broodiness: Rarely broody

Varieties: 1

Egg-color genetics

The Redcap lays a white to very slightly tinted egg despite its red earlobes, a nod to its Hamburg and Old English Pheasant Fowl ancestry. There is no blue or brown pigment layered onto the shell, so the eggs read as clean white rather than cream or brown.

Why the Redcap is so rare

The Redcap was one of the most profitable farm fowl in early-to-mid-1800s England wherever there was an egg market, prized as a steady white-egg layer. But it fell out of favor and was nearly extinct in its native England by 1900, and although it was widely distributed across America before the 1890s, it all but disappeared there too within a few years. Today The Livestock Conservancy lists it as Critical, meaning very few breeding birds remain.

For a keeper, that rarity is the whole point: a small, well-managed Redcap flock is a genuine conservation project, not just a backyard novelty.

What color eggs do Redcaps lay?

White, sometimes with a very slight tint. Despite their red earlobes, Redcaps are productive white-egg layers — sources report roughly 120–200 eggs a year — and hens tend to keep laying for many years, a trait inherited from their Hamburg background.

Breeding notes

The oversized rose comb is the signature show trait and the hardest thing to breed well: judges and the British standard reward a broad, full comb densely covered in fine points with a straight backward-pointing leader (spike). Select breeders whose combs are large and evenly worked rather than lopsided, hollow, or crooked.
The breed is critically endangered — the Livestock Conservancy classes it as Critical (fewer than 500 birds in the U.S.). Treat every well-typed bird as breeding stock, keep good records, and prioritize genetic diversity over culling too hard for a single trait.
Comb and plumage color are slow to finish: the full mahogany-red ground, crisp black spangling, and the mature comb are often not fully revealed until a bird's second or third year, so don't cull young birds too early on comb size or color alone.
Breed toward the historic dual-purpose bird — an active, hardy forager and steady white-egg layer — rather than a purely ornamental one; that productivity was the reason the breed survived and is worth preserving.

Showing notes

The Redcap is exhibited in the APA's English class (rose comb). The comb is the centerpiece: examiners want it large, broad, level, and firmly set, thickly studded with rounded points and finished with a clean leader — not so heavy that it obscures the eyes or lists to one side.
Beyond the comb, condition matters: the mahogany-red body color with distinct black spangling should be rich and well marked, and the bird should present the alert, upright, active carriage the breed is known for.
Because the breed is so rare, classes are small and good specimens are prized — showing is also one of the best ways to find fellow breeders and expand the gene pool.

Hatching & incubation

No breed-specific incubation quirks — Redcap eggs hatch on the standard chicken schedule (about 99.5°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch).
Because Redcap hens rarely go broody, plan on an incubator or a foster broody of another breed if you want to reproduce them.

Recognized varieties

Redcap (mahogany-red with black spangling)

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Redcaps lay?: White eggs, occasionally with a faint tint. They are productive layers for a heritage breed — commonly cited at around 120–200 white eggs per year — and hens often continue laying for several years.
Are Redcaps good for showing?: Yes — they're a recognized APA English-class breed (added in 1888), and their enormous rose comb makes them a striking exhibition bird. Judges focus on a large, broad, well-pointed comb with a clean backward leader, plus rich mahogany-red color with black spangling and active carriage.
How hard are Redcaps to hatch?: No harder than any chicken — 99.5°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch, with no breed-specific quirks. The main catch is that Redcap hens rarely go broody, so you'll usually need an incubator or a foster broody of another breed.
Why is the Redcap's comb so big?: The oversized rose comb is the breed's defining, deliberately selected trait — the British standard calls for a notably large comb. It's broad and covered in fine rounded points with a straight backward-pointing spike (the leader), which gives the bird its 'red cap' look.
Are Redcaps rare?: Very. The Livestock Conservancy classifies the Redcap as Critical, its highest-priority endangered category. Keeping and breeding them well is a meaningful contribution to the breed's survival.
Are Redcaps broody?: Rarely. Like their Hamburg ancestors, Redcap hens are not reliable setters, so most breeders hatch with an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. Individual hens vary.

Sources

Redcap Chicken (conservation status, history & breed facts) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Redcap Chickens (breed overview: comb, eggs, weights) — Hobby Farms (Reference)

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