Chicken keepers often use abbreviations and assume their listeners know what they mean. Here are some of the more common chicken breed abbreviations, along with abbreviations for variety features and those used for show that may be puzzling when you see them in poultry publications, forums, and websites. Note that abbreviations may be combined to indicate both the breed (such as Old English Game Bantam, or OEGB) and the variety (such as black breasted red, or BBR), yielding an alphabet mouthful — in this case BBROEGB.
Breed & Variety Abbreviations
Amer. Ameraucana
BB. Buff Brahma
BJG. Black Jersey Giant
BO. Buff Orpington
BR/BPR. Barred Plymouth Rock
BSL – Black Sex Link
CLB. Cream Legbar
CM. Cuckoo Marans
CW. Columbian Wyandotte
CX. Cornish Cross
DB. Dark Brahma
EE. Easter Egger
FAV. Faverolle
GLC. Gold Laced Cochin
JG. Jersey Giant
LB. Light Brahma
NH/New Hamp. New Hampshire
NN. Naked Neck
OEGB. Old English Game bantam
Orp. Orpington
PR. Production Red
RIR. Rhode Island Red
RSL. Red Sex Link
SF. Salmon Faverolle
SL. Sex Link
Spitz/Spitzy. Spitzhauben Appenzeller
SSH. Silver Spangled Hamburg
SS. Speckled Sussex
WCBP. White Crested Black Polish
WFBS. White Faced Black Spanish
WL. White Leghorn
Variety Features
BBR. black breasted red
BL. blue laced
BLR. blue laced red
BT. black tailed
CF. clean faced
CL. clean legged
DT. double tufted
FL. feather legged
GL. gold laced
GDW. golden duck wing
GP. gold penciled
PC. pea comb
RC. rose comb
SC. single comb
SDW. silver duck wing
SL. silver laced
SP. silver penciled
SPL. splash
ST. single tufted
Exhibition Abbreviations
ABA. American Bantam Association
Amer. American Class
AOB. All Other Breeds/Any Other Breed Class
AOC. All Other Colors/Any Other Color Class
AOCCL. All Other Comb Clean Legged Class
AOSB. All Other Standard Breeds Class
AOV. All Other Varieties/Any Other Variety Class
APA. American Poultry Association
BB/BOB. Best of Breed
BV/BOV. Best of Variety
B/BF/BT/BTM. bantam/bantam fowl
C, H, K, P. cock, hen, cockerel, pullet
CF. Champion Feather Legged
Ch. Champion
Cont. Continental Class
DQ. Disqualified
GC. Grand Champion
LF. large fowl
Med. Mediterranean Class
RCCL. Rose Comb Clean Legged Class
Res. Reserve
RB/ROB. Reserve of Breed
RF. Reserve Feather Legged
RV/ROV. Reserve of Variety
SCCL. Single Comb Clean Legged Class
And that’s today’s news from the Cackle Coop.
Gail Damerow has written numerous books about poultry, including The Chicken Encyclopedia.
