Poultry Breeds : Jersey Giant

Varieties: Black, White. Standard Weights: Cock-13 pounds; hen-10 pounds; cockerel-11 pounds; pullet-8 pounds. Skin Color: Yellow. Egg Shell Color: Brown. Not surprisingly, the Jersey Giant is a large bird that was developed in the 1870's in New Jersey to meet the demand for heavy fowl. Developed by the Black brothers, it was originally called the Jersey Black Giant. Giants were bred from crosses of Orpingtons, Javas, and Langshans, becoming and remaining the largest chickens developed in America. They are rugged birds but because they grow a large frame first and have little meat until about 6 months, they have not been...

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Poultry Breeds : Java

Varieties: Black Mottled A medium-sized, angular bird which was a common farm chicken in the U.S. in the 19th century. Javas possess single combs. Content: Chicken Breeds and Varieties (A2880), John L. Skinner, University of Wisconsin-Madison  Original Article Her...

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Poultry Breeds : Holland

Varieties: Barred White Developed in the 1930s and '40s in an attempt to provide a medium-sized fowl with good meat properties that laid white-shelled eggs. Content: Chicken Breeds and Varieties (A2880), John L. Skinner, University of Wisconsin-Madison  Original Article Her...

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Poultry Breeds : Hamburg

Varieties: Golden Spangled Silver Spangled Golden Penciled Silver Penciled Black White Standard Weights: Cock-5 pounds; hen-4 pounds; cockerel 4 pounds; pullet-3-1/2 pounds. Skin Color: White. Egg Shell Color: White. Use: An ornamental fowl capable of laying fair number of relatively small eggs. Origin: Hamburgs carry a German name, but are generally considered to have originated in Holland. Characteristics: Hamburgs are active, flighty birds. They are trim and stylish with delicate features, and wild in nature. They forage well and are capable of flying long distances. Although good egg producers, their eggs are often very small. Content: Dr. Joe Berry, Extension Poultry Specialist, Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University Chicken Breeds and Varieties (A2880),...

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Poultry Breeds : Golden Montazah

An attempt was made to develop a variety of chickens, which could be utilized as a foundation stock for the process of establishing a hybrid for egg production. The Golden Montazah is the name given to the new variety which had been developed in the Montazah Poultry Research Farm from a cross between the Rhode Island Red and Dokki4, using systems of breeding coupled with selection. The down color of the Golden Montazah chicks is yellowish red. Sex could be easily detected at hatching. Light bars cross each feather. While the red and the light bars of the males are of approximately equal width, in the female the light bars are approximately one-half of the width of the red bars. This variety of chickens has a Colombian pattern. The beak is yellowish brown; the shanks and the skin are yellow....

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Poultry Breeds : Gimmizah

The Gimmizah is a breed of chicken which had been developed in El-Gimmizah Poultry Research Farm, Ministry of Agriculture, Gharbia. The White Plymouth Rock and Dokki 4 were utilized for developing this breed through selection and breeding system. This breed, which is auto-sexed, resembles the Barred Plymouth Rock in body shape and plumage color. The down color of Gimmizah chicks is black over dorsal surface and on the sides, except that there is a light grayish white patch on the head, and the ventral surface is creamy white. Adult birds of Gimmizah have a characterized plumage-color, which is a grayish white, each feather is crossed by dark bars. While the dark and the light bars of the males are approximately of equal width, in the female, light bars are approximately one-half width...

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Poultry Breeds : Gallus Inauris

This is the name given by Professor Salvador Castello of Spain, to a breed of chickens, that he had discovered in Chile, South America, in 1914. The breed has yellow or white shanks, red eye, small comb, is tailless and is especially characterized by a muff on each side of the face, near the ear. "These tufts originate in a small epidermic protuberance which is connected with the head by a thread of elastic skin which allows the protuberance to be stretched to a certain length from the head." The ear tuft on the male is raised at time of mating. These ear muffs have been called "earrings." The Latin word "inauris" corresponds to that of rings. The most peculiar trait of the breed is the blue eggs, sometimes spotted like those of a turkey hen, which are laid by the females. The birds have...

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Poultry Breeds : Frizzle

While listed in the Standard as a breed, frizzling is a genetic modification that can be easily introduced into any population of chickens. It causes each feather to curl back toward the bird's head instead of lying naturally pointed toward the tail. Content: Chicken Breeds and Varieties (A2880), John L. Skinner, University of Wisconsin-Madison  Original Article Here ...

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Poultry Breeds : Frieslands

Friesland fowls are one of the oldest of the Dutch breeds. Dutch authorities have claimed that both the penciled Hamburgs, and in later years the Belgian Silver Campine, arose from the old Friesland fowl of Holland.  The Friesland is bred in several varieties, to wit: Silver Penciled, Golden Penciled, Yellow Penciled, White, Black and Cuckoo. It has a grayish white skin, slatey -blue shanks an white ear lobes. The females lay a white shelled egg an are non-sitters.  The majority of the Friesland fowls have single combs, but they have existed in Holland for a long time, two rose comb varieties of the breed, known as Hollanders; and it was these silver and golden rose combs that were incorporated into the Hamburg breed.  The Frieslands were the original Dutch "every day...

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Poultry Breeds : Faverolles

Varieties: Salmon White An interesting breed that combines a beard and muffs with a single comb and feathered legs and feet. Faverolles are a medium sized breed and fairly loosely feathered, giving them a rather large appearance. They also have a fifth toe on each foot and while chiefly ornamental, do possess some utility characteristics as well. Faverolles Organizations Reference:  Chicken Breeds and Varieties (A2880), John L. Skinner, University of Wisconsin-Madison  Images:  Watt Publishing, 122 S. Wesley Ave., Mt. Morris, IL 61054 USA  Original Article He...

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Poultry Breeds : Dutch Bantam

A History of Dutch Bantams in North America European articles indicate that the bantams we know today as Dutch were first introduced into Holland by Dutch seamen through trading of the East India Company from islands near Indonesia in the seventeenth century. At the time, Bantam Island in the Dutch East Indies was a meeting point for the trade routes between Asia and the western world. The native fowl of the regions were used by the sailors as a source of meat and eggs during their voyages. At the time it was common to call any small birds “bantams” regardless of whether they originated from the Bantam islands or not.  The bantams most likely gained their popularity in early days as it was customary for the landlords of Europe to demand the larger eggs produced by their fowls of...

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Poultry Breeds : Dorking

Varieties: White Silver Gray Colored Standard Weights (White): Cock-7-1/2 pounds; hen-6 pounds; cockerel-6-1/2 pounds; pullet-5 pounds. Standard Weights (Silver Gray and Colored): Cock-9 pounds; hen-7 pounds; cockerel-8 pounds; pullet-6 pounds. Skin Color: White. Egg Shell Color: White. Use: A good, general purpose fowl for producing meat and eggs. It was developed for its especially fine quality meat. Origin: The Dorking is believed to have originated in Italy, having been introduced into Great Britain at an early date by the Romans. Much of its development took place in England where it gained much acclaim for its table qualities. The Dorking is one of our oldest breeds of chickens. Characteristics: The Dorking has a rectangular body set on very short legs. It is five toed and has...

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Poultry Breeds : Dominiques

The Dominique breed developed from the fowl introduced during the early settlement of New England. These were of the type predominating in the south of England and from which the Sussex and Dorking descended. This stock was widely distributed in the Eastern half of the United States by mid 19th century. The breed was generally known as Dominiques except in the region of origin where they were known as Plymouth Rock and occasionally as Pilgrim Fowls. The differentiation between Plymouth Rock and Dominique was not made until 1870 when the management of the New York state poultry show ruled that only rose combed fowl of intermediate size could...

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