Orpington: A large, beautiful bird with an abundance of soft feathers, clean legs and lovely temperament. Whilst the buff is perhaps still the most favoured and almost abreed apart, it has more recently been produced in an array of colours and banrtam size (which is the type I keep). Not known for their egg production - their eggs are quite small for the size of the bird - but but their gentle temperament and looks win the hearts of many!
British Araucana : The British Araucana is the newest addition to the RBST's list, being added in February 2013. Hopefully this status will help to maintain and improve this bird, which is known for its blue shelled eggs, hardiness and larger than life character. Because it's my favourite breed, I keep black, lavender, white, red and lavender, red and black and cuckoo varieties. Unfortunately this breed when crossed often retains many of its physical characteristics, which has led to the appearance of a lot of birds that have not been bred true. As the bird matures, the appearance of olive coloured eggs is often the first clue to a pullet's mixed parentage. This means that it may not be until the next generation grows old enough to lay that the impurity of a cockerel is discovered. Unlike the eggs of the legbar, the araucana's strong eggshell is blue right the way through - the legbar's is only blue on the surface. Even so, blue/green eggs have been reported in South America since the mid sixteenth century onwards, and it seems that these early Araucanas had little opportunity to cross with the incoming Spanish breeds, so remained truer to original type than many breeds. Below are pictured a group of mixed colours, running together outside of the breeding season. Left to right - red black hen, lavender cockerel,black hen, blue red hen.
Below is the lavender cockerel, showing pea comb and upright, proud stance. The sun has rather washed the colours from these two photo;s - the cockerel is darker than it appears here, and main feathering is an even colour throughout. Yellowish or "brassy" tinges often found in a lavender cockerel are to be avoided.
Tufted, Rumpless Araucana: Again, added to the rare breeds list February 2013, the rumpless aruacana is far rarer than it's tailed cousin. The birds lack a tail or "Parson's nose", and sport ear tufts that can be extremely long. Unfortunately the alelle that creates these tufts is a lethal one, which accounts in part for the rarity of the bird. A double copy of the alelle will result in the bird dying in its shell. For this reason most breeders use a non-tufted bird with a tufted one when breeding. This will mean that 50% of offspring inherit the single alelle from the tufted parent, and 50% do not,so about half of the chicks will bear tufts and the others bot - but it is impossible for them to inherit a double copy as the non-tufted birds do not carry the gene at all.
At this time, the British standard is for tufted birds only, but mnay breeders hope that this standard will be changed to include non-tufted, as in America. Meanwhile non-tufted examples will appear in the breeding pen, but not the show pen.
Cream Crested Legbar: An auto-sexing bird which lays a blue egg. Unlike the araucana's egg, the colour does not permeate the shell but merely coats it. To make up for this though, it lays more of them! An important bird within the specialist egg-producing industry due to its efficiency and auto-sexing qualities, which allows chicks to be sexed as soon as they hatch.
Derbyshire Redcap: The Redcap has always had very close associations with Derbyshire. Its main claim to fame is large red cap or comb, which actually claims 45 of the 100 judging points at shows! Beyond that, this is a bright, alert bird which lays well and also gives good table meat. The males are still used to produce hybrid layers, although they remain hard to find outside of Derbyshire. Not recommended as a beginner's breed - this is a flighty bird that needs to be handled a lot when young if it is to trust its fellow humans. It will then become a very friendly bird that will follow its owner for treats and companionship. There is an even rarer blue colour, which is the one I keep.
Houdan: Originally called the "Normandy Fowl", the Houdan reached England around 1850. It was named after the town of Houdan, and is one of the earliest French breeds. origionally large, heavy birds bred for the table, supplying top quality meat and small white eggs to the capital.
Their size seems to have decreased recently - perhaps as a result of inbreeding or crossing with the bantam version. My own are what I would consider to be large bantams, but as I have two flocks which appear to be quite different bloodlines, I'm hoping to be able to improve their size, stature, and hardiness.
They are a friendly, exceptionally gentle breed, and seem happy to be confined or free ranged in a relatively small area. Perhaps it is their ability to be an ideal pet that has led to smaller size beng preferred. Physically they are easily identified by their large crest, beard, small butterfly comb and prescence of a fifth toe which points upwards.
Ixworth: This breed was developed in the village of Ixworth in Suffolk by Reginald Appleyard (who also developed the Appleyard ducks), making its first appearance in 1939. His idea was to produce a hardy bird which would mature quickly for the table, but also produce a large number of eggs. He used White Old English Game, Jubilee Indian Game, White Sussex, White Orpington and White Minorca to produce the bird with a white skin and large breast as preferred for the table, laying a large number of good-sized eggs (though size and number slightly below Light Sussex) . The bantam version quickly disappeared, and the large fowl almost vanished between 1950 and 70. It now has a good following in Shropshire, Wales and the West Country, but numbers are still critically low.
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The plumage is always pure white, with pale pink legs, a pea comb, and orange to red eyes.The breed forage well so are suited to free-ranging, and are calm and friendly. The female tends towards broodiness. All in all, it can be seen that the Ixworth was an ideal choice for families during the war years.
Leghorn: The Leghorn originated in Italy, but the white one reached Britain from America around 1870, and the brown a couple of years later. originally a small bird, our breeders crossed with the Minorca and Malay to increase their size. After the war a utility white leghorn became the most favoured, producing a large number of pure white eggs. It remains an important bird within the poultry industry, and is often used to cross with araucana or legbar to produce a utility hybrid capable of producing a high number of pale blue eggs.
Sussex: The Sussex comes in several colour variants, the Light Sussex being, perhaps, the best known with its white plumage highlighted by a black laced neck and black in the the tail and wing tips. A prolific layer, it has mothered many of today's hybrids as well as remaining an important bird in its own right.. Although the numbers of Light Sussex do not suggest that it is a rare bird, other colours have fallen behind in numbers - the Speckled, Buff, and Red.
Modern Langshan: The Modern Langshan is a tall, elegant bird, developed from the Croad Langshan which had been around since 1872, and was more like a cochin. The Moderns were popular in the 1930's but have declined since. they come as large fowl or bantam types, and I keep the bantam. Most commonly black in colour with that wonderful beetle green sheen.
Sultan: The Sultan has always been bred first and foremost for its stunningly good looks. With snow white plumage, headcrest, beard and feather legs it is a regal bird, and can easily be pictured in its original home - strutting around the Sultan of Constantinople's palace garden!In 1854 Miss Elizabeth Watts of Hamstead imported a small flock, and it is from these that all of today's British Sultan have descended. They have always been low in numbers in the UK, but had a dedicated band of followers.
Other breeds that I keep are recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain as rare breeds. They are birds that have fulfilled an important part within British poultry keeping and are often to be found within the breeding of our modern hybrids.
La Fleche: A French breed that has never been widespread in Britain. These are large black birds that have two vertical spikes for a combb - earning them the nickname of Devil birds. They are related to the Crevecouer, an important French table bird, and were used to produce white-skinned table petit poussin for the pris market during the mid-nineteenth century. A slightly nervous bird that seems to like either being completely free range or having a very secure environment where they are little disturbed and so feel safe.
Thuringian: These charming fowls were first mentioned in the Thuringen state of Germany in 1793. They were known as Thuringer Pausbuckchen until 1907. During most of their time they came in just two colours, Gold and Silver Spangled, but in recent years othe colours have been developed in Germany, from which black and Chamois Spangled have found their way to the UK. I have only been able to source and keep bantam Thuringian, which I have found to be full of character, demanding of attention and talkitive! A great choice for children or anyone else who likes a really friendly bird. Ever helpful, one of my silver-spangled bantam hens is pictured below, working at the computer keyboard!
Vorweck: This bird originated in Hamburg in 1900. It is a middle-weight bird, lively and an excellent forager, but not timid or flighty. They are friendlier amongst themselves than many fowl, especially the cockerels, and this, along with their quick maturation and ease of keeping made them popular, although numbers have since waned. Their distinctive plumage is chestnut with jet black head, neck and tail feathers.
Sumatra: Originally came from the Malay island of SUmatra. It reached America by 1883, and under the name of Black Sumatra, entered British standards in 1906. It is distinguished by a pheasnat-like shape with long, flowing tail held horizontally. There are now other colours, including the white, but perhaps it is the beetle-green plumage of the black sumatra that is the most striking. A hardy bird that lays lots ofwhite eggs and is said to sit well - although my own never have! The photographs below are both of my white sumatra cockerel.
Welsummer: Named after the Dutch village of Welsum, the "standard" colour and type cockerel is probably well known to most people as it appears on the Kellog cereal boxes and adverts! It;s other claim to fame is the large toffee/red brown eggs, often speckled.
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