Old English pheasant chicken
The Old English pheasant chicken ( English Old English Pheasant Fowl ) is a chicken breed from northern England, which has been known for centuries. The breed is critically endangered and has been classified as Endangered Category 2 by the UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust . The name is based on the similarity of the plumage fringing with that of king pheasants.
history
The breed was recognized in Great Britain in 1914 and the name established. It was popular with farmers in Northern England as a dual-purpose chicken and was also known in the past as "Gold spangled Yorkshire pheasant", "Golden pheasant" or "Oldfashioned pheasant". The ancestors of the pheasant chickens contributed to the development of several color varieties of the Hamburg chickens .
features
The roosters have a rose comb , white ear discs , chestnut-brown plumage with a stripe on the back and a black border in the chest area and medium-long, slate-gray (but often also yellow) legs . Due to the color and pattern, there is a resemblance to the Bergischer Kräher , although a direct relationship between the races is rather unlikely. The hens are the same color as the roosters with a more pronounced crescent-shaped feather border. The black in the plumage has a typical greenish beetle gloss. The hens lay around 160 white eggs annually.
Colors
The old English pheasant chickens only appear speckled with gold. The silver variant is believed to have died out. A black punch from the Lancashire area appears to be assimilated with the black hamburger.
society
Since the special association founded in 1914 no longer exists, the breed was looked after by the Rare Poultry Society in 1969 .
literature
- Rüdiger Wandelt, Josef Wolters: Handbook of Chicken Breeds . the chicken breeds in the world. Verlag Wolters, Bottrop 1996, ISBN 3-9801504-5-3 , Altenglisches Fasanenhuhn, p. 266 f .
Web links
- Exhibition pictures
- English-language description with pictures
- Internet presence of the Rare Poultry Society
- The description of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust