Large Fowl

Araucana

I keep Araucanas in Lavender and as you can see from the pictures below they have a unique appearance with ear tufts instead of normal ear lobes found on other chicken breeds. The Araucana originates from South America in Chile and they lay a lovely green/blue egg. I am a member of the Araucana club and I'm constantly trying to breed chickens true to type with good egg colour.

Silver Duckwing Welsummers

The Welsummer originates from Holland having been named after a village called Welsum and developed along the river Ysel to the north of Deventer arriving in England in 1928. A breed developed as a layer they produce a dark brown egg with speckles and should produce up to 230 eggs in their first year. The Silver Duckwing variety is a rare colour and is truly wonderful to watch in their surroundings as the cockerels are very striking.  

Group of Silver Duckwing Welsummers                                Silver Duckwing Welsummer Hen                   Silver Duckwing Welsummers

Gold Laced Orpingtons

The Orpington was first created in the Village of Orpington in the UK by William Cook in 1886. They are a large, heavy breed with lots of feathers, which make them good broody hens as well as a beautiful bird. The gold laced is a rare colour that was introduced to the UK from Germany, a stunning bird with the famous docile temperament they lay a tinted colour egg. A new breed I have added to my collection this year and I am looking forward to developing my own strain.

They are lovely friendly birds, which make these gentle giants great with children 

Silkie

Silkies are classified as a soft feather and is believed to have originated in India, China or Japan. Silkies become broody often and make fantastic mothers, but they are also suitable birds for children as they easily become tame. Silkies are unusual in appearance as they have a fifth toe with legs been purplish in colour in fact all of the skin is this unusual colour including the meat. The feathers have a lovely silkie quality so they are unable to fly and they have a fluffy head crest adding to their unusual look.

2008 marks the return of Silkies after been absent for a few years, but after owning a Silkie they soon become a favourite with all members of the family. A truly charming breed with their striking appearance, I am currently focusing on the gold, bearded variety which I hope will do well in the future.

Silkie hen

Sussex

The Sussex bird is a utility bird which descends from the old Sussex fowl which were kept by the Victorians for their meat and eggs. In its early history it was one of the main table birds for the London meat market, and was regarded as a top class table bird. The Sussex was so highly prized as a utility bird that a commercial industry was founded around the areas of “Tunbridge Wells” and “East Bourne” to supply fresh eggs and meat to London on a daily basis.

I only keep the one variety of Sussex which is Speckled a stunning colour and the oldest variety of the Sussex breed. The Sussex breed have lovely calm temperaments making them suitable for children or novice poultry keepers. They are classified as a large heavy breed and are a good dual purpose breed producing 180 eggs approximately a year which are a lovely cream colour and any surplus males make good table birds.

                                Speckled Sussex hen                                                                                                    Speckled Sussex group