North Holland Blue chicken
The North Holland Blue is a heavy Dutch meat breed, created to supply Amsterdam with white chicken meat.
The North Holland Blue is a pure-bred chicken breed in the PCGB Rare Soft Feather Heavy class. Its origin is given as North Holland, Netherlands. It appears on the RBST Watchlist as a priority breed, so keepers of pure stock help conserve it.
It is kept in large and bantam forms. Recognised colours: Cuckoo (blue-barred).
Expect roughly 150–180 eggs a year, with tinted/light brown shells.
Compiled from poultryclub.org, rbst.org.uk, en.wikipedia.org. See sources
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Identity
- Species
- Chicken
- Type
- Pure breed
- PCGB class
- Rare Soft Feather Heavy
- Origin
- North Holland, Netherlands
History
It was bred around Purmerend in about 1900 from Belgian Malines fowl crossed with hardier local birds, because pure Malines did poorly in North Holland. Demand from Amsterdam, including its Jewish community, drove its development. The breeders' club agreed a standard in 1934, and the national body adopted it in 1950. After the Second World War, faster-growing American breeds replaced it commercially.
Appearance
Blue-barred (cuckoo) plumage on a heavy frame.
Recognised colours
Cuckoo (blue-barred)
Size and weight
- Forms
- Large, Bantam
Eggs
- Eggs a year
- 150–180
- Egg colour
- Tinted/light brown
- Notes
- RBST: about 150–180 good-sized light brown eggs a year.
Temperament
Not recorded yet.
Hardiness
Not recorded yet.
Broodiness
Not recorded yet.
Flying
Not recorded yet.
Suitability
Not recorded yet.
Conservation status (RBST)
A priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watchlist.
Breed club
- The Rare Poultry Society, umbrella · Website
Sources
This page is compiled from:
Review
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