Chicken Pick of the Week - Swedish Orust

A unique chicken with an interesting history. The Swedish Orust originally lived off of the rocky coast of Western Sweden, where they adapted and learned to feed off of fish and insects in the shallow pools. A landrace chicken, meaning that instead of selective breeding by people, these chickens developed naturally through adapting to their environment.


The Orust range from small to medium sized and the hens lay up to a medium sized egg. Swedish fisherman benefitted from their eggs for decades. In 2013 there were reportedly less than 500 Orusts in the world with their numbers slowly increasing due to local breeders.


Because of their adaption to fishing, they are tenacious free rangers. This writer finds them very friendly and curious. We kept a few younger Orusts in our barn and whenever we would walk in they would swarm around our feet pecking at any little speck, be it a freckle or lint.

Their black and white mottled feather pattern extends to their legs and feet. Another interesting feature, when a Orust rooster is riled up, maybe by the presence of a predator, their waddles will turn from red to purple as a possible visual warning to the hens who maybe cannot hear his alarm crow over the crashing waves.


If there was any question if Dinosaurs evolved into birds, the Swedish Orust would be a logical argument with their adaption to the rocky Swedish coast and the rooster's changing the color of their waddles when there is possible danger nearby.

The Hatching House is proud to offer the unique Swedish Orust. Being a very new breed to our farm they will be available in the Summer.


Please check out our website at www.TheHatchingHouse.com.


Thank you!

Chicken Pick of the Week - Silver Sebright Bantam

Developed in the early 1800's by Sir John Saunders Sebright of Worcestershire, England as an ornamental breed. The only chicken named after an individual instead of the area or location they were developed.




The Sebright Bantam is a true bantam since there are no larger or standard sized versions. The distinct black edging to their feathers makes their base color pop. The males are "hen feathered" having no pointed feathers in their hackles, saddle or tails. The only distinction between the males and females are the male's rose combs and waddles.




The Sebright Bantams are talkative and friendly and weigh between 22-26oz. The hens lay 50-80 small white eggs. There tends to be a lot of competition when showing the Sebrights and are normally shown by experienced breeders. The Sebright Bantams have two colors, Silver and Golden.

Even with the tough competition, this would be a fun project bird to develop and breed to the Standard of Perfection. Getting the black edging perfectly defined and making the male's rose comb as correct as possible are the challenges.




With their striking appearances and fun personalities, the Sebright Bantam would make a great addition to any chicken enthusiast's flock!




The Hatching House is proud to offer the Silver Sebright Bantam. If you are interested in purchasing the Silver Sebright Bantam or any of our great breeds, check out our website at www.TheHatchingHouse.com.




Thank you!

Chicken Pick of the Week - Silver Partridge Orpington

The English Orpington is a breed that was created around 1869 by William Cook of Orpington, Kent, a suburban town located in Southern England. The Black Orpington was the first Orpington developed by Cook in 1886.

The Orpington is considered one of the best dual-purpose chickens. They lay eggs year round and are a great meaty table bird.

Throughout the late 1800’s and into the early 1900’s, William Cook and his family continued to develop the different colors of Orpingtons – white, buff, diamond jubilee, spangled, cuckoo and the blue. Cooks legacy continues to this day with more and more colors being developed by various breeders based on Cook’s original creation.

The Hatching House is proud to offer several colors of the English Orpington. Our birds are English born or of direct decent of English birds and follow the standards by The Poultry Club of Great Britain. The English Orpingtons are a heavy and broad-bodied bird with a low stance. They are abundantly feathered which gives them a larger appearance than their American cousins. The down from the body covers most of the legs, which is another English feature.

Our Chicken Pick of the Week is the Silver Partridge Orpington, which is a new color to the United States. With it’s light and dark silver partridge feathers and majestic look, this bird will add some class to the enthusiast’s collection.

If you are interested in purchasing the Silver Partridge Orpington or any of our variety of chickens, please go to our website www.TheHatchingHouse.com.

 

Thank you!