I really am falling for this rare breed. There is still some undertainty over the original homeland and even the name of this rare breed. Was it developed in the Netherlands where Breda is the name of a city, or perhaps Holland or France? Whatever its origin, this breed has become very rare. It was found in the U.S. prior to the Civil War, but no breed standard was ever recognized by the APA. Eventually they died out or were replaced by the 20th century commercial breeds and none could be found until Greenfire Farms began importing them a few years back. The variety they selected are the Blue and Black. Of course when you breed blue chickens, you also get the splash coloration too. What we don't have here are the white, mottled and cuckoo varieties. Below is a picture of one of our black chicks.
This may be one of those breeds like the Showgirl silkie whose appearance you either love or hate. They have no comb and a vestigial crest. Their nostrils are large with two sculptural forms - the spectacle and the saddle. Breda legs are covered extravagant feathering and they have vulture hock feathering. The chicks are so friendly, even without treats. As soon as a human hand enters the brooder they all run over to see what's going on. The Swedish Flower Hen chicks and the three Legbar peeps follow closely. It's so much fun when you have chicks that don't rush away in a panic.
Our Breda are still young, only three weeks old, so I am looking forward to watching them grow and evaluating their pros and cons. I am hoping for a larger, dual purpose bird. It will be very rewarding to preserve this very rare and uncommon breed. We hope to have eggs available next summer.
For those interested in learning more about the Breda Fowl, click on the link below to access a brochure from the Netherlands breed club.
http://www.bkuclub.nl.downloads/Brochure_Kraaikop_English.pdf
This may be one of those breeds like the Showgirl silkie whose appearance you either love or hate. They have no comb and a vestigial crest. Their nostrils are large with two sculptural forms - the spectacle and the saddle. Breda legs are covered extravagant feathering and they have vulture hock feathering. The chicks are so friendly, even without treats. As soon as a human hand enters the brooder they all run over to see what's going on. The Swedish Flower Hen chicks and the three Legbar peeps follow closely. It's so much fun when you have chicks that don't rush away in a panic.
Our Breda are still young, only three weeks old, so I am looking forward to watching them grow and evaluating their pros and cons. I am hoping for a larger, dual purpose bird. It will be very rewarding to preserve this very rare and uncommon breed. We hope to have eggs available next summer.
For those interested in learning more about the Breda Fowl, click on the link below to access a brochure from the Netherlands breed club.
http://www.bkuclub.nl.downloads/Brochure_Kraaikop_English.pdf
