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Friesian

Hen
Conservation status	FAO (2007): bantam: endangered
Other names	Frisian Dutch: Fries Hoen
Country of origin	Netherlands
Traits
Weight	Male: standard: 1.4–1.6 kg bantam: 550–650 g Female: standard: 1.2–1.4 kg bantam: 450–550 g
Egg colour	white
Comb type	single
Classification
APA	no
EE	yes
PCGB	rare soft feather: light
Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus

The Friesian or Frisian, Dutch: Fries Hoen, is an ancient Dutch breed of chicken. It originates in Friesland, on the North Sea coast of the northern Netherlands.

History

The Friesian originated in Friesland in the northern Netherlands, and is thought to be an ancient breed. It is apparently related to other breeds in the area such as the Assendelfts Hoen, the Drentse Hoen, the Groninger Meeuw, the Hollands Hoen, the Ostfriesische Möwe and the Westfälischer Totleger. The earliest written description may be that by R. Houwink in his Overzicht van alle bekende hoenderrassen, in hunne vormen en kleuren of 1909. From the early twentieth century the Friesian was supplanted as an egg-layer by more productive breeds such as the Barnevelder, the Leghorn, the Rhode Island Red and the Welsumer. During the First World War, it was not among the breeds for which a feed subsidy was available, and numbers fell. A breed society, the Fryske Hinne Klub, was formed in 1922. A monograph on the breed, Ús Fryske Hinnen by F. Hoogeveen, was published in 1947. A German breed society, the Sonderverein der Friesenhühner und Zwergfriesenhühner, was established in 1998.

Characteristics

There are both standard-sized and bantam Friesians. The standard fowl is a light breed: cocks weigh 1.4–1.6 kg and hens 1.2–1.4 kg; the bantam is very small.

The birds stand fairly upright, and hold their tails high. The eyes are large and dark orange; the earlobes are small, oval and white; the comb is single, red, rather small, and has five or six serrations; the beak is horn-coloured; the legs are white in the cuckoo-patterned variety, slate-blue in all others.

Twelve colour varieties are recognised in the Netherlands, eleven in Germany, and three – chamois-pencilled, gold-pencilled and silver-pencilled – in the United Kingdom.

Use

The hens are good layers of white eggs. They may give approximately 200 eggs per year, with an average weight of 52 g. Bantam hens lay about 120 eggs per year; the average weight is 30 g.

References

1. Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed January 2017.
2. ^ Friese Hoenders (in Dutch). Nederlandse Hoender en Dwerghoenderbond. Archived 28 August 2013.
3. ^ Victoria Roberts (2008). British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424.
4. ^ Rassetafeln: Hühner (in German). Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Accessed April 2019.
5. ^ Rassetafeln: Zwerghühner (in German). Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Accessed April 2019.
6. APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
7. ^ Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
8. Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
9. Chickens. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.
10. ^ Geschiedenis (in Dutch). Fryske Hinne Klub. Archived 7 January 2017.
11. ^ Das Rasseportrait: Das Friesenhuhn (Fries Hoen) (in German). Vielfältige Initiative zur Erhaltung gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Accessed April 2019.
12. ^ Elly Vogelaar (August 2008). Chicken Run. Aviculture Europe 4 (4), article 5. Accessed April 2019.

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