The Appenzeller Barthuhn is a Swiss

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of bearded chicken originating in the historical

Appenzell Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...

region of Switzerland. It is one of two chicken breeds from that area, the other being the

Appenzeller Spitzhauben The Appenzeller Spitzhauben is a Swiss breed of crested chicken originating in the historical Appenzell region of Switzerland. It is one of two chicken breeds from that area, the other being the Appenzeller Barthuhn; the only other Swiss breed o ...

; the only other Swiss breed of chicken is the Schweizer.

History

The Barthuhn was bred from about 1860 in the historical

region of Switzerland. It may derive, at least in part, from Italiener,

Polverara Polverara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southeast of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,555 and an area of .All demographics ...

and Russian Bearded stock. Much of the breeding was done by a man named Züst in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Vorderland in the

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden; rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadora; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Esterno) is one of the 26 canton ...

, who hoped that a bearded and rose-combed bird might have a better resistance to frost than other chickens. The breed was recognised in 1898. A bantam version was bred in the 1990s by E. Meier of

Bottenwil Bottenwil is a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Bottenwil is first mentioned in 1189 as ''Botanwile''. Geography Bottenwil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 48.4% is used for agricul ...

, in the

Canton of Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

. A

flock-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

was started in 2005; in 2019 the recorded population consisted of 334 hens and 205 cocks.

Characteristics

The Barthuhn is a light chicken: hens weigh some , cock birds about . It is recognised by the

Entente Européenne Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

in three

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

: partridge, black and blue-laced; other sources list only the first two colours. The

Poultry Club of Great Britain The Poultry Club of Great Britain is a registered charity founded in 1877. Its stated purpose is to "safeguard the interests of all pure and traditional breeds of poultry including chickens, bantams, ducks, geese and turkeys". The club maint ...

allows any colour seen in any breed of game fowl. Ring size is for cocks and for hens.

Use

Hens may lay some 150 white-shelled eggs in their first year, with an average weight of .

References

{{reflist, 45em, refs= J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018)
''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''
seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. {{ISBN, 9781119509141. APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012
American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007)
List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources
annex t
''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture''
Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{ISBN, 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020. Rassetafeln: Hühner
(in German). Reichenbach, Haselbachtal: Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Accessed August 2022. Tiergenetische Ressourcen der Schweizer Landwirtschaft
(in German). Bern: Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft. Accessed August 2022. Breed data sheet: Appenzeller Barthuhn / Switzerland (Chicken)
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022. Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013)
Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013. Rassename: Appenzeller Barthühner
Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Accessed August 2022. Norbert Niemeyer (2011)
Hühner aus dem Appenzeller Land
(in German). ''Geflügelzeitung'' 23/2011. Berlin: HK Verlagsgesellschaft. .n.(2021)
Ringgrössenverzeichnis/Liste des bagues
(in German and French). Standard- und Fachkommission von Rassegeflügel Schweiz/Commission du standard et technique de Volailles de race Suisse. Accessed August 2022. Chickens: Soft Feather Light
Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.
(in German). ProSpecieRara Schweiz. Accessed August 2022. onitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe(2003)
''Agricultural Genetic Resources in the Alps; Landwirtschaftliche Genressourcen der Alpen; Ressources génétiques agricoles des Alpes; Risorse genetiche agricole delle Alpi; Kmetijski genetski viri v Alpha''
Zürich: Bristol-Stiftung; Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt. {{isbn, 3258066698. Archived 24 May 2022. Das Appenzeller Barthuhn
(in German). Neukirch an der Thur: Züchterverein für ursprüngliches Nutzgeflügel. Archived 27 November 2016. Chicken breeds originating in Switzerland