The Brabanter is a Dutch
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
crested chicken
Crested chickens are a group of ornamental chicken breeds characterised by a tuft or crest of upward-pointing feathers on the head.
History and distribution
A skull excavated in England suggests that crested chickens were present there in R ...
originating in the historic region of
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
Place names in Europe
* London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany
Belgium
* Province of Bra ...
which straddles
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. It is an ancient breed and is shown in 17th-century paintings.
[ A bantam Brabanter was created in around 1934.][
]
History
The Brabanter has been bred in the Netherlands, and particularly in Brabant, for a long time. The oldest known image of one is in a painting of 1676 by the Dutch artist Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscap ...
. They soon spread from their area of origin. Black and Cuckoo Brabanters were shown at the first German poultry exhibition, at Görlitz
Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...
in Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, in 1854.[ The Brabanter became nearly extinct in the early 20th century, but was recovered by ]cross-breeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
with other crested and bearded birds.[
]
Characteristics
The Brabanter is among the lightest of chicken breeds; cocks weigh and hens .[ It has a narrow crest and a three-part beard. The crest is unlike that of most other crested breeds such as the ]Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
: it projects upwards and slightly forwards like that of the very similar Swiss 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 ...
. The Brabanter has a V-shaped comb
A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...
. The earlobes are small and white, and the wattles are often absent;[ both earlobes and wattles are hidden by the beard.][
Seven colour varieties are recognised in the Netherlands: black, chamois, cuckoo, gold spangled, laced blue, silver spangled and white;][ in Germany there are thirteen.][
A bantam Brabanter was created in around 1934 by cross-breeding the standard-sized Brabanter with bearded bantams of the Polish breed.][
]
Use
Hens lay a moderate number of white eggs, do not frequently go broody
Broodiness is the action or behavioral tendency to sit on a clutch of eggs to incubate them, often requiring the non-expression of many other behaviors including feeding and drinking.Homedes Ranquini, J. y Haro-García, F. Zoogenética. 1ra. edi ...
, and are fairly good winter layers. The breed has a fair build, and thus is a decent table-bird. The Brabanter is a calm breed that is intelligent. It can stand confinement. The Brabanter is suitable for cold areas because its smaller comb and wattles are less susceptible to frostbite.
See also
* List of chicken breeds
There are hundreds of chicken breeds in existence. Domesticated for thousands of years, distinguishable breeds of chicken have been present since the combined factors of geographical isolation and selection for desired characteristics created regi ...
References
{{Chicken breeds of the Netherlands
Chicken breeds originating in Belgium
Chicken breeds
Chicken breeds originating in the Netherlands