The Friesian or Frisian, nl, , is an ancient

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

breed of chicken. It originates in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

, on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

coast of the northern

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 ...

History

The Friesian originated in

in northern Holland, 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 Hollands may refer to: People with the surname Hollands: * Fred Hollands (1870–1948), English footballer * Danny Hollands (born 1985), English footballer * Lotte Hollands, Dutch mathematical physicist * Mario Hollands (born 1988), American base ...

, the

Ostfriesische Möwe The , nl, Groninger Meeuw, italic=no, is an old German breed of domestic chicken. It is a rare breed: in 2016 the recorded population in Germany consisted of 215 cocks and 979 hens, in the hands of 130 breeders. Its conservation status is , "en ...

and the

Westfälischer Totleger The is a German breed of domestic chicken. It is more than 400 years old, and is a rare breed. History The Totleger derives from the traditional rural chickens of Westphalia, and was reared mainly in the area of the cities of Bielefeld a ...

. 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 Barnevelder is a Dutch breed of domestic chicken. It resulted from cross-breeding between local Dutch chickens and various "Shanghai" birds imported from Asia to Europe in the later part of the nineteenth century; these may have been of Brah ...

, the Leghorn, the

Rhode Island Red The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island. It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay wit ...

and the

Welsumer The Welsummer or Welsumer is a Dutch breed of domestic chicken. It originates in the small village of Welsum, in the eastern Netherlands. It was bred at the beginning of the twentieth century from local fowls of mixed origin: Rhode Island ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it was not among the breeds for which a feed subsidy was available, and numbers fell. A

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members of ...

, 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 and hens ; 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 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 ...

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 Holland, 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 Bantam hens lay about 120 eggs per year; the average weight is

References

Chicken breeds Chicken breeds originating in the Netherlands Culture of Friesland {{poultry-stub