The Pyncheon is a rare American breed of
true bantam chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
. It is an old breed, developed in the
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
. The Pyncheon's ancestors are thought to have been brought there from the Netherlands or from Belgium. The breed is mentioned in
Nathaniel Hawthorne's ''
The House of the Seven Gables
''The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their anc ...
''. It is recognized by the
American Bantam Association
The American Bantam Association is a poultry fancy association for breeders of bantam poultry. It publishes the ''Bantam Standard'', with detailed descriptions of all the bantam breeds and varieties that it recognizes; in most – but not all †...
, but not by the
American Poultry Association
The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932.
The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...
.
[
]
Characteristics
The Pyncheon has a single comb followed by a tassel, similar to the Sulmtaler. Often, the comb is not straight due to the crest and veers into an 's' shape. A unique variation of Mille Fleur is the pattern in which they most commonly appear.[Brian Heldberg (February 7, 2013)]
Pyncheon Bantams
''Backyard Poultry Magazine''. As with most bantams, it has strong flight capabilities. The Pyncheon is a fair layer of small white eggs. They have a friendly disposition, and a high tendency towards broodiness
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-GarcĂa, F. ZoogenĂ©tica. 1ra. edi ...
.
In ''The House of the Seven Gables''
Nathaniel Hawthorne was familiar with the Pyncheon breed, and he bred them himself around the time at which wrote the novel. The chickens in the book mirror the degeneration of the Pyncheon family, whose name they share.[ Though not explicitly called a bantam, the Pyncheon's small size is referred to several times in the book, as is the breed's antiquity:
A comparison is made between the birds and the Pyncheon family; both of whom bear many similarities, including their haughty airs and dolefulness. The "ancient and respectable fowls", like the Pyncheon family, have a long and noble lineage that is now desecrated:
The peculiarities of the breed are later described further:
]
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
External links
Pictures of the Pyncheon breed can be found here.
Chicken breeds
Chicken breeds originating in the United States
Bantam chicken breeds
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