The Orloff is a breed of

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 adu ...

named after

Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov (russian: Алексей Григорьевич Орлов; – ) was a Russian soldier and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great. Orlov served in the Imperial Russian A ...

, a Russian Count. Reflecting this origin, it is sometimes called the Russian Orloff or simply Russian. For most of its history, the Orloff was considered to be a product of Russia and Orlov, but modern research has discovered that the breed first appeared in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and was distributed across Europe and Asia by the 17th century. However, Count Orlov was a key promoter of the breed in the 19th century, and the breed became known in the West following his efforts. Orloffs were first introduced to Great Britain in the 1920s, and were also refined a good deal in Germany; Germans created the first miniaturized bantam Orloff by 1925. The breed was once included in 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 ...

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

, the Standard of Perfection, but it was removed due a lack of interest from breeders. In the 21st century, the Orloff remains a rare breed in the West.

The Livestock Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...

lists the breed as critically endangered. The Orloff is a tall, well-feathered chicken with a somewhat game-like appearance. The head and neck are very thickly feathered. They appear in several recognized color varieties: Black, White, Spangled, Black-tailed Red, Mahogany, and Cuckoo. Their plumage, combined with their tiny walnut

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 ...

, small earlobes and minuscule wattles, makes the Orloff a very cold hardy breed. Males generally weigh and hens about . Orloffs are primarily suited to meat production, but hens are reasonable layers of light brown eggs and do not usually go broody. In general temperament, they are known to be relatively calm birds.

Footnotes

References

* * * {{cite book , title=The Field Guide to Chickens , last=Percy , first=Pam , year=2006 , publisher=Voyageur Press , location=St Paul, MN, US , isbn=0-7603-2473-5 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m2YXUOJEMeIC&q=field+guide+to+chickens

External links

Orloffs
at feathersite

Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy Chicken breeds originating in Iran Chicken breeds originating in Russia Chicken breeds

See also

Footnotes

References

External links