Strange Breed: The Brabanter chicken

The Brabanter is a Dutch breed of crested chicken originating in the historic region of Brabant, which straddles Belgium and the Netherlands. It is an ancient breed and is shown in 17th-century paintings. A bantam Brabanter was created around 1934.

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.

They soon spread from their area of origin. Black and Cuckoo Brabanters were shown at the first German poultry exhibition, at Görlitz in Saxony, in 1854. The Brabanter became nearly extinct in the early 20th century but was recovered by crossbreeding with other crested and bearded birds.

The Brabanter is among the lightest of chicken breeds; cocks weigh 1.9–2.5 kg and hens 1.6–2.0 kg. It has a narrow crest and a threepart beard. The crest is unlike that of most other crested breeds such as the Polish: it projects upwards and slightly forwards like that of the very similar Swiss Appenzeller

Spitzhauben.

The Brabanter has a V-shaped comb. 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.

AbantamBrabanterwascreated around 1934 by crossbreeding the standard-sized Brabanter with bearded bantams of the Polish breed.

While the Brabanter is considered an ornamental breed, like most heritage poultry, Brabanters are hardy chickens. They do well as free-range birds and in confinement. The Brabanter chicken, however, has a propensity to get fat.

The Brabanter is a relatively docile chicken, produces a moderate supply of eggs, and is less likely to go broody than many other breeds. These traits make it a good choice for those raising backyard flocks.