Ornamental Breeds
Some breeds lay an incredible amount of eggs, while others make splendid meat birds. A few breeds are dual-purpose. Then, there are the lookers: the ornamentals! Here are four of our favorite breeds that are great to show or just enhance the overall look of your flock.
Sultan
If you’re looking for a rare and exotic yet friendly chicken, this is your bird. The Sultan was once actually considered a fine table bird, but due to its scarcity, it’s rarely raised for that purpose today. It originated in Turkey — where it’s called Serai Taook, meaning sultan’s fowl — arriving in England in 1854 before landing in the U.S. in 1867. Sultans were recognized in the first volume of the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection, published in 1874.
The Sultan has more distinguishing features than any other chicken. It’s crested, bearded and muffed, with feathered shanks and toes, a V-shaped comb and five toes on each foot. The breed comes in a single recognized color: White, with slate blue shanks and toes, though blue and black varieties occur, as well. It comes in standard and bantam sizes. Standard cocks weigh 6 pounds; hens, 4. Bantam cocks weigh 26 ounces; hens, 22.
Ultracalm Sultans bear confinement well. Hens are nonbroody and lay 50 to 70 large, white eggs per year.
Yokohama
In 1864, the Jardin d’acclimation (Acclimatization Gardens) in Paris, France, imported fabulously long-tailed Minohiki, or “Saddle Dragger,” fowl from Japan. The French renamed them Race de Yokohama after the port city from which they sailed. In 1869, a man from Dresden, Germany, imported a trio of French Yokohamas. When he and fellow German breeders were unable to acquire unrelated breeding stock from Japan, they developed today’s Yokohama by adding several other breeds to the mix, including long-tailed Phoenix fowl, a similar breed developed in Germany using Japanese stock. Two varieties, White and Red-shouldered, entered the APA’S Standard in 1981.
The Yokohama is a regal, slim breed with a gamelike appearance. It’s a small bird that comes in standard and bantam sizes and has incredibly long tails that sweep the ground. Standard cocks weigh 4½ pounds; hens, 3½. Bantam cocks weigh 26 ounces; hens, 22.
Yokohamas are docile, friendly, unusually quiet chickens that bear confinement well. They do require special housing to accommodate the length of their tails. They are poor layers of small, tinted eggs. The breed is globally endangered and listed as Critical on the ALBC’S CPL.
White-faced Black Spanish
The heritage of the ancient White-faced Black Spanish chicken breed is unclear, though it’s believed to be one of the oldest Mediterranean breeds as well as one of the first chickens to arrive in the U.S. Before 1816, Spanish chickens were recognized in England as dependable layers. The breed arrived in America by way of Holland and was known as one of the most popular poultry breeds from about 1825 to 1895. Its decline in popularity came as a result of its lack of hardiness and its white face. As hardier breeds began to arrive, farmers lost interest in the high-maintenance Spanish. The breed was admitted to the APA’S Standard in 1874.
As its name indicates, the White-faced
Black Spanish has lustrous greenish-black plumage and a white face. It has a bright-red, single comb with five well-defined points, which stands upright on males and falls to the side on females. Wattles are thin, long and bright-red with white on the upper inside in males. Earlobes are white and extremely long and thin, as if their faces have been melted and extended downwards. Shanks are slate. Standard White-faced Black Spanish cocks weigh 8 pounds; hens, 6½; bantam cocks weigh 30 ounces; hens, 26.
The White-faced Black Spanish is slow to develop. Its white facial coloring needs one molt (approximately one year) to reach full potential. Due to its prolific egg-laying abilities, the breed is a good option for urban and hobby farmers looking to sell eggs on a small scale.
The breed is characterized as noisy and curious, though personality varies from friendly to standoffish. It’s listed in the Critical category of the ALBC’S CPL.
Polish
The origin of the Polish chicken breed is obscure. It didn’t originate in Poland; rather, breed historians believe Spanish immigrants who settled the rich lowlands of the southern Netherlands in the late 1500s brought the breed with them from Spain.
Dutch fanciers developed the breed, which is widely depicted in Dutch and Italian paintings from the 16th through 18th centuries. Crested Polish were mentioned as purebred in the
16th century, according to the APA, and were imported to America between 1830 and 1840.
The breed was, for a time, a favorite with American farmers and chicken fanciers. The APA accepted three Polish varieties into the Standard in 1874; additional varieties were accepted in 1883, 1938 and 1963.
Although the APA prefers Polish chickens with a natural absence of a comb, it’s acceptable for the breed to have a small, V-shaped comb and bountiful crest of feathers sprouting from a cone-shaped protuberance on its head; some varieties are also bearded.
The breed’s lavish crests rest like a pouf over its eyes, making it difficult for the chicken to see, though the Standard is for the crest to rise well in front so as not to obstruct sight. If a Polish chicken’s crest gets wet and dirty, it can hang directly in its eyes, leading to eye infections and the inability to locate food and drink. Some fanciers who don’t show their birds trim bangs in their crests to eliminate these problems.
The Polish comes in standard and bantam sizes in an array of colors, including Blackcrested White, White-crested Blue, Golden, Silver, White and Buff Laced. Standard Polish cocks weigh 6 pounds; hens, 4½. Bantam cocks weigh 30 ounces; hens, 26. Some strains lay three to four medium-sized, white eggs per week while others are mediocre layers.