{"id":109515,"date":"2023-05-24T07:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=109515"},"modified":"2023-08-14T04:39:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T08:39:21","slug":"3-endangered-ornamental-chicken-breeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/3-endangered-ornamental-chicken-breeds\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Endangered Ornamental Chicken Breeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

While most flock keepers choose their chickens for egg production<\/a><\/strong>, meat or companionship, some select birds solely for appearance. Keeping ornamental poultry is a centuries-old hobby, with fowl fanciers from 6<\/span>th<\/span>-century Chinese Emperor Gao Wei to 19<\/span>th<\/span>-century British Queen Victoria creating special spaces for their avian collections. <\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping ornamental birds isn\u2019t just a royal hobby, however. Anybody who admires the delicate, natural beauty of these charming chickens can create and maintain an ornamental aviary. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most North American chicken breeds, however, were developed to be dual-purpose birds. As a young country, the United States opted for practicality versus aesthetic in the coop. As a result, the majority of ornamental poultry found in the US originated elsewhere in the world. The following three breeds, all ornamental chickens imported before 1900, are now classified as critically endangered according to the Livestock Conservancy<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking to add an eye-catching chicken to your backyard<\/a><\/strong> flock, consider one of these exquisite and endangered ornamental breeds. <\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sebright<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The genetic origins of the British Sebright<\/a><\/span> (pictured above) are a complete mystery. All that is known is that Sir John Saunders Sebright\u2014the 7<\/span>th<\/span> Baronet of Bedford, Worcestershire, and a Member of Parliament\u2014traveled around Great Britain collecting oddball birds from local poultry farms. It is believed that he also imported chicken breeds from other countries. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sir Sebbright\u2019s goal was to create a bantam breed with a distinctive lace pattern in its plumage. The result of his breeding experiment, the Sebright, was officially introduced in 1810, decades after he began his experiment.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A true bantam, the Sebright has no standard-fowl counterpart. The male Sebright has the same coloration and feathering as the female, with tail angled upward at a 70-degree angle and wings angled downward. The Sebright\u2019s upright carriage causes its breast to just out prominently. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sebrights have bright black eyes, mulberry rose combs and wattles, and slate-blue skin and shanks. They come in two color varieties, Gold Laced (orange) and Silver Laced (pearly gray), each displaying the distinctive black lacing that Sir Sebright strived to achieve. Both varieties are visually striking, with the Golden-Laced Sebright resembling monarch butterfly wings. <\/span><\/p>\n

At maturity, the Sebright just weighs about 1.5 pounds (male) and just over 1 pound (female).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Sebrights are purely ornamental. The hens are not broody, make poor mothers, and produce only 60 to 80 tiny eggs per year. They are excellent flyers and will roost in trees if given the chance. They do best in warm, dry climates and, if handled frequently while young, will develop into friendly adults.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Read more: Consider adding these 3 critically endangered chicken breeds to your homestead! <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sultan<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Originally known as Serai Ta\u00f6ok\u2014the Sultan\u2019s palace fowl\u2014the Sultan <\/a><\/strong><\/span>originated in Turkey during the 14<\/span>th<\/span> century and was supposedly used as living ornaments in the gardens of Ottoman Empire sultans. They arrived in England in the mid-1800s during the midst of the Hen Craze. But they were in such a matted, muddy condition that it wasn\u2019t until the chickens molted that it was realized the birds were a brilliant pure white.<\/span><\/p>\n

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meraleguz\/Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1867 the Sultan arrived in America, where poultry expert George O. Brown noted that these were the tamest, most content chickens he had ever kept. In 1874, the Sultan was included in the American Poultry Association\u2019s (APA)<\/a><\/span> first-ever Standards of Perfection. Despite this, the ornamental breed almost went instinct in the 1930s and remains critically endangered today. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sultan is an aesthetically stunning bird, with <\/span><\/p>\n