Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Their comb is a pea comb. They have clean, light to white legs. Their eyes are orange-red.
The male weighs about 9 pounds, and the females weigh about 7 pounds. There was a bantam
version of the Ixworth, but it faded out in the late 1930s to early 1940s. This is considered a
rare bird. The hens tend to go broody, but they do lay about 200 eggs per year.
Vorwerk
The Vorwerk breed is a likable, docile breed of chicken that bears confinement well. This
breed comes in black buff black in the United States. In Holland, though, it comes in blue buff
blue, and white buff white. The breed is rare because of a small gene pool. Chicken colors can
be hard to describe and the same terms may even mean different things when applied to hens
and roosters or to different breeds. In the case of the Vorwerk, “black buff black” means the
bird has a black head, buff or golden body, and black tail. Blue buff blue means the head is
bluish in color, the body is buff or golden, and the tail is bluish. White buff white means the
bird has a white head, buff or golden body, and a white tail.
The Vorwerk is similar to the Lakenvelder, but it is a different breed. Vorwerks are bulkier and
have less tail. It comes in a standard and a bantam size. Male standards weigh 5 ½ to 7 ½
pounds. Female Vorwerks weigh 4 ½ to 5 ½ pounds. Bantams weigh 27 ounces. Their skin is
slate gray, and their eyes are orange red. Their coat is black on the head and tail and buff on
the body and the breast. Their wattles are red and medium size.
The hens are proficient egg layers. They lay 150 to 200 brown, medium-sized eggs per year.
Vorwerks are suitable to live in all climates. They are good table birds and provide ample
amounts of eggs. They make good pets due to their docile personality and do well as a show
bird.
Buckeye
Originating in Ohio, this dual-purpose breed is thought to be the only chicken breed deve-
loped by a woman. A woman named Nettie Metcalf originally bred them in 1896 in Warren,
Ohio. Metcalf bred Buff Cochins, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and some black-breasted red game
birds to create the Buckeye so it could withstand cold Ohio winters. Although it was normal
for women of the time to care for and manage poultry for their families, Nettie Metcalf is the
only woman known to have developed a breed of chicken.
These hardy birds can withstand both cold and hot temperatures because of their pea comb
and tight feathering. Hens are good layers and lay medium-sized, brown eggs throughout the
