Dutch Owlbeard

Owlbeard Painting by Van Gink that was published in the Plymouth Rock Monthly 1915

Owlbeard pair by Van Gink

Uilebaard chickens, cock and hen.

Gallus ferrugineus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam

allus gallus domesticus - 1881 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam

Gallus gallus domesticus - 1881 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam

Origin: The Netherlands

Category: Softfeather Light

Egg Colour: White or Off-white

Sitter: Rarely

The Dutch Owlbearded fowls are a very ancient breed. It was almost lost to extinction around 1900 but was brought back from the brink by the newly formed Dutch Poultry Club that was charged with the protection of Dutch poultry breeds. They were restored from a weakened and depleted state through the injection of crosses of La Fleche. Eventually they became very popular and were shown in a wide range of colour varieties. They have been known as an extremely hardy fowls that can tolerate cold better than other light breeds due to the absence of a big comb and muffling around their faces. They also make a good table fowl with comparisons made to the Bresse-Gauloise. They rarely go broody but when they do they are good mothers. Their only drawback is that some lines lay a smaller egg.

The basis of the following standard is the original standard put together by the Dutch Poultry Club for the purposes of exhibition.

Male Characteristics

Carriage: Upright, lively and alert.

Type

Body moderately long, comparable to a cobby, somewhat low-set American Leghorn. His body lines should be graceful land his temperament lively.

Back: moderately long and broad.

Breast: Full, well-developed.

Wings: Rather well developed and carried tight to the body showing strength.

Tail: Carried rather high. The main tail feathers should be fairly spread. The sickles and the lesser seckles should be well developed, while the tailcoverts should be abundant. A well finished tail greatly adds to the beauty of the birds. The saddle, like the hackle should be abundant and rather broad. It should cover the points of the wings and run out into the tailcovers without practically showing a division.

Head:

Head: of medium size and well curved on top of the skull and no crest however most birds have a small number of upright feathers.

Comb: Horn comb of the LaFleche type, consisting of two hornlike points of medium size, standing upright, about above the eyes. Horns of about 2cm in length, not falling over to the side or backwards.

Eyes: Large and full.

Beak: Short and strong with cavernous nostrils rising above the beak surface.

Beard and Muffs: Large with all three sections, the beard,and the who whiskers all appearing as one, showing no division. It should be as round as possible. A smaller well-shaped beard is preferable to a bigger one that doesn't meet requirements.

Wattles: minimal or absent.

Earlobes: White and out of sight due to muffling.

Neck: Medium long, slightly arched, carried backwards so as to make the breast come out prominently.

Legs and Feet: Thighs are short and the legs are medium long. The legs are of a nice slate-blue colour.

Plumage: Body plumage close-fitting. Hackles abundant with feathers showing a tendency to grow backwards on which account it looks thicker than it really is.

Female Characteristics

The females are much like the males. The horns are even smaller than in the males. In proportion to their size the females usually have a larger beard than the males, especially the two and three years old hens. The back which slopes down toward the tail is a trifle longer than in the males. The tail is nicely spread and is carried like a Leghorn tail. The general appearance of the Owlbeard female is that of a somewhat cobby, low-set Leghorn hen.

Colours

In Australia Gold Spangled, Yellow-White Spangled, White and Moorkop are recognised colour varieties.

In all colours legs and feet are slate blue, eyes orange or brown, earlobes white. Beak horn, lighter horn in the white variety.

Weights

Standard fowls: Males 2.2 - 2.5kg. Females 1.7 - 2.0kg.

Disqualifications & Defects

See Disqualifications page. Defects include major colour defects and any presence of a crest.

Points

In Australia the highest allocation of points is given for colour and markings at 30. Second to that is Type and Carriage and also the Head (including comb and beard) and those two categories carry 25 points each. The small number of remaining points are shared between Condition & Show Preparation, and Legs & Feet. For detail see the Australian Poultry Standard.