Friesian

RGZV Frankenthal, CC BY 3.0

Silver-pencilled Friesian Chickens by Van Gink - this variety not standard in Australia

Friesian Pair from Kramers Taschenbuch - also not standard in Australia at this stage

Friesian Pair by Kurt Zander (Durigen 1921)

Origin: The Netherlands

Category: Softfeather Light

Egg Colour: White

Sitter:

RGZV Frankenthal, CC BY 3.0

The Dutch Friesian chicken is a light, very agile landrace chicken. Over the years it has been called the Friesche Hoenm, Friesche Pellen (Frisian Pebbles), Weiten Hintsjes (Wheat Hints) - referring to the plumage pattern or the spots referred to as 'pellicles'; or in English, Dutch every-day-layer or Everlasting layer. It eventually became known as the Friesian, taking taking its name from Friesland, a historic coastal region in the northern Netherlands (and parts of north-west Germany). Friesland has long been known for distinctive local livestock breeds. Archaeological finds indicate that chickens were kept in the region since the beginning of the Christian era. Bones show a resemblance to those of the Frisian chickens from around 1900. The Friesian was originally a farmyard dual-purpose breed that developed consistent traits over years of isolated breeding. It is considered an economical breed that can lay well on frugal feed, and is resistant to many kinds of diseases. They are hardy and flighty. When the breed began to decline in the early 1920s, several enthusiasts in the Netherlands decided to establish the "De Fryske Hinnneklub" in January of 1922 and it is still in existence today. The breed is considered 'Endangered' in its country of origin although the club has promoted its conservation in its many colour varieties. It exists in both Standard and bantam, the bantam variety first appearing in the Netherlands in 1930. The Chamois variety was introduced to Australia from the United Kingdom in the 2016 importation by Avgen.

Male Characteristics

Carriage: Upright, confident and active. The birds stand fairly upright and hold their tails high.

Type: Small and lightly built. Capable of flight.

Body: Finely rounded, slightly cylindrical shape, carried almost horizontally, delicate bone structure. Neck rather long, beautifully curved, carried erect, with well-developed hackle covering the shoulders and back partially, and the front of the neck extensively.

Back: broad between the shoulders, narrowing towards the rear and sloping slightly. Medium length, appearing short due to the high tail carriage.

Breast: High and protruding, round.

Wings: Long and strong, held closely to the body but often slightly drooped, the tips resting on the flank feathers.

Tail: Very richly feathered with long, broad, strongly curved sickles. Full and carried high with abundant saddle hackles. Tail carried to approximately the heights of the back of the comb.

Head: Medium sized, elongated, not broad. Neck long, gracefully curved.

Comb: Simple, straight, erect, fine in texture, moderately small, following the line of the skull but rising slightly from the neck at the blade. 5-6 not too deeply cut serrations.

Eyes: Large, dark orange.

Beak: Medium length, somewhat curved, light horn-coloured.

Face: Red, very fine light feathering permissible.

Wattles: Rather short, thin, well-rounded.

Earlobes: Small, flat, smooth, oblong-rounded, pure white.

Legs and Feet: Thighs strong, just under medium length. Legs medium-length, smooth, slate-blue.

Plumage: Full but close-fitting plumage. Feathering tight and broad.

Female Characteristics

Except for natural sex differences, the female is similar to the male. The colour markings differ in the female. Tail coverts abundantly developed and lying close to the body. Abdomen full, somewhat protruding. Slightly encircling comb vane permissible (end of comb bending slightly to one side).

Images below taken from archived webpage: Friesehoenderclub.nl

High-carried tail, approximately the same height as the back of the blade of the comb

Single comb, 5-6 points, well-rounded blade, pointing straight back, not rising or following neck

Pencilling in no. 2 is correct. 1 is too high, 3 is too low

Colours

While Australia only recognises Chamois and Gold Pencilled, twelve colours are recognised in the Netherlands, eleven in Germany and three in the United Kingdom.

Chamois

In Chamois, the colour markings are the same as in Gold Pencilled, however the black is replaced by white.

Gold Pencilled

Male Plumage:

The breast and front of the neck is a reddish bay. Head, hackle, saddle, back - a rich lustrous bay colour. Body light bay. The abdomen bay fading to a lighter shade at the rear and allowing for some black markings.

Shoulders, wing fronts and bows are a rich lustrous bay. Wing coverts are a rich bay shade forming a neat bar. The primaries have a black outer edge with an trim of bay. The secondary wing feathers are bay with black markings.

Tail: Glossy greenish black, sickles having a lustrous sheen, coverts of greenish black with reddish bay edging.

Undercolour: slate-blue.

Female Plumage:

The head, neck hackle and front of neck is bay with the head being brighter and the front of the neck being a golden buff. The hackle is bright and the head is a reddish bay. The golden buff of the neck extends down into the upper breast which is also sparsely marked with small black ovals. The lower breast, body and thighs are the colour of the back. The golden buff extends through the back, cushion, tail covers and wings, the buff being marked with rows of black ovals (sometimes called elongated spangles), each extending slightly diagonally across the web but not to the edge. For further information on the pencilling see the APS standard description for the Sicilian Buttercup. Primary feathers are buff splashed with black. Secondaries are golden buff barred with parallel black markings on the outer web, inner webs black edged with buff. Abdomen buff.

Undercolour: slate-blue.

Common Common Characteristics

Beak: horn

Eyes: dark orange

Comb, face and wattles: bright red

Earlobes: pure white

Legs and feet: slate-blue

Weights

Male 1.4 - 1.6 kg

Female 1.2 - 1.4 kg

Bantam Male 550 - 650 g

Bantam Female 450 - 550 g

(Source: Dutch Chicken and Dwarf Chicken Association).

Scale of Points

The greatest allocation of points for the Friesian in the APS is given for colour and markings (30). Second to those features 20 points are given each for type and also for condition. The remaining features have lesser amounts allocated. For detail see the APS.

Disqualifications and Serious Defects

See Disqualifications page.

Serious defects include significantly underweight or narrow frame, tail carried too low, serious lack of structure in the female comb where it falls over completely. Black or brown eyes.