Griffiths Pygmies

~~~Griffiths Chickens~~~

~Bantam Leghorns~ 

LegHorns:

Standard Weights Cock: 6 lbs. Hen: 4.5 lbs. Cockerel: 5 lbs. Pullet: 4 lbs.

History: Leghorns originated from Italy, but its many sub-varieties were developed in England, Denmark, and America. The first birds imported to America in 1853 were called Italians. By 1865 the breed was named Leghorn, likely an Anglicization of Ligurian in reference to the Ligurian Sea ports from whence they were exported. Widely bred in New England from that time onward, they were first called "leghorns" at Worcester, Massachusetts in 1865. This was a time when Americans were exploring the potentials of breeds from around the world to improve the domestic stock. Lightweight, active Mediterranean breeds, such as the leghorn, the minorca and the ancona were highly sought after for the year round production of white eggs. In those days the farm flock produced meat for the table as well. The leghorn breed, although not extremely fleshy, provided high quality, fast growing fryers for Sunday dinner. In fact, through 1938 the Pullman Coach Company bought only brown leghorn cockerels for fried chicken served in their dining cars. To ensure the purity of each valuable type of chicken, breeders elected in 1871 to agree upon breed Standards and to organize poultry shows at which the individual birds could be judged against each other according to these accepted Standards. By the turn of the century competition at these shows was intense. Equally intense were the laying contests held to determine the most productive breeds and strains. Some brown leghorn flocks were able to hold their own in both.In 1920 a brown leghorn won the Great American Egg Laying Contest with offspring from show birds that had won Best Display three years in a row at the nation's biggest poultry show at Madison Square Garden. 

 ~Polish~

 Polish:

Standard Weights: Cock-6 pounds; hen-4-1/2 pounds; cockerel -5 pounds; pullet-4 pounds.

Skin Color: White.

Characteristics: Polish are an unusual and beautiful breed. They have a crest (some also possess a beard and muffs), are small, tightly feathered birds, fairly active despite restricted vision due to their large "head gear." They need plenty of space to avoid damaging each other's crests by picking. Ice forming in their crests from drinking water can be a problem in cold weather. And sometimes their crests restrict vision and cause them to be easily frightened.

Production: non-sitting breed is a white egg layer.

Names: Known in England as the Poland. Crested Dutch Chicken Padua, Afro Chickens is what I like to call them. Royalty of Poultry

History: Polish is also one of the oldest crested breeds, being known as a pure breed as early as the sixteenth century. The Polish breed probably originated on the Continent, but nothing is truly known about its origins. Polish were brought from Asia in to which is now southern Russia by Mongols and other invading tribes under their rule. They were then brought in to Poland and kept in villages and by nobles and were distributed further in to western Europe by Germans who lived and worked in Poland, Germany, Holland, England and Italy's Padua city. Breed standardization was done in Holland, England and Germany and the name change took place in 1869 Germany, Dresden at a convention of Poultry breeders to Paduaner (Polish Padewski). During that time Poland had been partitioned out by war and was gone from the map. Polish breeders persisted in having the name changed back, although there are still breeds that are called Padewski. Thanks to Dutchman Arie Boland, Polish are found in many colors, which he helped to preserve.The Polish is a European breed of chicken known for its crest of feathers. The English language name of these birds is a misnomer, as they do not originate in the country of Poland. Instead, the oldest accounts of crested chickens comes from the Netherlands. Mentioned in literature as early as the sixteenth century, Polish Chickens are a very old breed. They were probably imported from Eastern Europe to England, where they became known as Poland Fowls. Continental Europeans often refer to these and to all crested breeds as Paduans or Padoues. The oldest reference found to date is the stone statue in the Vatican which bears a very close resemblance to a crested fowl. Another discovery was in a Roman archaeological dig in the south of England where a skull from a bird was discovered and was exactly the same as the skull on today's Poland breed. It therefore suggests that this breed did originate from this area and was imported into the U.K. by the Romans. This also suggests that the breed is possibly one of the oldest in existence today. These were brought to their wonderful point of development by European and English breeders as long ago as the mid 1800's.

Characteristics: The Polish most prominent feature is the crest of feathers on the head. Note the more "umbrella-like" crest on the males and the powder-puff shape on the hens. It also has the large nostrils typical of crested breeds and a small V-comb.In addition to combs, their heads are adorned with large crests due to a cone (called a protuberance) on the top of their skull. The crests cover almost their entire heads. All Polish Chickens have large nostrils and a topknot of feathers. The topknot emerges from a protuberance atop the chicken's skull. Juveniles usually do not develop adult coloration until they are sexually mature. The skull formation (knob) is visable from the time they hatch. The characteristic crest is usually completely developed by the time Polish Chickens are about four weeks old.

~Silkies, Frizzle and Sizzles~