General Information
- Breed Purpose
- Ornamental
- Comb
- V-Shaped
- Broodiness
- Seldom
- Climate Tolerance
- All Climates
- Egg Productivity
- Medium
- Egg Size
- Large
- Egg Color
- White
- Breed Temperament
- Friendly,Flighty,Bears confinement well,Shy
- Breed Colors/Varieties
- In the US: Cream and GoldOutside of US: Self-Black, White, Blue-Laced, Cuckoo, Golden Black Half-Moon Spangled, Silver Black Half-Moon Spangled, Yellow White Half-Moon Spangled, Golden Blue Half-Moon Spangled, and Lavender.
- Breed Size
- Large Fowl
The Brabanter breed originated in the historic region of Brabant in the Netherlands. It is a very old breed, the oldest known image of one is in a painting of 1676 by the Dutch artist Melchior d'Hondecoeter. The breed quickly gained popularity, but became nearly extinct around the early 1900's, but were recreated from different German breeds.
Black and Cuckoo Brabanters were shown at the first German poultry exhibition in Saxony, in 1854. A bantam variety of Brabanter was created in around 1934, by cross-breeding the standard-sized Brabanter with bearded bantams of the Polish breed.
This breed is closely related to Owl Beards and has been crossed with them for the breeds survival in the past. While they are Ornamental they are also bred for their production of white eggs, which they lay fairly regularly. Their eggs can be white white or slightly tinted.
The American Poultry Association has not yet recognized Cream and Gold Brabanters as a Standard Breed of Fowl.
Brabanter eggs
Brabanter chick
Brabanter juvenile
Brabanter hen
Brabanter rooster
For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-brabanter.1100952/