Dan Powell of Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, first told me about a remarkable bird developed by Dr. Albert McGraw of Anderson, Alabama. The bird was called a silver spangled Araucana by Dr. McGraw, but lately we've taken to simply calling them McGraws. Dr. McGraw, who raised chickens since 1925, used among other birds the first appenzeller spitzhauben imported into the US as foundational stock to develop the McGraw. (The story of how the spitzhauben arrived in America is remarkable in itself.) Dr. McGraw spent three decades developing the bird. The McGraws are great free-rangers, are very feed efficient, and produce piles of large blue eggs. They're a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of backyard poultry breeders everywhere. Here are the McGraw rooster and hen:
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