Campine

I received rooster and two hens as day old substitutes from MyPetChicken.com in July. They were hardy, healthy, and feathered early. I enjoyed discovering the heritage and what to expect from this site. Like them so much that will try to hatch some and promote them locally. My coop was built for 7 or 8 and since 6 are larger breeds, the compines have fit in fine. They love tree branches for perching in the run. Their roost is high and they took to it with eagerness. Starter crumbles were changed to feather fix in mid molt this fall, then in a month or so they started laying. I mixed the last of the starter crumbles with layer pellets and the compines did the texture change without a pause. Laying started in time for Thanksgiving. They lay a 2" white egg weighing about 1 oz. Every morning by 10:30 !

My Alex is positively the most fun and loveable girl, and has gained a very special place in my heart. Her quirky personality endears her to everyone; it's amazing that such a tiny chicken can make an impact. Campines are one of those breeds that serves many purposes: not only are they great layers who will provide you with lovely white eggs, but they're beautiful, and they have comical dispositions to tie it all together. I would recommend the breed to anyone who is looking for an ideal pet.

-Alex

We have a Golden Campine hen who is the comedy relief in our coop. She has always been skittish around the other hens and around us. She loves to talk, talk, talk, and talk some more. She allows us to hold her, and she's not extremely averse to attention. However, she would much rather not be held or caught, and she is very fast and can fly more than most of the other chickens. She was a good layer; she's starting to slack off now that she's reaching 5 or 6 years. I would definitely get this breed again, they are hilarious to sit in the coop and watch.

i have one golden campine, and her name is chamberlain and she is very attractive and cute! she has escaped 2 or 3 times, more due to opportunity than flight. she is fast and small. she is also very LOUD! i love her!

Good chickens but you can do better. Beauties for sure but too skittish. Roosters and hens can be aggressive toward other chickens

My Silver Campine rooster is a great rooster to his girls. He will protect them against anything and does not harm them while mating. And he only crows a few times a day!

I only have one Golden Campine, and know that isn't enough to judge a breed on, but wouldn't really care to have another.`As mentioned in the title, they are nice pets and have a winning personality not found in other chickens. Along with this, they are also very flighty, and nearly impossible to catch. They are well suited for many environments and are very good free-rangers, though. I have had no problem with them having frostbite of the toes or comb, even in a zone 6 winter without much protection. Campines are also very smart, and quite persistent when they want something. It is also true that they are very talkative and noisy. In fact, she was the only hen in my flock that started crowing!
Despite being friendly towards humans, once you get to know them, they are also very overbearing towards other chickens and require a much longer socialization time if added to a flock they haven't grown up with. Perhaps she just has a random genetic defect but I've found her laying to be bad as well. The first year was okay. The second year her laying became more sporadic and the eggs talking a narrow cylindrical shape. By the third year, she was rarely laying, and her eggs were somehow crimped or very wrinkled at the end.
Perhaps this does seem like a very negative review, but I have gotten attached to her.....

I found them to be very pretty and friendly but not a very good layer,especially when it's cold.
Love campine roosters.
They never seem to be aggressive.

I am proud to say I got myself 2 of these beautiful birds some weeks ago. That is to say I managed to get 6 hatching eggs from the UK flown over to Antwerp as this breed doesn't exist anymore in its native countries the Netherlands and Belgium. Its sister breed the Braekel is the only survivor of WW2.

The Americans and Brittish designed this breed out of mainly the continental style Campine chickens, plus some Braekel blood to make them somewhat bigger.
More info on these origins, check: http://archive.org/stream/cu31924003118621#page/n9/mode/2up

Out of the 6 eggs eventually 2 hatched, the first Silver Campine chicks in decades perhaps almost a century in the Campine region!!!

They remind me of the Braekel chicks we used to have, very alert and very keen on stretching those wings. Even within two weeks they were climbing branches and tackling obstacles with ease. Unlike the Braekel chicks these Campines chicks are lighter in color with nice black marking on their heads. The brown spot on the top of their head is reminiscent of the Braekel.

Here I posted some week by week films on their progress.
At 6 days old: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpPQb82xCTI
And at 11 days old:

I have a pair of Golden Campine Bantams and I have to say they are wonderful. I got my prized baby's from a serious chicken lover, as a young pair only 3-4 months old and Bonnie my sweet little hen started laying the week after she turned six months. So far she has not gone broody and has been a little lazy about laying but her sweetness makes up for it. They are great birds for anybody and I mean anyone, her mate Clide is a little meanie but he does have a soft side when I bring leftover watermelon down for them. They would also make great show birds or just pets, (Mine Are Both).

Well, I bought a trio from Cathy Gleason in Dallas, TX this past weekend and they have become my favorite birds out there in this short amount of time! I know my pros above may sound childish but it is true! They are some of the prettiest birds I have come by. They look naturally show-ready and they take the best pictures. The first day I had them I got an egg.... only about 2 hours after they arrived home! Should do great in egg shows as well! These are probably not the best beginners birds but if you're willing to work with them then you should get some! They make the best lawn ornaments and are natural foragers. Oh, and they are also on the critical list of endangered poultry!

I have a silkie X campine cockerel and it is untame as anything, it is very friendly once you can get it. As cockerels don't lay eggs, I don't really know if they are good egg layers. I have one fertile campine egg in the incubator at the moment.

I have had these bantams for three days and have one egg so far.

My Golden Campine,Tightrope, is sweet. Tightrope is a good layer. Campines can fly really, really far. Neat breed do better in warmer climates.

nice birds

I got one of these as a mystery chick from one of the hatcheries. We quickly bonded. I name her speckles, he would run up to the edge of the brooder every time I opened it up and fly onto my hand. He would sit on my hand and shoulder for hours and never poop. I could do anything with him and he would always play along. I loved that girl. She would follow me around the yard and where ever I went. I would take her to the compost pile where she could nibble on bugs and watermelon seeds. The only drawback, Is that she was way too smart and a escaped when in a stall and we lost her for forever. I called for her for hours. And I'm still searching for her- waiting for her to come home I would certainly get one of these again. Speckles was more a friend and a human than a chicken.

On my list next year

We have around 20 chickens of different breeds, opringtons, rhode island reds, silver sussex, cochins, silkies, bantams, wynadottes and others... but we have a campine called dotty who is so friendly. She stoops for you to pick her up, she lays all the time, is so nosey!! follows you around garden and likes to see what you are upto! We then decided to hatch some campines, (only 1 hatched) but rolo is just as friendly and is only 12 weeks! My favourite are campines!

We have one Golden Campine pullet and she's as fun as can be. She is the first chicken to run up to greet me in the morning. She loves free ranging and I'll even find her sitting on the front porch in the .am morning hours. The only drawback I can find in raising the golden campine might be their flightiness and they can be rather loud at times. If you live in the country I highly recommend this breed.