Chicken Breed Focus - Derbyshire Redcap

[sumi]

The Derbyshire Redcap is an English breed of chicken that was developed in Derbyshire, England in around 1870. The name "Redcap" derives from the breed's unusually large Rose-type comb. British breed standards dictate a length of more than 7 centimetres/3 inches of length for a Redcap comb! They are classified as light weight fowl with cocks reaching weights of up to 7.5 lb and hens 6.1 lb. They are a hardy breed that is well suited to and prefers free ranging.

The breed used to be very popular on British farms, but their numbers have declined and they are quite rare nowadays. Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the U.K. lists them as "Vulnerable" on their watch list. In the United States they are listed as "Critical" on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy watch list.

Redcaps were admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection in 1888.

Details:

Breed purpose: Dual Purpose
Comb type: Rose
Broodiness: Seldom
Climate Tolerance: All Climates
Egg Productivity: Medium
Egg Size: Medium
Breed Size: Large Fowl only



Pic by @Runawaylobster


Pic by @Redcap Farm


Pic by Duncan Hewitt - Merrybower Homestead


Pic by Duncan Hewitt - Merrybower Homestead


Pic by Duncan Hewitt - Merrybower Homestead

*Images used with permission - Duncan Hewwit at Merrybower Homestead, UK

BYC Breed reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/derbyshire-redcap.11828/

General breed discussions & FAQ thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/295800/redcaps/0_30

Do you own Redcaps? Are you a Redcap breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

We have a bunch of other awesome breed-focus threads for you to enjoy. You can see all of them here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

 

[Kelsie2290]

What a handsome and cool looking breed, those combs are something else.

 

[PerfectPlumage]

Cool, what a awesome looking breed. I want one, lol.

 

[krista69]

Very nice looking birds.

 

[N F C]

Nice looking birds! I love that picture of the roo standing watch over his girls.

 

[Chickenchick11]

Their combs look so unique! I would love to have one, sadly I don't think their combs could handle our winters. It can get down to -40 degrees here. :/

 

[Akrnaf2]

I saw in the web that there is some redcaps white a white ear lobe
Could it be?

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

The Standard of Perfection calls for red earlobes, and they are supposed to lay a white egg.

 

[CRAJ]

These are my pair of Red Caps from Murray McMurray Hatchery. The hen is quite a productive gal. We let them free range on our farm. We have hatched out offspring this year in our incubator, and are curious to see how they turn out. At the time of this posting, the pair is 15 months old.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

These are beautiful chickens!