Chicken Breed Focus - Pyncheon

[sumi]

The Pyncheon is a rare American breed of true bantam chicken. It is an old breed, developed in the Northeastern USA. The Pyncheon's ancestors are thought to have been brought there from the Netherlands or from Belgium. The breed has a single comb followed by a tassel behind the comb. Often, the comb is not straight due to the crest and veers into an 's' shape. A unique variation of Mille fleur is the pattern in which they most commonly appear, but breeders have developed a porcelain variety as well. As with most bantams, they are strong flyers. The hens are fair layer of small white eggs. They have a friendly disposition, and a high tendency towards broodiness.

It is recognized by the American Bantam Association.



Details:
Detail Value
Breed Purpose Ornamental
Comb Single
Broodiness High
Climate Tolerance All Climates
Egg Productivity Fair
Egg Size Small
Egg Color White
Breed Temperament Friendly, Easily handled, Calm, Bears confinement well, Quiet, Docile
Breed Colors/Varieties Mille Fleur; Porcelain
Breed Size Bantam


Pic by @rsepiphyte



Pic by @hinkjc


Pic by @SunnyChic


Pic by @SunnyChic

BYC Breed Reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/pyncheon

BYC Breed Discussions:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/563451/pyncheon-thread/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/299949/pyncheons/0_30

Do you own Pyncheons? Are you a Pyncheon 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/

 

[lcertuche]

Gorgeous, how are they at free-ranging? I would imagine them to be pretty good due to the fact they could fly to get away from predators.

 

[silly4buttons]

They are so cute. I would love to have some

 

[Penny Hen]

I have wanted to get some of these but it is VERY difficult to find someone selling the eggs. I think Ideal does sell Pyncheons but if you aren't ordering them on the first of January then they sell out for the season.

 

[Penny Hen]

Alas they have none for sale in 2017.

 

[Dovemaiden]

I raise Pyncheons; I'll post some photos if anyone would like to see them.

They are very good free-rangers and hawk-conscious little birds!

But the hens, although broody and wanting chicks, have not displayed (to date) good mothering instincts after the hatch.
They continue to sit, even without eggs, and if you don't interfere quickly, the chicks just die because the hens won't leave the nesting site and start to forage. It's a strange problem with them.

I've had to physically move the hen with the chicks to a brooder box; and this sometimes causes the hens to lose broodiness altogether.

Sometimes you see this, especially in first-time mothers; but the birds get with the program after their second or third brood.

These don't seem to have the follow-through. I would suspect it relates to the extensive line-breeding with the Pyncheons.

I have F-gens up to F-4s on different lines I have; I haven't experimented with letting the F-s raise chicks when they go broody, but if I do, I'll report the result.

I'm hoping the addition of some new genetics will be a shot in the arm for them on all fronts, including broodiness and chick-care.

 

[Dovemaiden]

 

[jeffsmith13]

Anyone know where to buy hatching eggs?

 

[Dovemaiden]

I've had such terrible experiences with receiving hatching eggs (some cracked eggs, no matter how carefully packaged; yolks addled and in every case air sacs disrupted to the point of no return) that I won't be selling any hatching eggs through the mail.

I don't want anyone to go through this same experience.

If I can figure out a way to send them in a totally new packaging material that will really work, I'll try it.

I'm think memory foam may be the answer although extremely pricey. I do know the damage is occurring at the baggage handlers end at the airline, not the Post Office.

I worked for the PO for a number of years.

The Post Office people honestly care and if we were seen flipping boxes around the way in the manner that resulted in these addled eggs, you would be put on report and docked in pay for quite a while.

But a few years ago, the Post Office, Fed. Express and UPS all went in on hiring the same plane to ship all their cargo.

That's when we started seeing damaged parcels appearing in the mail room.

It all goes back to the baggage handlers who seem not to care and seem to enjoy throwing the packages.

It has seemed an exercise in futility for me purchasing these eggs, and I can't see doing it anymore.

They weren't Pyncheon eggs, by the way; I haven't seen people advertise them, but if you want to try, you might find some eggs at Strombergs hatchery; I believe they sell eggs.

You can check out their site, it's online.

Hope this helps,
Anne
'

 

[jeffsmith13]

Thanks for the reply and info. I'm a hatchaholic, I get hundreds of free eggs each year to hatch , all standard hatchery types. I buy rare breed varieties from various sources and locations in the U.S. I've found distance shipped hasn't made a difference, nor type of packaging. You may have just solved the riddle on success rate . It may very well be the airport hub , and the handling practices there. My local post office is wonderful, even giving me an after hours number to call to pick up eggs after lobby is closed.