Customer Reviews

Rare Poultry Breeds

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Rare Poultry Breeds by David Scrivener is essential for people interested in the variety and possibilities in chicken breeds. It's for persons like me who have read old poultry books in University libraries, and would always like more detail. When I read that this book would have information not found in others, I couldn't let it go by, because then I would not know everything.
The book might have been better titled Rare Chicken Breeds, as there are no turkeys or waterfowl.
Rare Poultry Breeds is strictly about the rare chicken breeds - there are no Leghorns described here, no Cochins, Brahmas, Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks or even Polish. Game breeds are left out, better described in other books. (But while the breeds Malay and Aseel are not included, Cubalaya and the Madagascar Game are.)
A partial list of breeds includes: Bergische Kraeher, Dutch Owlbeard, Brakel, Malines, Red Caps, La Bresse, Brabanconne, Frizzles, La Fleche, Deutsches Reichshuhn, Scots Greys, Onagadori, Marsh Daisy, Norfolk Greys, Yokohamas, and Naked Necks. For each breed standard-size fowls and bantams are described together. Details include when each breed was made, who made them, and when they were most popular. There is information on breeding in Germany, where the exhibition chicken hobby is largest. You will read about the differences between similar European breeds, some of them genuinely obscure.
In the section on American breeds there is a discussion of why the German Dominique is different from the American version, plus you can read about Jersey Giants, Delawares, Hollands, and more. There are articles on bantam-only breeds like Booteds, the German bantam, Burmese and Nankins. There is a chapter on autosexing breeds.
Langshans get their own chapter, and the differences between the British Croad Langshan, American Langshan, Modern Langshan, and German Langshan are clearly explained.
The reader will make new discoveries: I learned that Lincolnshire Buffs are bred with 5 toes! I was excited to read about the Ptarmigan and other extinct breeds.
I was only disappointed that, although the Sicilian Buttercup was mentioned, Italian breeds seemed to be left out. I would like to have read about the Polverara, and Valdarno. Excepting the (not rare enough) Minorca, all Spanish breeds seemed to be included, even the Penedesenca.
The photographs by John Tarren are excellent, as are other photos by Hans Schippers, and Julia Keeling. The paintings by Kurt Zander and Van Gink are outstanding; plus a few more by A. J. Simpson and J. W. Ludlow.
The photo of the Buff Catalana is actually a German-type Buff Leghorn. The Orloff on the bottom of page 91 is a male, not a female.
This book is very much worth owning. You will be pleased.