Blue Andalusian Chicken: Everything Worth Knowing
Which Chickens Lay White Eggs? You'll Find Andalusians on That List.
Promoted by Fowl Play ProductsBreed Spotlight: Blue Andalusian Chicken
Origin: Blue Andalusian chickens are credited with being natives of Andalusia, a province in Spain. They originated from crossing a black fowl with one of its white sports; these two colors producing a slaty-blue fowl. In Cornwall and Devon, England, similar blue fowls were produced by crossing black and white sports. This was before Andalusians were imported into that country. They resembled the earlier Andalusians in type and color.
Standard Description: The modern Andalusian should be very symmetrical, graceful, compact, medium in size, and stately in carriage. The dull and uneven blue-colored fowl of the past has been transformed into the attractive, blue-laced breed of today by years of scientific breeding. Andalusians were admitted to the Standard in 1874.
Conservation Status: Watch
Productivity: Andalusian chickens stand high in productivity. It is one of the best layers of eggs, an excellent winter egg producer, has white flesh with plenty of breast meat – though the carcass is not very plump, it is an active forager, rugged and hardy. The chicks feather and mature quickly; cockerels will often begin crowing at seven weeks of age. The body type, more coarse than a Leghorn, is easy to produce and maintain. – Livestock Conservancy
Varieties: Blue
Egg Color, Size & Laying Habits:
• Chalk White
• Large
• 150+ a Year
Temperament: Not a Sitter, Active
Testimonial from a Blue Andalusian chicken owner:
“Our Andalusian chicken is friendly and curious, although not exactly calm. Our hen is always on the move and not interested in being held. As a chick, she was the friendliest of the batch, and would fly up to my shoulder to be high up. I named our Andalusian Dorian Gray, because of her feather coloring, which is actually considered blue, in the chicken world. While she may not like to be held anymore, she does a great job of providing one large white egg nearly every day.” – Janet Garman, Timber Creek Farm
Coloring:
Comb, Face & Wattles: Bright red
Beak: Horn
Eyes: Reddish bay
Earlobes: Enamel white
Shanks and Toes: Dark slaty blue
Plumage: Shades of slaty blue
Skin: White
Male Comb: Single; of medium size, smooth, straight and upright, firm and even on head; evenly and deeply serrated, having five well-defined points, the middle point slightly longer and proportionately broader than the other four; blade following slightly the curve of the neck.
Female Comb: Single; medium in size, evenly and deeply serrated, having five distinct points, the front portion of comb and first point to stand erect and the remainder of comb drooping gradually to one side; fine in texture, free from folds or wrinkles.
“One thing I learned about the rather large floppy comb of the Andalusian chicken is that the female’s comb will flop over the face. The rooster’s comb remains upright.” – Janet Garman
Weight: Large Fowl: Cock (7 lbs.), Hen (5-1/2 lbs), Cockerel (6 lbs.), Pullet (4-1/2 lbs)
Popular Use: Eggs and meat
It really isn’t a Blue Andalusian chicken if it has: Red in ear-lobes covering more than one-third of surface; red, yellow or positive white in plumage; shanks other than blue or slaty-blue.
Learn about other chicken breeds from Backyard Poultry, including Orpington chickens, Marans chickens, Wyandotte chickens, Olive Egger chickens (cross-breed), Ameraucana chickens and many more.
Promoted by: Fowl Play Products
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