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The Kitchen Garden |
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Diary
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September/October 2001
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Answering a call for help from the Cockerel's new owners, I found myself scouring an extensive chicken run, full of inaccessible hidey holes, for an obviously unhappy fellow who had abandoned his wives for his sickbed. When we finally tracked him down he had succumbed to a series of problems, too indelicate to go into, and required massive assistance with his toilette. Whoever designed the Orpington (I know originally it was William Cook, in Orpington in 1860) got it fundamentally wrong. They are nowadays bred so big they cannot reach their derrières to preen. Usually a little delicate intervention in the run with a pair of blunt-ended scissors will remove any soiled feathers, but for this and many pure breeds a life unchecked on the open range is not entirely appropriate. Those with exaggerated muffling, beards, crests and pom-poms, may need help so they can see unhindered. Cocks with massive wattles may get frost bitten (solved by rubbing on a little Vaseline in really cold weather). And any breed with excessive footings or very long tails will need attention during muddy times of year. I know that it is incredibly important to keep all the characteristics of pure breeds, not just for historical and aesthetic reasons but to pool these traits for commercial breeders to dip into for their Frankenstein hybridising. And yes, I know poultry is a major element in human diet, but I do wish breeders would not exaggerate. Orpingtons are now bred too big for their own good - it makes them susceptible to heart attacks - not to mention the other problem. When people ask me to recommend a successful pure breed, I refer to those breeds like Light Sussex, Rhode Island Reds, Marans and Araucanas whose lineage and appearance have not been mucked about with for fear of losing their prodigious laying abilities (or unusual egg colour), and whose gene pool is wide enough to resist inbreeding. We must not become so obsessed with size or peculiarity to the expense of the bird's comfort, health and well being. |
The Kitchen Garden Church Lane Troston Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk IP31 1EX 01359-268322
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