Swiss chicken breeds

Image: Philippe Ammann / ProSpecieRara

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Image: Philippe Ammann / ProSpecieRara

Appenzell Barthuhn

The Appenzell Barthuhn, which translates as the Appenzell bearded chicken in English, is characterised by a striking full beard, which is found on both the cockerels and hens. This beard is already visible in day-old chicks and covers the wattle and earlobes, meaning that the breed is also able to cope with cold temperatures. As the name suggests, the Barthuhn originates from Appenzell. It was bred here from the mid-1860s onwards from various landrace chicken breeds.

This Swiss chicken breed comes in the colours black, blue-laced and partridge. The latter, in particular, has become rare. While the hens remain partridge-coloured, the cockerels develop a metallic-copper sheen over time. In 1985, ProSpecieRara, a foundation dedicated to the preservation of the genetic diversity of plants and animals in Switzerland, took on the last partridge-coloured members of this breed and the coordination of their breeding. While the breeders initially struggled with serious inbreeding problems, it was possible to eliminate most of these. Today, the population is stable. The hens lay around 150-white shelled eggs weighing approximately 55 grams in the first year and can produce eggs for several years. As they only have a moderate breeding instinct, they rarely remain perched on their eggs.

Image: Markus Zuber / ProSpecieRara

Appenzell Spitzhaube

The Appenzell Spitzhaube is particularly recognisable thanks to its special headdress: the narrow forward-pointing feathered bonnet is reminiscent of the bonnet which forms part of the traditional Appenzell feast day costume. The breed only has small wattles and two small horns instead of a comb, making it particularly well prepared to cope with cold temperatures. The Appenzell Spitzhaube likes to climb and is a very good flier. It also likes to spend the night in trees, even during the winter months.

Of the original ten different colours, just five still exist today, the most common being the silver-black spotted. The other four colours are very rare and are supported by ProSpecieRara: gold-black spotted, pure gold, black and pure white.

This black chicken breed is said to have been bred in Alpine monasteries as early as the 15th century. During the 20th century, the breed was only found in Appenzell, hence its name. Here, the chickens are also referred to as “Gässerschnäpfli” and “Tschüpperli”. At the start of the 1950s, the breed had almost become extinct. In 1983, ProSpecieRara took over breeding, placing its main focus on Eastern Switzerland.

Image: Philippe Ammann / ProSpecieRara

Schweizerhuhn

With its white plumage and red comb, the Schweizerhuhn is reminiscent of the Swiss flag. It was bred in Amriswil in 1905 and experienced its heyday between the two world wars. As a classic dual-purpose chicken, its provides both eggs and meat. With frost-resistant combs and small wattles, it also copes well in low temperatures. The Schweizerhuhn is not a particularly good flier and is considered to be a quiet and trusting breed.

With the advent of industrialised agriculture after the Second World War and hybrid breeds that lay around twice as many eggs, the Schweizerhuhn slowly started to disappear. Since 1991, ProSpecieRara has continued to manage the remaining breeding lines. In the course of the discussion regarding chick culling, the Schweizerhuhn as a dual-purpose breed is becoming interesting once more. While the cockerels can be fattened, the hens lay between 170 and 200 eggs a year at a weight of around 55 grams each.

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