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Buying guide - Appenzeller Spitzhauben

Inviato mercoledì 11 febbraio 2015 Chris Graham introduces an interesting rarity from Switzerland that’s very much in the ascendancy here in the UK.

Think of Switzerland and I’m sure that most of you will conjure-up images of cuckoo clocks, picturesque Alpine passes and maybe even chocolate. I doubt, though, that chickens will come very high on your lists of Swiss-related imagery, which isn’t really surprising.

However, there’s actually a select little group of poultry breeds that was developed in Switzerland and, perhaps most notable among them are the Appenzeller Spitzhauben and the Appenzeller Barthuhner.

It’s the first of these that we’re featuring here, primarily because it’s the most popular in the UK. Don’t get the impression, though, that it’s here in great numbers because as things stand, it isn’t.

In the beginning
The Appenzeller Spitzhauben takes its name from the Appenzell canton in north-east Switzerland, where it’s thought to have been developed in remote monasteries. The ‘spitzhauben’ part translates to mean ‘pointed hood’; a reference to the bird's head crest.

But hardly anything is known for definite about how or when the breed was actually created. However, the monastery theory is supported by the Swiss Appenzeller Club and, apparently, there’s some documentary evidence of Appenzeller-like fowl dating from the 16th century.

The breed almost vanished completely in Switzerland after the Second World War. It was only thanks to the efforts of a German breeder called Kurt Fischer, that it survived at all.

He imported the three colours available in the 1950s – gold spangled, silver spangled and black – into Germany, and got them accepted into the German Standard of Perfection. Then he and a small group of fellow enthusiasts worked hard to boost numbers with a programme of carefully-controlled breeding, which eventually created enough offspring to allow a number to start filtering back to Switzerland. This same group of enthusiasts is also thought to have developed the Chamois spangled and the blue versions, too.

It’s believed that originally there were at least 10 colour varieties of Appenzeller Spitzhauben, but currently there are only six available here in the UK, with five of them officially standardised. These are the silver spangled, the gold spangled black, chamois spangled and blue, plus the non-standardised white and cuckoo on the continent.

Recent developments
A breeder called Pamela Jackson imported the first significant batch of hatching eggs from Switzerland into the UK in 1972. One or two birds had arrived before this, but literally just a handful.

The Appenzeller Breed Society was formed here in 1978, and also catered for the Appenzeller Barthunhner (meaning ‘bearded hen’). Pamela remained president of the society until her death towards the end of the 1990s and, regrettably, the organisation folded in 2001. At that point, responsibility for the overall welfare of the breed fell under the umbrella of the Rare Poultry Society.

Thankfully the Appenzeller Spitzhauben Society of Great Britain was formed in 2011, although this organisation doesn’t cater for the incredibly rare Barthunhner, as did the original Appenzeller Breed Society. The founders felt the Appenzeller Spitzhauben deserved a dedicated breed society to best serves its interests.

Club membership currently stands at 65, which is encouraging and demonstrates that there’s a viable interest in the breed here which should ensure its continued growth in popularity. It also seems clear that the bird remains far more popular as a back garden fowl than as an out-andout exhibition breed. Quite why this should be remains a bit of a mystery.

On the plus side, though, the number being shown is slowly increasing, and there’s certainly a good chance of seeing a decent number of these spectacular birds at the UK’s major poultry shows nowadays. What’s more, current club estimates suggest that there are in excess of 450 breeding females currently alive and well across the UK, which is extremely encouraging.

Distinctive looks
The Appenzeller Spitzhauben is one of those breeds that has a look all of its own; its appearance is every bit as striking as you might imagine, judging by its intriguing-sounding name. They are neat birds and very active. Upright and alert, they present a pleasantly rounded, medium-long walnut-shaped body (quite broad at the shoulder, and tapering towards the tail).

They aren’t large birds though. Classifi ed as a light breed, the, Appenzeller Spitzhauben hen looks every bit a layer; reasonably lean, quite sparingly feathered and with a decent breast helping to ensure a good-sized abdominal cavity. The wings are held close to the body, and the tail, which should be well fanned, is held high.

Male birds tend to be more upright than females, with more of a sloping back. The head of both sexes is dominated by a forward-pointing, medium-sized crest, which sits high on the raised skull. A horn-type comb, consisting of a pair of rounded, raised spikes, is much more obvious on the male bird, and represents another unusual, distinguishing feature of the breed.

Wattles are moderately long and fine, the beak is powerful and features cavernous nostrils, a prominent horseshoe ridge and a small, fleshy knob at the front. The eyes are prominent, alert and dark. The breed was evidently developed as a utility fowl that had very much to earn its keep while enduring the often harsh Swiss climate. The ‘organic’ development process, which saw the breed honed over many generations, evidently worked a treat as the bird we have today retains much of the hardiness that must have been such an essential requirement of the original.

Tough and productive
The Appenzeller Spitzhauben remains an independent breed as well and these birds are tough but very useful survivors. However, while most can be tamed nearly as well as any other breed with the right degree of keeper contact, there will always be the odd example that’ll remain relatively wild and unresponsive to human input.

The hens lay extremely well – it’s one of the breed’s greatest strengths – and are certainly on a par with the more prolific, light breeds, such as the Leghorn and Ancona. But, with this performance comes the characteristic, light-breed flightiness. It’s important to appreciate that you’ll never be able to turn an Appenzeller Spitzhauben into a ‘cuddly chicken’, in the way that you might do with a Silkie or an Orpington, for example.

In common with other light breeds, the Appenzeller Spitzhauben can also be a very good flier if the mood takes it so, ideally, keepers should be looking at a six-foot run fence if the birds are to be contained effectively. They will also roost in trees if they get the chance; another practical consideration for those thinking about keeping the breed in urban areas. Wing-clipping might be the only practical option to ensure that birds stay in the garden without high fencing.

The Appenzeller Spitzhauben remains an extremely fertile breed, despite the relatively low numbers currently in circulation. While the inevitable in-breeding that occurs doesn’t seem to impact on this aspect of the breed’s performance, it has started to have a signifi cant effect on the overall size of bird in some strains.

Although the Appenzeller Spitzhauben isn’t a big bird at the best of times, it seems that number of under-sized examples appearing is growing steadily, which isn’t a good sign. As with all standardised, pure breed chickens, it’s very important that those keepers actively involved in breeding do so to the offi cial standard, which includes complying to the established weight ranges.

Recently a bantam version has been added to the range, and is available in silver, gold and chamois spangled colours. Standardised in March 2014 the bantams are only in the hands of a few breeders – anyone offered bantams for sale would be wise to check with the society, as undersized large fowl are often mistaken for bantams.

Rapid developer
For those hatching Appenzeller Spitzhaubens, the good news is that the young birds are easy to hatch in an incubator, and develop very quickly. The pullets reach the point of lay at about 22 weeks, and the male birds typically start to crow at just six weeks old (no problems with sexing!). However, in common with most other light breeds, the Appenzeller Spitzhauben isn’t a recognised broody.

While the odd hen will sometimes settle on a clutch of eggs if she can find a suitably quiet nesting site, she’ll remain extremely sensitive to disturbance. Even very minor upsets will be suffi cient to cause her to desert the nest. For this reason, they really can’t be relied upon as reliable hatchers.

Another consequence of the Appenzeller Spitzhauben’s ‘excitable’ nature is that male birds can become aggressive towards their keepers, especially during the breeding season. However, there is little evidence that this aggression is ever turned on others in the flock, which is good news.

But these are just about the only practical downsides associated with keeping these birds. In all other respects the Appenzeller Spitzhauben is a rugged, durable and productive bird to have in your poultry pen. Couple this with its unique appearance, attractive colour range and desirable exclusivity, and you have a pretty tempting proposition.