The Holland Chicken breed is a dual-purpose breed, being used for both meat and eggs. These birds originated on a breeding farm called Rutgers in New Jersey in the 1930s.
Crosses with these birds include White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Lamonas, New Hampshire’s, Plymouth Rocks, and more. However, if you’re considering purchasing some Holland Chickens to round out your farm, or even for small-scale farming, you do need to know that the breed is somewhat rare and difficult to find.
We’ll tell you a little more about the Holland Chicken breed in the guide below.
Quick Facts about Holland Chicken
| Breed Name: | Holland |
| Place of Origin: | United States |
| Uses: | Meat and eggs (dual-purpose) |
| Rooster (Male) Size: | 8.5 pounds |
| Hen (Female) Size: | 6.5 pounds |
| Egg Color: | White |
| Egg Size: | Medium to large |
| Climate Tolerance: | All Climates |
| Care Level: | Easy to medium |
| Egg Productivity: | Medium |
Holland Chicken Origins
The Holland Chicken breed originated in New Jersey and was extremely popular during a time when white eggs were popular but not easy to find in the United States. Today, the Holland Chicken is considered a rare breed and may be hard for you to find. The Holland was recognized in 1949 by the American Poultry Association(APA).
Holland Chicken Characteristics
This breed has a pale-yellow beak, red wattle, red ear lobes, and a yellow shank, as well as a single comb. It’s also a small to medium-sized bird, but heavy and meaty as well. You can find this breed in two varieties—when you can find them.
The varieties are barred and white, with the skin color of the white variety being white. The barred variety has legs and skin that are yellow. The roosters top out at about 3.9kg(8 pounds), whereas the hens top out at around 3 kg(6 pounds).
They lay medium to large eggs, and their egg production is average.
If you’re searching for a Holland Chicken, you might have a problem finding them; as we previously mentioned, the breed is quite rare now. While dual breeders were extremely popular in the 1900s because of the need for meat and eggs, they aren’t as popular today, but there are still many uses for them, especially in small-scale farming or a household that wants chickens for both uses.
Uses
The Holland Chicken breed is a dual-purpose chicken, used for meat and egg production. You can expect from 3 to 5 eggs a week for each hen, which isn’t bad for egg production.
Meat production isn’t the same as it is with other more common chickens, but it’s still pretty decent.
Appearance & Varieties
As we said before, there are two different varieties of Hollands to choose from—the barred variety and the white variety. Both have pretty good egg and meat production and look almost the same, except for the differences in colors of white and yellow.
Either variety will work well for eggs or for meat.
Population/Distribution/Habitat
The Holland Chicken is a rare breed, but they can be found in certain parts of the country. This breed can live in a variety of climates and is a great forager, so you just need a backyard for them to roam around in and forage.
The temperament of the breed is gentle, and they do well as backyard chickens. As we said, they do grow slowly but make up for this by being great foragers.
Are Holland Chickens Good for Small-Scale Farming?
The Holland Chicken is great for small-scale farming, as they are good foragers and get along with just about everyone. You don’t have to worry about this breed attacking the children or pets when they’re in the yard, and the egg and meat production is excellent as well.
So, if you’re looking for a dual-purpose, gentle chicken breed, this might be the one for you.
Featured Image Credit: BBstockimage, Shutterstock