The Poultry Keeper

stephen · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:26 pm Post subject: Altsteirers

Altsteirers

Drachenreiter · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 19 Location: Bavaria

The Altsteirer, coming from Austria - Steiermark, are a old breed. After a long time as a good layer and fine white meat for eating, the breed nearly died out. Only 1 original cockerel in Austria and two in Germany were found and built a new population starting 20 years ago.

Further Information:

- eggs are ivory - white coloured with a weight from around min. 55 gr.
- about 180 egg the first, 150 eggs the second year
- weight cockerel 2-3kg, hen 1,75 -2,5kg
- they are good foragers, if the runout is open and really big

A day old chicken

young chickens with her broody

young chickens

a young hen

the cockerel

more chickens outside

Drachenreiter · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 19 Location: Bavaria

A day old chicken, wildbrown type

two young chickens after the come out of the egg

the young chickens with her broody

chickens with 3-4 weeks

the adult chickens

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Drachenreiter · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 19 Location: Bavaria

The roots of this breed are in the old chickens of the Sainted Roman Empire wich ended in 18.. and was a kind of the german land chicken.

A rest of this populations was in the Steiermark (Now Austria and Slowenia) at the end of the Sainted Roman Empire. From this chickens there was a way to the lighter wildbrown type in the upper Steiermark (Austria) and to the a little bit heavier white type in the down Steiermark (Slowenia).

First notices was found about this type of breed in the 14 century.
Than in 1846 Professore Hlubek wrote in a newspaper about the egg layin in a year for round 100-160 per year and hatching natural at 12-15 egg a hen that 10 chickens ar coming.
From 1894 i have a copy of a old standart description with a picture.
From 1914 i have a reprint of a book from Armin Arbeiter "Handbuch der Nutzgeflügelzucht für Österreich und die Donauländer"

Than after the second world war this race is going down, because of the new industriepoultrys. 20-30 years ago the population of this breed was quite to zero. Only 5 hens and 2 cockerels are found in Germany and Austria white the original blood.

But than a few people starts to save this race and till now the type wildbrown is quite save with about 5000 animals. But the white one is always a rare kind of breed with about 100-500 animals.