Chicken Nanjing: Characteristics, Temperament and Breed Information

The Nanjing chicken is a true breed of bantam chicken. This means that the breed is naturally small and has no large counterpart. The Nanjing Chicken is one of the oldest Bantam breeds, originating somewhere in Southeast Asia.

It has been known in England since at least the 1500s. The breed was named after the ancient inland seaport of Nanjing (formerly known as Nanking), which is located on the Yangtze River in the central east from China.

The Nanjing Chicken was once a popular breed in England. And its numbers began to decline in the mid-1800s. By the 18th century, the breed was widespread throughout Europe.

Nanjing chicken played an important role and was used to breed many dwarf breeds. It was used in the development of the Sebright breed. In England, dwarf Nanking hens were used to hatch pheasant, quail and partridge eggs.

The breed is recognized by the American Bantam Association and has been accepted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Excellence since 2012.

Now this is a very rare breed of chickens. And the status of Nanjing chicken is considered critical by the US Livestock Breed Protection Agency.

Physical characteristics of nanjing chicken

The Nanjing chicken is best known for its rich brown colored feathers. Males tend to be darker in color with black flight feathers and a black tail. And the chickens are light brown in color with the black end of the tail feathers.

There are two varieties of Nanjing chicken, which differ in the type of scallop. These two types of combs are the pink comb and the simple comb. Pink comb varieties have a medium-sized comb ending in a comb with a single tip. And single-comb varieties have a large five-pointed comb.

The single scallop Nankin chicken variety is prone to frostbite and is not suitable for northern climates. Both color varieties are the same color, with a black tail and bumpy body color. They have bright red earlobes, faces and earrings.

The golden hue of roosters is deeper and brighter. They have longer crescent-shaped feathers which are characteristic of roosters. Their legs are blue. They have clear horn-colored beaks.

On average, males of the Nanjing dwarf weigh about 0.68 kg, and chickens – about 0.625 kg. Photo courtesy of Livestock Conservancy website.

Behaviour/Temperament

Although a beautiful breed of chickens, the Nanking chicken has again received significant recognition for its usefulness as breeding chicks. Nanjing hens incubate often and are wonderful mothers. They lay a large number of small white/coloured eggs.

The Nanjing Bantam Chicken is calm and very friendly in nature, and they are the best choice as backyard pets. They are slow maturing birds and not suitable for meat production. But growing them is very easy. They generally do not roam when allowed to be free and tolerate confinement very well.

This breed of chickens is distinguished by a calm disposition and a lovely character. It is a very talkative and active breed. Roosters tend to be aggressive and will run to protect the hen if she is crying in distress.

Nanjing chicken feeders and drinkers should be separated. Because they cannot compete for food with larger chicken breeds living in the same area. They like to live in groups, very close to each other. However, check out this chicken breed’s full profile below.

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