Phoenix Chicken Breed: Characteristics, Temperament and Breed Information

The Phoenix Chicken is a beautiful bird that is usually bred as an ornamental breed. This is a breed of long-tailed chickens that originated in Germany. They are an ancient breed, rooted in the past.

Hugh du Roy, who was the first president of the German National Poultry Association, created the Phoenix chicken at the end of the 19th century.

Many breeds of chickens were used to create this breed. Several imported Japanese long-tailed birds have been crossed with several other breeds, including the Leghorn, Yokohama, Brugge Crooper Combatant, Old English Game, Modern Game, Bruges Game, Ramelslocher, and Malayan Chicken.

There are many breeds of long-tailed chickens in Japan. And the Phoenix chicken is a German creation of long-tailed chickens of Japanese origin. The breed was discovered in the United States before 1924. The Phoenix chicken was accepted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Excellence in 1965.

there are many color options here, and a bantam version is also available. The Phoenix chicken breed is currently listed as endangered on the US Livestock Breeds Conservation Priority List.

Characteristics of Phoenix Chicken

The Phoenix Chicken looks like a pheasant. They also have an exceptionally long tail. The tail can reach 90 cm or more. They have pure white earlobes, red beards and a red comb.

Their unique ridges have five well-defined vertical points. And medium in size in males and smaller in females. Their wattles are also medium in size in males and small in females.

The earlobes are medium in size, oval in both males and females. Their beak has horn shades and their eyes are berry-red. Shale colored Phoenix chicken thighs. And their skin color is yellow. In roosters, the tail is held horizontally, while in hens it is slightly higher.

There are many colorful varieties of Phoenix chicken and the color of their plumage varies depending on the variety.

Black variety has standard black plumage, White variety has standard white plumage, Silver variety has standard silver plumage, Golden variety has standard gold plumage, Golden Duckwing variety has standard golden duckwing plumage , the Silver Duckwing variety has a standard silver plumage plumage and light brown variety. It has standard light brown plumage.

The Standard Phoenix Chick is a medium sized bird. Standard phoenix roosters weigh about 2.5 kg, and hens – about 1.8 kg. And bantam roosters weigh about 0.74 kg, and chickens about 0.68 kg. Photo from Wikipedia.

Behaviour/Temperament

Phoenix chickens are very gentle birds that are very easy to handle. They are also naturally shy and friendly. They can become tame and good as pets if handled from a young age. But because they have very long tails, they require special care to keep their feathers in good condition.

Birds should be kept on high perches, like parrots on long tails. The Phoenix Chicken is a very active breed with excellent flying skills. They are excellent foragers and are good for a free range system.

Phoenix hens are good laying hens with small to medium sized cream or colored eggs, and they often come out to brood. Hens are also good mothers.

The Phoenix chicken needs extra space in the house, which must be dry. And they need a regular high-protein diet to maintain really big feathers. The breed is obedient and feels good in the conditions of detention. See the full Phoenix Chicken breed profile below.

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