Buy Golden Campines Chickens

Poultry keeping has been practiced in Belgium for a long time; in fact, the Flemish carry the nickname “the chicken eaters.” Two Flemish chicken breeds, Braekel and Campine, are nearly identical and have a common history and ancestry.

The larger Braekel is native to the rich clay soil of the Flanders district; the Campine is from the less fertile district of Kempen, is smaller and males are hen-feathered. The 16th century Italian naturalist, Aldrovandus, mentions that the ancestor of these two breeds descended from Turkish fowls. Julius Caesar is said to have taken Campine chickens home with him after he looted Belgium.

Campine Chicken

In 1885, Campine chickens found a following when they were imported into England. In 1893, Campine chickens were first imported into North America by Arthur D. Murphy of Maine. The breed wasn’t popular and was dropped from the American Poultry Association’s Standard in 1898. M.R. Jacobus of Ridgefield, New Jersey, again imported the breed from English breeders in 1907. But once again, Campine chickens proved to be unpopular because they weren’t “rugged enough.” The Homestead Campine Farm of Wayland, MA specialized in Campines and succeeded in improving their hardiness, but other breeds had already become preferred as egg-layers.

The breed started out as a farmyard fowl, but came to play a major role commercially as the Flemish developed and perfected what was the forerunner of today’s commercial production system. The first part of this role was to provide rapid feathering and growth in a cross with the Malines chicken for the production of meat. The second role was as an autosexing breed for egg production.

Campine chickens are a non-sitting fowl that lays white eggs. They come two varieties: Silver and Golden. When Silver Campine females are mated to Golden Campine males, chicks can be sexed ass day-olds. Female chicks will have a reddish blush color while males have gray on the top of their heads. Males weigh 6 pounds and females weigh 4 pounds.

The Campine originated in Antwerp Belgium and has been bred for several centuries. They were bred for their white shelled eggs. The Campine was brought to the UK in the 19th Century. The Campine is very similar to the Belgium Braekal in all ways except size. The Braekal is the larger of the two. The English or standard Campine we now have today is a mix of two Belgium Varieties with the plumage of the Campine male and female being identical in colour patterns.

Behaviour

The breed is a lively one that prefers to be out and about free ranging most of the time. The birds are very alert and inquisitive. Some can be rather wild in nature whilst others can be very friendly.

Varieties

This bird has been bred in two different colours – Golden and silver. It is a beautiful bird with pencilling feathers. The golden Campine’s body, wings and tail are black, barred with dark orange and gold. Their necks are a striking burnt orange colour. They do have pure white earlobes and their legs are slate blue. The Campine is a small tightly feathered bird. They are mainly bred for ornamental purposes but they will lay a fair number of medium white shelled eggs. They are a non-broody bird but are less cold hardy and their combs can be prone to frostbite.