North Holland Blue
North Holland hen
Other names
  • Dutch: Noord-Hollandse Blauwe
  • Dutch: Noord-Hollandse Hoen
Country of originNetherlands
Standard
Usemeat
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    Standard: 3.5–4.0 kg[1]
    Bantam: 1000 g[2]
  • Female:
    Standard: 2.75–3.25 kg[1]
    Bantam: 900 g[2]
Comb typesingle
Classification
PCGBrare soft feather: heavy[3]

The North Holland Blue, Dutch: Noord-Hollandse Blauwe or Noord-Hollandse Hoen, is a Dutch breed of domestic chicken originating in the province of North Holland. It is a heavy meat breed, and was created to supply the high demand for white chicken meat from the city of Amsterdam, particularly from the Jewish community in that city.[4]

History

The North Holland Blue was created in the area around Purmerend in about 1900 to supply the city of Amsterdam with white chicken-meat. It derives from the Belgian Malines.[5] Malines birds had been imported for the purpose but did not do well in the poor conditions of North Holland. They were therefore crossed with local chickens.[4]

A breed standard was agreed in 1934 by the Noord-Hollandse Blauwenclub van Nederland, a breeders' association, and in 1950 was adopted with minor changes by the Nederlandse Hoender en Dwerghoender Bond, the national association of poultry breeders.[6]

In the years after the Second World War the North Holland Blue was supplanted as a commercial meat breed by faster-growing imported American breeds. The last large North Holland Blue farm closed in 1977.[4]

A bantam version was also created in the Netherlands, but was first shown in Germany.[5] The North Holland Blue is recognised in eight European countries.[7]

Characteristics

The North Holland Blue has only one colour, Cuckoo.[7] It has a quiet, docile temperament, and lays 180–240 eggs per year. In the Netherlands and New Zealand it is clean-legged; British breed standards call for lightly feathered legs.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 NHDB standaard: Noord-Hollandse hoenders (in Dutch). Assendelfter en Noord-Hollandse Blauwen Club. Accessed August 2014.
  2. 1 2 NHDB standaard: Noord-Hollandse krielen (in Dutch). Assendelfter en Noord-Hollandse Blauwen Club. Accessed August 2014.
  3. ↑ Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Noordhollandse Blauwe of Noord-Hollandse Hoender (in Dutch). Stichting Zeldzame Huisdierrassen (Dutch Rare Breeds Survival Trust). Accessed August 2014.
  5. 1 2 Noord-Hollandse Hoenders (in Dutch). Nederlandse Hoender en Dwerghoenderbond. Archived 28 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Noord-Hollandse Hoenders: Geschiedenis van het ras Archived 2014-07-23 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch). Assendelfter en Noord-Hollandse Blauwen Club. Accessed August 2014.
  7. 1 2 Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Chris Graham (2006). Choosing and Keeping Chickens. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 9780600614388. p. 165.


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