Altsteirer Chicken

     The Altsteirer is an ancient breed of Chickens from Styria, a state in southeastern Austria. It’s a dual-purpose chicken breed, that is suitable for producing both meat and eggs. 

     The Altsteirer is a hardy, medium-sized chicken with white earlobes, and whitish-yellow legs. It is characterized by its small crest, which is sticking upright behind its single comb. Altsteirer chickens bear a resemblance to the Sulmtaler, and perhaps it has been used in developing the later species. The Sulmtaler itself is considered an ancient breed but not as ancient as the Altsteirer.  

     The Altsteirer has a plump and round body, and makes an excellent meal when slaughtered. Also, the prolific nature of the hens adds to it as a practical utility breed. Altsteirer hens lay almost 180 white eggs per year, but they rarely go broody. Starting from the second year of laying, numbers of produced eggs will reduce to around 150 eggs.

     Altsteirers are very active birds and prefer to be on the move, and get a good portion of their diet by free-ranging. This breed exists in a number of color-varieties that include; the white, the cuckoo, and the black-breasted red (which is the most common).