Brabançonne Chicken

     The Brabançonne is an old Chicken breed, that was developed during the mid-1800’s in Brabant, in Belgium. The bird got its current name only by the end of the 19^th century, after making a careful selection from local crested layer hens. Before that, there was no specific standard for the Brabançonne, and the breed was almost merged with local breeds.

     The Brabançonne is famous for its productive abilities, as it’s an excellent dual-purpose bird. The hens start laying at a very young age (around 4 to 5 months old). Brabançonne hens lay plenty of white eggs (around 200 eggs per year that can weigh up to 70 g per each), but they rarely go broody.

     The Brabançonne is a medium-sized chicken breed with a single comb, white earlobes, and slate-blue legs. This breed is characterized by having a crest on top of its head, which is spikier and more erect in female birds. Brabançonne chickens are available in many color-varieties, which include; quail, white, blue and black. The quail color-variety is the most common one, and it represents the colors of the Belgian national flag (black neck, a yellow breast and red shoulders). The Brabançonne has also a bantam form, which is a quite recent bird indeed. The bantam version was developed in 1984 by crossing some small-sized Brabançonne chickens with Barbu de Watermael bantams.