The Chantecler is the National Poultry Breed of Canada, developed by W. Wilfred Chatelaine in the early 1900's. His goal was to develop a dual-purpose breed that had good meat quality and egg laying abilities and had little combs and wattles to suit the bitter cold climate of Canada.
It was developed using a combination of Indian Gamecock, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, White Wyandotte, and White Plymouth Rock. The White Chantecler was first made public in 1918, and first shown in 1921 at the Oka Agricultural Institute in La Trappe, Quebec, Canada where it was officially recognized. Later, the Partridge variety was developed in Edmonton, which was recognized in 1935. More recently, a Buff variety is being developed in standard size and they also come in Bantam size.
The Cantecler belongs to the American Class of poultry. Its type is slightly elongated, bold and deep, sloping downwards to the tail. The head is short with a small comb and very small wattles that are conected by a small dew-lap.
The face is bright red with small ,oval ear lobes that are not quite pure white, medium-sized eyes that are round and red-brown, beak is yellow in the white variety and dark in the partridge variety. The neck is medium size, slightly curved with abundant plumage. The back is long and broad with profuse, close, feathering which ends in a medium length tail that is carried at a 30 degree angle.
It has a broad, deep, and well-rounded breast carried well forward above yellow legs placed well apart.
The Chantecler is a quiet dual-purpose bird with much breast and thigh meat. They are good layers even in winter.
They lay a large, pale, brown egg weighing approx. 2 ounces with an average yearly production of 200. At maturity the cocks weigh about 81/2 lbs. and hens around 61/2 lbs. The chicks are yellow at hatching without the slow growth rate of many of the large standard breeds on low feed requirements.
They are not as rare as they were a few years ago, but are still scarce and in need of attention to preserve this friendly bird. They make an excellent show bird, with the utility qualities,and the ability to withstand cold climates. It is surprising that there are not more of these wonderful birds around.
Written by Chickenlover
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