It is not a secret to anyone that in poultry farming most often chickens belonging to one category cannot be assigned to another (for example, fighting breeds will not be used as decorative or meat ones).
But there are exceptions. One of the most striking examples of such an "exception" is the Campin silver hens, which, referring to the egg direction, are increasingly being raised as decorative birds.
There is no exact data on the place, time and specific reasons for the appearance of the Kampin silver breed. It is surely known that the Campines were originally bred as egg chickens.
The birthplace of the breed is Belgium, or rather the northeast region of the country of Kampin (after which the chickens were named). The original breed, which gave rise to the Kampins, is considered to be the breed of the Egyptian Fayumi, brought to Europe from Egypt many centuries ago.
Close in genotype to the Campines and Chicken Brakel. Some poultry breeders are confident that the breed Ostfrizskiy seagulls became the ancestor of the silvery handsome men.
Breed description Campin silver
Campin breed chickens belong to the egg and at the same time decorative category. Therefore, representatives of the breed have features characteristic of both groups of breeds.
In describing Campina silver, attention is paid to the overall dimensions of the body, the structure of the limbs, the shape and fleshyness of the crest, the color and character of the plumage, the color of the egg shell.
Typical silvery Campines can be described as follows. The birds are small in size. Very active; have long strong legs. Tibia subtle; not too large metatarsus. The metatarsus and fingers are colored dark blue. Both the abdominal and the thoracic parts are well formed and distinctly expressed.
Cocks and hens have a fleshy leaf-like crest and earrings. On the ridge there are 5-6 teeth. Roosters have a wide standing scallop, while chickens are fleshy and usually lying on their side. Earlobe slightly oblong, white.
The character of plumage is dense. Feathers evenly cover the whole torso. Notable coloring birds. The completely white color of the feathers of the head and neck of the hens and cockerels gradually turns into white with dark dots and small patches on the mane.
The lumbar plumage from white gradually changes to grayish. The tail of the rooster is luxuriant, rich black in color with a deep greenish tint.
In the tail there are wide feathers-braids. Chickens have a small tail; tail feathers black with white patches. The rooster has a light cape of thin hanging feathers on the shoulders. The color of feathers in the rest of the body is the same for both roosters and hens: striped feathers with a geometric pattern.
Pavlovsk chickens have just the most beautiful appearance. This breed can not be confused with others.
Dwarf Welzumer is a miniature and cute bird. You can read about it here: //selo.guru/ptitsa/kury/porody/karlikovie/karlikovyj-velzumer.html.
Black and white feathers are interspersed with each other, creating the effect of gradation and the transition from a completely light upper part of the bird to an increasingly dark plumage of the lower part. The color of an egg shell is snow white.
In addition to the silver variety of Kampin there is a golden one. In the golden bird, the principle of coloring the feather cover is exactly the same as that of the silver one. The only difference is that alternating white and black stripes replaced by golden red.
Features
Silver kampin, like any other breed of chickens, has its advantages and disadvantages. To explicit benefits gray-white birds include:
- unpretentiousness of conditions of detention, feeding and watering. The diet of feeding and watering is almost identical to the similar criteria in egg poultry farming;
- early ripeness. Already by 2.5-2.8 months. The cockerels start singing. By the 4th month, the Campines are already fully formed, in laying chickens at this age, egg-laying begins;
- bird activity. Campina can't stay in one place for long. Representatives of the breed have a high metabolism; therefore, obesity and diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle are not dangerous to them;
- incredibly beautiful. A silvery Kampinov livestock, even a few, will become a real decoration of your entire compound.
But the breed has some limitations:
- bad incubation instinct. Because of their hyperactivity, silver Kampin chicks are physically unable to stay in one place for a long time. Therefore, getting chickens from hens will be extremely problematic;
- peculiar character. By temperament, Campin silver chickens are close to choleric type. Possessing such temperamental behavior, the bird gets along poorly with other breeds of hens;
- regarding small egg production. Get a record number of eggs from Campina fail.
Content and cultivation
Campin silver unpretentious to the conditions of detention. Feeding birds is no different from feeding other egg breeds of chickens, birds enjoy eating grain, green mass, insects and earthworms.
As a bait can be included in the ration of powdered egg shells. It is necessary to supply plenty of chickens with clean drinking water.
But there are several nuances in the content of the Campines, which are worth paying attention to.
First of allbecause of the high activity of the bird, it needs space for walking. It is best to build a walking enclosure with a barn extension. In the barn there will be perches for the rest of the Campines, and chickens can stroll in the vast free space of the enclosure.
Secondly, Campines are very impulsive, therefore, greatly frightened, they can easily fly over the low fence of the paddock or walking where they are. So you need to take care of a high enough fence enclosure.
Thirdly, Campin Silver - the owner of a gorgeous leafy comb. In order for the scallop to remain upright and lifelong, it is necessary to completely remove all sharp and dangerous objects from the shed and the aviary where the birds live.
Well, fourthly, Campines have excellent immunity and practically do not get sick. But they, like other breeds of chickens, are susceptible to chicken pox. Therefore, starting from 2 months of age, the bird must be vaccinated without exception.
Specifications
If you describe the Campin silver in numbers, you get the following picture:
- weight indicators: chicken - 1.5-2 kg; rooster - 1.8-2.6 kg;
- the number of eggs per year (egg production) - 135-145 eggs;
- the mass of one egg is 55-60 g.
Where can I buy in Russia?
Due to the fact that Kampin Silver is not distinguished by high egg production, breeding and selling of this breed of chickens are not put on a wide stream in our country.
But you can still get representatives of the breed or chicken eggs on large poultry farms and in private farms.
- Good established chicken farm "Vortex"located in the Moscow Region, Serpukhov District, the village of Vikhrovo (telephone: +7 (495) 741-5618 or +7 (495) 354-0015;).
- From personal subsidiary farms it is worth mentioning LPH "SYMBIRE", which is located in the Moscow region, Shakhovsky district, p. Ivashkovo, Novaya str., d. 8 5. 2 -42;).
Analogs
Both in appearance and in the main indicators of productivity, Kampin silver is similar to such breeds of chickens: Ostfrizian gull, Hamburg, Westphalian and Dutch layer.
Very often, Campina Silver is called Brekele Silver. But this is wrong, since Campine and Brekel are completely different breeds of chickens. The Campines genotype has an unusual kuropierosti gene.
It is he who is responsible for the fact that feathers-braids in the cock's tail become similar to the feathers of hens. Brekel does not have such a gene.
The problem is that sometimes this gene is weakly expressed in Campina, and practically does not appear phenotypically. In this case, only a professional breeder will distinguish one breed from another.
Summarizing all the above, it can be noted that Kampin silver is not only a breed of hens of the egg direction, but also a bright representative of decorative birds. Such a chicken is perfect if you put the aesthetic beauty of the bird in the first place, and not its egg quality.
