One of my favorite parts of
our annual
chicken waterer photo contest is seeing everyone's
beautiful chickens. Rosie's Welsummer rooster and Aracauna, Buff
Cochin, and Blue Andalusion hens are some of the most handsome birds
I've ever seen. I was especially taken by the last --- who has
ever seen a hen with silver legs and metallic plumage?
A little reading on the
Blue Andalusion turns up the fascinating tidbit that Mendel used these
unique birds in his studies of heredity. The breed is quite rare
since Andalusions don't always breed true --- half of the offspring of
a purebred Blue Andalusion hen and rooster will be either black or
white instead of gray. As an egg-layer, the Andalusion is so-so,
laying about 160 eggs per year.
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