White Holland

Last updated
White Holland turkeys
(Illustration from 1887) White Holland Turkeys.jpg
White Holland turkeys
(Illustration from 1887)

The White Holland is an old variety of domestic turkey known for its white plumage. The White Holland, whose connection to the Netherlands is unsubstantiated, originated from crosses of white European turkeys (re)imported to North America and crossed with native birds. The White Holland was first recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1874, and today is considered a heritage turkey breed. [1] The breed was crossed in the 1950s with the Broad Breasted Bronze to create the Broad Breasted White, which is now the most common turkey breed in the world. [2] They were also the base for creating the also rare Beltsville Small White breed. [3]

Standard weights are today 36 pounds for a tom and 20 for a hen. The Holland is currently listed as "threatened" by The Livestock Conservancy in the United States. [4] The Standard of Perfection mostly now does not distinguish between White Holland and Broad Breasted White, [2] though the White Holland is known for its hardiness, smaller breast, and shorter legs [5] In Britain, the same has occurred, and all white turkeys may be described by breeders as "British White" birds. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Game</span> American breed of fighting chicken

The American Game is an American breed of game fowl, chickens bred specifically for cockfighting. It has many color varieties, and may also be kept for ornament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochin chicken</span> Breed of chicken

The Cochin is a breed of large domestic chicken. It derives from large feather-legged chickens brought from China to Europe and North America in the 1840s and 1850s. It is reared principally for exhibition. It was formerly known as Cochin-China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Game</span> British breed of chicken

The Indian Game is a British breed of game chicken, now reared either for meat or show. It originated in the early nineteenth century in the counties of Cornwall and Devon in south-west England. It is a heavy, muscular bird with an unusually broad breast; the eggs are brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Rock chicken</span> American breed of domestic chicken

The Plymouth Rock is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was first seen in Massachusetts in the 19th century and for much of the early 20th century was the most widely kept chicken breed in the United States. It is a dual-purpose chicken, raised both for its meat and for its brown eggs. It is resistant to cold, easy to manage, and a good sitter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominique chicken</span> American breed of chicken

The Dominique is an American breed of chicken, characterized by black-and-white barred plumage and a rose comb. It is considered to be the oldest American chicken breed, and is thought to derive from birds brought to America by colonists from southern England. It was well known by about 1750, and by the mid-nineteenth century was widely distributed in the eastern United States. It is a dual-purpose breed, but is kept principally for its brown eggs. It became an endangered breed in the twentieth century, but numbers have since recovered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyandotte chicken</span> American breed of chicken

The Wyandotte is an American breed of chicken developed in the 1870s. It was named for the indigenous Wyandot people of North America. The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose breed, kept for its brown eggs and its yellow-skinned meat. It is a popular show bird, and has many color variants. It was originally known as the American Sebright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bourbon Red</span> Breed of turkey

The Bourbon Red is a breed of domestic turkey named for its unique reddish plumage and for Bourbon County, Kentucky. The breed standard indicates that mature Bourbon Red toms (males) weigh 15 kilograms, and mature hens (females) weigh 8.2 kilograms. The breed standard indicates the Bourbon Red should weigh 10.4 kilograms for toms and 6.3 kilograms for hens at slaughter age. These standard weights were published with anticipation of the potential of the Bourbon Red and when the breed was at its prime. Though there are efforts to restore and accomplish the Bourbon Red standard, today these weights are realized by few breeders and growers. Bourbon Reds have been unrefined for too long due to the lack of selective breeding to preserve the breed. However, mature turkeys in a breeding flock will exhibit an intense fluctuate ~30% from these published weights due to their relentless, extensive and highly instinctive breeding season with their lowest weights typically being recorded in July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Livestock Conservancy</span> US conservation organization for livestock breeds

The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "heritage breeds" of livestock. Founded in 1977, through the efforts of livestock breed enthusiasts concerned about the disappearance of many of the US's heritage livestock breeds, The Livestock Conservancy was the pioneer livestock preservation organization in the United States, and remains a leading organization in that field. It has initiated programs that have saved multiple breeds from extinction, and works closely with similar organizations in other countries, including Rare Breeds Canada. With 3,000 members, a staff of eleven and a 19-member board of directors, the organization has an operating budget of over a million dollars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckeye chicken</span> American breed of chicken

The Buckeye is an American breed of chicken. It was created in Ohio in the late nineteenth century by Nettie Metcalf. The color of its plumage was intended to resemble the color of the seeds of Aesculus glabra, the Ohio Buckeye plant for which the state is called the 'Buckeye State'.

The Nankin Bantam or Nankin is a British bantam breed of chicken. It is a true bantam, a naturally small breed with no large counterpart from which it was miniaturised. It is of South-east Asian origin, and is among the oldest bantam breeds. It is a yellowish buff colour, and the name is thought to derive from the colour of nankeen cotton from China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware chicken</span> Breed of chicken

The Delaware is a breed of chicken originating in the U.S. state of Delaware. It was once of relative importance to the U.S. chicken industry, but today is critically endangered. It is primarily suited to meat production but also lays reasonably well. It has plumage of a unique pattern, and is accepted into poultry standards for showing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Java chicken</span> Breed of chicken

The Java is a breed of chicken originating in the United States. Despite the breed's name, a reference to the island of Java, it was developed in the U.S. from chickens of unknown Asian extraction. It is one of the oldest American chickens, forming the basis for many other breeds, but is critically endangered today. Javas are large birds with a sturdy appearance. They are hardy, and are well-suited for both meat and egg production, especially by small-scale farms, homesteads, and backyard keepers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Palm turkey</span> Breed of turkey

The Royal Palm is a breed of domestic turkey. It is not primarily selected for meat production, and is usually kept as an ornamental bird with a unique appearance, largely white with bands of metallic black.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Appleyard</span> Breed of duck

The Silver Appleyard is a British breed of domestic duck. It was bred in the first half of the twentieth century by Reginald Appleyard, with the aim of creating a dual-purpose breed that would provide both a good quantity of meat and plenty of eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage turkey</span> Strain of domestic turkey

A heritage turkey is one of a variety of strains of domestic turkey which retains historic characteristics that are no longer present in the majority of turkeys raised for consumption since the mid-20th century. Heritage turkeys can be differentiated from other domestic turkeys in that they are biologically capable of being raised in a manner that more closely matches the natural behavior and life cycle of wild turkeys. Heritage turkeys have a relatively long lifespan and a much slower growth rate than turkeys bred for industrial agriculture, and unlike industrially bred turkeys, can reproduce without artificial insemination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronze turkey</span> Breed of turkey

The Bronze is a breed of domestic turkey. The name refers to its plumage, which bears an iridescent bronze-like sheen. The Bronze had been the most popular turkey throughout most of American history, but waned in popularity beginning in the mid-20th century. Later in its history, the breed was divided into two distinct types: the Broad Breasted Bronze and the Standard Bronze. A great deal of confusion exists about the difference between Standard and Broad Breasted Bronzes, or whether there is any difference at all. Collectively, the Standard and Broad Breasted varieties are simply called the Bronze turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk Black</span> Breed of turkey

The Norfolk Black, also known as the Black Spanish or Black Turkey, is a British breed of domestic turkey. It is thought to derive from birds taken to Britain from Spain, where they had arrived with Spanish explorers returning from the New World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beltsville Small White</span> American breed of turkey

The Beltsville Small White is a modern American breed of domestic turkey. It was developed from 1934 at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center of the United States Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland, and was named for that town and for its physical characteristics — small size and white plumage. It enjoyed a brief period of commercial success in the mid-twentieth century, but numbers then declined sharply; in the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, and may be considered a heritage turkey breed.

The Buff or Jersey Buff is a breed of domestic turkey named for its buff-colored plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midget White turkey</span> Breed of turkey

The Midget White is a breed of domestic turkey named for its white plumage and small stature. The breed is the smallest standard variety of turkey, and with toms at roughly 13 lbs and hens 8-10 lbs, it weighs only slightly more than the largest chickens.

References

  1. Ashman, Steve; Ashman, Sharon (10 November 2009), Heritage Turkey Breeds: Which One is Right for You?, Mother Earth News , retrieved 13 September 2013
  2. 1 2 Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001), The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds, Yale University Press, pp. 453–454, ISBN   978-0-300-13813-9
  3. Christine Heinrichs (15 April 2009), How to Raise Poultry, Voyageur Press, p. 92, ISBN   978-1-61673-212-7
  4. 1 2 White Holland Turkey, The Livestock Conservancy , retrieved 2 September 2013
  5. "White Holland Turkey".