Frisian
Gallus gallus domesticus
✨ Fun Fact
Frisians were traditionally kept by Frisian dairy farmers as dual-purpose backyard birds — the same frugal, self-sufficient ethic that built Holland's famed dairy industry made the Frisian hen a model of low-input productivity.
An ancient Dutch laying breed from the coastal province of Friesland, with a history stretching back several centuries as a productive village and farmstead hen. Frisians are pencilled birds — each feather carries fine, parallel, transverse bars of colour — and come in gold and silver-pencilled varieties. They are active, alert, flighty birds that lay a good number of white eggs and historically kept themselves largely on farmyard scraps and field-gleaned grain, making them economical to keep.
🏷️ Breed
Frisian
💭 Temperament
Active, alert, flighty, independent, good forager
📏 Size
Medium (1.8-2.3 kg)
⏳ Lifespan
5-8 years
🎨 Colors
Silver-pencilled, gold-pencilled
🌍 Origin
Netherlands — Friesland province; centuries-old landrace breed
🏠 Habitat
Free-range preferred; historically a farmyard and coastal heath breed
🍽️ Diet
Layer pellets; economical keeper and natural forager
🎯 Purpose
Egg
🥚 Egg Colour
White
👑 Comb Type
Single
🏅 EE Class
Large Fowl