Marsh Daisy
Gallus gallus domesticus
✨ Dato Curioso
The Marsh Daisy is one of the few chicken breeds that was specifically designed to thrive on wet, marshy ground — its name literally describes its preferred habitat. The willow-green legs and feet, a distinctive feature of the breed, are thought to be an adaptation from its Malay ancestry and help it navigate soggy pasture. The combination of Sicilian Buttercup in its ancestry makes it genetically unique among British breeds.
A rare British breed with a complex ancestry, the Marsh Daisy was developed in Lancashire in the late 19th century by John Wright using Old English Game, Malay, White Leghorn, Sicilian Buttercup, and Cinnamon Malay — one of the most diverse foundation crosses of any British breed. The resulting bird is a medium-sized, willow-legged, rose-combed fowl that comes in several colours and is adapted to damp, marshy ground — reflected in its name. Marsh Daisies are alert foragers, hardy, and productive on free range, but critically rare today with only a few hundred birds in existence.
🏷️ Raza
Marsh Daisy
💭 Temperamento
Active, alert, self-reliant, good forager on wet ground
📏 Tamaño
Medium (2.3-3.2 kg)
⏳ Esperanza de vida
5-8 years
🎨 Colores
Wheaten, brown, buff, black, and white — several colour varieties; willow-green legs
🌍 Origen
England — Lancashire; developed by John Wright, late 19th century
🏠 Hábitat
Free-range; performs best on damp pasture or marginal farmland
🍽️ Dieta
Layer pellets with extensive foraging
🎯 Propósito
Dual Purpose
🥚 Color del huevo
Tinted
👑 Tipo de cresta
Rose
🏅 Clase EE
Large Fowl