Ixworth
Gallus gallus domesticus
✨ Fait Amusant
The Ixworth was created by the same Reginald Appleyard who developed the Silver Appleyard duck — one of Britain's most celebrated waterfowl breeds. Appleyard was a prolific and visionary breeder who designed multiple livestock breeds at his farm in Suffolk, but the Ixworth chicken remains his most obscure creation, now critically rare despite his best intentions.
A rarely-seen British dual-purpose breed developed in the 1930s by Reginald Appleyard in the village of Ixworth, Suffolk, by crossing White Sussex, White Orpington, White Minorca, White Leghorn, and Jubilee Indian Game. Appleyard's goal was a fast-growing, all-white table bird that could also lay well — an attempt to create an ideal small farm chicken at a time when intensive farming was still decades away. The Ixworth is pure white with a pea comb (unusual for a British breed), produces a good carcass with well-set flesh, and lays cream to tinted eggs. It is now a rare breed on the RBST critical list.
🏷️ Race
Ixworth
💭 Tempérament
Calm, docile, easy to manage, good forager
📏 Taille
Large (3.2-4.1 kg)
⏳ Espérance de vie
5-8 years
🎨 Couleurs
Pure white throughout; pea comb; yellow skin and legs
🌍 Origine
England — Ixworth, Suffolk; created by Reginald Appleyard, 1930s
🏠 Habitat
Free-range or enclosed run; typical British farmyard conditions
🍽️ Alimentation
Layer pellets with pasture foraging
🎯 Usage
Dual Purpose
🥚 Couleur des œufs
Tinted
👑 Type de crête
Pea
🏅 Classe EE
Large Fowl