Partridge Penedesenca chicks

[dheltzel]

These have been hatching much better than I expected. Adults are beautiful and lat dark eggs. I can't ship, so local to SE PA (Philly area) only.

4 eggs on left are Welbars (Crele Welsummers) and the 6 on the right are Penedesencas.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

How big are the adults? I am trying to only have smaller breeds and I've read different weights for this breed.

 

[dheltzel]

Mine are about the size of a Leghorn, maybe a little larger. Definitely smaller and lighter than my Ameraucanas and Welbars. The roosters are pretty tall, but slim in build.

 

[BantyChooks]

That's a Partridge bird? Is the colour standard different for them than the description of the Partridge pattern given in the SOP?

 

[dheltzel]

There is a lot of color variations in this line. They originated from a hatchery and would probably need a lot of breeder work to get them "show worthy". I don't show, so it's not a big concern for me. I'm not even sure if Penedesencas are accepted in the APA. I think most people want them for their dark eggs or their free ranging abilities.
Do you have a better name for the color pattern?

 

[BantyChooks]

There is a lot of color variations in this line. They originated from a hatchery and would probably need a lot of breeder work to get them "show worthy". I don't show, so it's not a big concern for me. I'm not even sure if Penedesencas are accepted in the APA. I think most people want them for their dark eggs or their free ranging abilities.
Do you have a better name for the color pattern?

Thanks. No, I do not, but I was a little confused to see it described as Partridge.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Penedesencas are not yet in the APA.
All four varieties, (Black, Crele, Partridge, Wheaten) as well as White Empordanesa were imported into the US around 2000.
Both breeds, Penedesenca from Penedes and Empordanesa from Emporda, are two regions of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain on the French border near Andorra.
Penedesencas and Empordanesas are the only breeds with white earlobes and lay a brown egg. They are also the only breeds with a carnation comb (also called a clavel and kings comb)
They are ancient breeds and were still a hodgepodge of colors as late as 1900 with black and partridge being prominent. The first known documented writing about the breed was in 1920 when efforts were made to conserve and standardize them. There were quite a few farms that raised them but fell out of favor when interest turned to new foreign breeds.
By 1980 they were nearly extinct. At that time veterinarian Antonio Jordá visiting area farms and farmers' markets, made a collection of fertile eggs and adult specimens until they gathered a population of about 300 hens from which Dr. Amadeus Francesch standardized into the 4 varieties today of Black, Crele, Partridge and Wheaten.
The Black is the DP variety being about a pound or two heavier than the other three, which are egg varieties.
The black was long renown for the flavor of its meat. There is now an annual festival in Catalonia called Fira del Gall (Fair of the Rooster) and the Black Penedesenca is the star of the show. It is a foodie and wine affair. (Penedes is the oldest wine region of Europe.
The festival dates back to medieval times but was declining in popularity till 1984 when it was reborn with the reemergence of the Black Penedesenca.
The fair is held the last weekend before Christmas and people come from far and wide to buy the bird for their Christmas dinner - a Black Penedesenca rooster. In 2014 the fair celebrated the 20th anniversary of bringing the bird back from the brink of extinction.
Sadly, Dr. Amadeu Francesch Vidal died last summer. He was very helpful trying to get the birds distributed around the world.
The black variety has been toyed with to make it a larger meat bird. In the process, it lost the dark egg and the white lobes. So now there is the 'improved' and the classic black. The classic is the only one in the US.
https://www.galldelpenedes.cat/varietats