Hi everyone!
I'm joining from the Netherlands and excited to be part of this community!
I keep a mix of chickens and ducks and recently started a small breeding project focused on heritage utility traits. Here's a bit about my setup and goals:
Project: Drijber Dual-Purpose Drenthe (3D-Hoen)
Back to basics – a self-sufficient, heritage-style farm chicken
We’re working to redevelop the traditional Drents Hoen into a true dual-purpose breed:
Hardy and self-reliant
Good layers that also brood
Meat quality with decent size
Roosters that protect without being overly aggressive
We started with Drents Hoen hens and crossed them with an Australorp rooster to improve temperament and laying. Now we’re breeding back to a black gold-necked Drents Hoen rooster to bring back the looks and alertness of the original breed. We’re also experimenting with Poule de Bresse for meat quality and Noord-Hollandse Blue for natural protection behavior and possible autosexing via cuckoo pattern.
Our color goals include:
Black gold-neck
Partridge
White partridge
Other birds in the yard:
Black Runner Ducks
Abacot Rangers (great all-round ducks!)
Always happy to exchange ideas and experience with others working on similar goals or curious about these breeds — feel free to reach out anytime!
I'm joining from the Netherlands and excited to be part of this community!
I keep a mix of chickens and ducks and recently started a small breeding project focused on heritage utility traits. Here's a bit about my setup and goals:
Project: Drijber Dual-Purpose Drenthe (3D-Hoen)
Back to basics – a self-sufficient, heritage-style farm chicken
We’re working to redevelop the traditional Drents Hoen into a true dual-purpose breed:
Hardy and self-reliant
Good layers that also brood
Meat quality with decent size
Roosters that protect without being overly aggressive
We started with Drents Hoen hens and crossed them with an Australorp rooster to improve temperament and laying. Now we’re breeding back to a black gold-necked Drents Hoen rooster to bring back the looks and alertness of the original breed. We’re also experimenting with Poule de Bresse for meat quality and Noord-Hollandse Blue for natural protection behavior and possible autosexing via cuckoo pattern.
Our color goals include:
Black gold-neck
Partridge
White partridge
Other birds in the yard:
Black Runner Ducks
Abacot Rangers (great all-round ducks!)
Always happy to exchange ideas and experience with others working on similar goals or curious about these breeds — feel free to reach out anytime!
Hello and welcome! Your projects sound very ambitious and exciting! Your birds are beautiful. I hope you will start a thread showing your projects with lots of pictures so we can follow along.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
