![]() ![]() Its probably the most popular variety with its long tail and shiny feathers being adored worldwide. The silver variety was accepted by the American Poultry Association (APA) in 1965. They are easy to spot as they have, in both sexes, pure white oval earlobes. Phoenixes have a bright red, single comb with five distinct upright points. Three standard colors are recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) these are below. The Bantams are brilliant with nearly all other bantams, they make a great match up. They are great friends with Silkies and other docile breeds. This is rare however, but worth considering. Yes, but they are a docile breed so if you have a heavy weighting in your flock of alert active birds, so breeds like Rhode Islands & Welsummer be careful. 3ft for a fully gown tail and 1ft of space infront. They are small birds with big tails so need a minimum of 4ft in each direction. The way I think of space with Phoenix’s is think of it in terms of ‘turning circle’. Remember keeping chickens is addictive – trust me! How much space do they need? They are naturally social creatures and love company whether its human or other chickens! The best number for a backyard flock is 6. I never suggest to purchase just one chicken. Bantam Phoenixes are slightly different, the ratio is less at 8:1. The recommended mating ratio with this specific breed is 9:1. This process of taming can take a few days or couple of weeks, every bird is different. Next they will be eating them out of your hands. Soon they will be coming right up to you to eat treats at your feet. Slowly go near them and throw them treats. If you have an adult Phoenix a good way to tame it is the cupboard love method. You can pick them up, they will let you but be careful of that long tail, so it doesn’t get damaged! That way they built up lots of trust with you. Handling them 2-3 times a day when young is the best way. Very easy to tame, especially from chicks. So keep an eye on young children around this breed. Its so long and beautiful you cant really blame them. This means they are a great breed for children, but be aware some very young children want to pick up and pull their tail. They make for great mothers and will often raise offspring that aren’t their own as they are very caring and loving. They can be, if not hand reared, very independent, but not unfriendly at all. Hand reared Phoenixes tend to be friendly and great with children. They do make for great pets actually but ideally you want them from chicks. Low (60-100) When do they start laying eggs?Īround 24 weeks (6 months) Phoenix Characteristics Temperament / Are they good as pets? They are extremely popular in the U.S and rather surprisingly in India too. They aren’t cold hardy, meaning they can’t handle the cold well. The Phoenix tail length will still reach a length of a couple of feet (91cm), so fear not if you are looking to add a long tail showy breed to you flock! (N.B its mature roosters that grow tails to this length, not the females). So the Phoenix will never grow the tails feathers as long as the Onagadori. Sadly during the cross breeding with the German game birds to develop the Phoenix, these genes were lost! The Onagadori had a very unusual set of genes, firstly that allowed for such spectacular tail grow, but also a recessive gene that keeps it from molting its feathers. They bred local German ‘Game Birds’ with the Onagadori to create what we now called the Phoenix. The Germans needed to improve the health and stamina of the birds whilst maintaining the beautiful Onagadori traits. This wasn’t great if you’ve spend a lot of money buying fertile eggs to hatch this breed. They very quickly realized that the birds were prone to poor health and delicate. So fast forward a few years, and Germans started hatching Onagadori eggs to try to get in on the act. To have chickens so rare and unique was a sign of wealth and ‘good taste’! The idea being ‘high society’ in Japan, (i.e the rich), would throw garden parties and these birds would provide entertainment for their guests, being that they have very long tails and exquisite coloring. What’s incredible is the tail feathers of some of these breeds could reach up 30ft (9.1m). The Japanese have been breeding what they call ‘ornamental garden birds’ for a thousand years. They have been bred from a Japanese breed called Onagadori, famous for its long tail. Well the Phoenix was developed in Germany circa 1880 but your thinking they don’t look like a typical German chicken breed – you’d be right. ![]() The Phoenix is an amazing breed with a rich interesting history. ![]()
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