The Owlbeard or Uilebaard is one of the oldest Dutch chicken breeds and may very well be the oldest. They are frequently depicted in paintings from as early as the 1500s. This breed exists in several striking color patterns and here at Greenfire we have 2 flocks, a lemon and black spangled flock and a gold and black spangled flock. This breed almost completely disappeared in the 1900s but has been preserved by a few groups who are passionate about the breed. Currently, they are considered to be endangered in their native country. One passionate group called theB.K.U clubhas been working to preserve the Owlbeard since 1985.

The Owlbeard is a large fowl breed with mature roosters weighing around 6 to 7 pounds and hens will weigh around 5 pounds. There is a bantam version however we have not imported those...yet! They have a few characteristics that make them stand out. In addition to their beautiful color pattern, they have a pronounced beard, a split V-shaped comb, cavernous nostrils, an extremely tiny crest, and very small or sometimes no wattles. They have slate gray legs that are clean.

As chicks, they are extremely active and start testing out their wings very early. They are typically the first chicks to jump out of the brooder. One of our customers calls the Owlbeard chicks, "minions", as they frequently get into trouble. Please plan accordingly as you set them up into a brooder or grow-out pen. As they age they seem to mellow out and tend to be fairly tame but they stay busy throughout the day pecking and scratching for food.

The hens take a while to mature and don't typically lay their first egg until they are around 8 months old. Once they start laying they will lay in abundance! You can expect to get almost an egg a day during the spring and summer. On average about 4 to 5 eggs per week. Their eggs are white and large in size. The hens don't typically go broody so you should plan to purchase a good quality incubator if you plan to hatch chicks.

The Owlbeard is a large fowl breed with mature roosters weighing around 6 to 7 pounds and hens will weigh around 5 pounds. Birds have a moderately long body with a well-rounded breast. This breed has a large tail that is well-fanned. They have a split V-shaped comb, with cavernous nostrils, and traces of a very small crest. Owlbeards have well-developed beards and muffs, which cover their earlobes. Their legs are grey and clean of feathers. The lemon variety has light yellow colored base feathers with black spangling throughout their entire body. Hens should have black tips on their tail feathers. The gold variety has gold (reddish brown) colored base feathers with black spangling. Gold hens should also have black tips on their tails.

For a detailed look at their standard of perfection, visit this link: 

Dutch Owlbeard - ​The Rare Poultry Society

We incubate at 99.5F and 55% humidity. We normally see a 60 to 70% hatch rate from eggs that are set into the hatcher. There are a few challenges with hatching this breed. Please consider this when purchasing eggs. They typically hatch a little late, so plan to keep these eggs in your incubator for an extra few days to give the chicks ample time to hatch. Most of the chicks will hatch on day 22. Make sure to check the chicks that hatch for the presence of feathered legs. If any chicks have any feathers on the legs or between the toes, they should be culled as they should not be used in a breeding flock. Thoroughly check every chick's beak as scissor beak has been observed in this breed, however, it is not very common.

The color of the chicks will vary and so far we have observed these different chick appearances: black with a gold or dark brown head, black based with yellow on the body and either a black head or a gold or dark brown head, black based with gold or dark brown on the body, a chick that is mostly gold or dark brown and a little black, black based with white on the body, as well as, a chick that will be all black. That's 7 different appearances. Some of these will develop into birds that are lemon and black, some will be gold and black, and a tiny percentage will be silver and black or solid black. When hatching lemon Owlbeard eggs you should expect a small percentage of the offspring to be gold and a tiny percentage to be silver. Please keep this in mind when creating your flock and hatching them. When hatching gold Owlbeard chicks, the offspring will be almost entirely gold but you may notice a small percentage hatch completely black. These chicks will most likely NOT develop the gold and black pattern, so you may want to consider culling them on hatch day.

The merits of every bird should be assessed as they reach adulthood.

We have observed a small percentage of chicks hatching with feathering on their legs or between their toes. If you are incubating hatching eggs, please carefully inspect each chick for this trait, as those displaying feathered legs or toes should not be included in a breeding program. Additionally, we recommend thoroughly examining each chick's beak, as scissor beak has been noted in this breed, though it remains an uncommon occurrence.

We are continually expanding our knowledge of this breed, and while we have enhanced our quality control processes over the past year, we cannot guarantee complete color accuracy for every order, as chick coloration may vary. If you’ve ordered day-old chicks, and there’s an issue with your order—for instance, if you ordered six lemon chicks but one is developing gold feathers instead—please contact us with photos so we can update our records accordingly.

Import Notes

Greenfire Farms first imported this breed in 2018, and since then has been working diligently to perfect our genetics and improve the spangled pattern in our flocks.