INFO
Heavy softfeather breed
Plumage: white (never any other colour)
Skin: white
Legs/beak/claws: white
comb: triple/pea, red
Eggs: tinted
No. Pr Yr: pending
liveweight: 6-12lbs
Character: Docile, easygoing, bold (odd individuals can be flighty)
Free Range/Indoors: performs well in either situation - can go tough if given lots of range before slaughter.
The Ixworth is named after the Suffolk village where it was developed, by Reginald Appleyard (yes, he invented those ducks, too!). They were developed as the ultimate dual purpose bird and they certainly go some way to acheiving that! They are large birds and deceptively heavy - the meat is the Crem de la Crem of chicken in many people's opinion, with the dark meat being nice and light (if reared without tooo much exercise out on range!).
Why aren't they more popular? 2 reasons in my opinion - a) they are boring; no fancy feathering or combs, only one colour...so not the greatest prospect for those wanting a pretty flock or a showbird. b) their competitors for utility, hybrids, beat them hands down in a commercial capacity thanks to their speedy grow rates compared to an ixworths. For in betweeny people though - not exactly pets, not commercial farmers, Ixworths are a good choice!
As a happy sideline, Ixworths are also extremely docile and friendly in most cases, unusually, particularly in the cockerels. Both my cockerels are unphased by petting and many people report to me that ixworths chicks are the bravest and kids love that!
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