Frizzle (chicken breed)

Not to be confused with the plumage pattern for which the breed is named, Frizzle (chicken plumage).

The Frizzle is a breed of chicken with characteristic curled or frizzled plumage. While the frizzle gene can be seen in many breeds, such as the Pekin and Polish, the Frizzle is recognised as a distinct breed in a number of European countries^[4][6] and Australia.^[2] In the United States, frizzled chickens are not considered a breed, and at shows are judged by the standards of the breed they belong to.^[7]: 24

Frizzle

A frizzle-feathered chicken at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, USA; possibly not of the frizzle breed
Use	fancy
Traits
Weight	Male: Standard: 3.2–3.6 kg[1]: 121  Bantam: 680–790 g[1]: 123  Bantam (Aust): 960–1075 g[2] Female: Standard: 2.25–2.7 kg[1]: 121  Bantam: 570–680 g[1]: 123  Bantam (Aust): 790–910 g[2]
Egg colour	white or tinted[1]: 121
Comb type	single
Classification
APA	no[3]
EE	Standard and bantam recognised[4]
PCGB	soft feather: heavy[5]
APS	Heavy Breed Softfeather[2]
Notes
clean-legged[1]: 121
Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus

Illustration from the Geflügel-Album of Jean Bungartz, 1885

History

The origin of the Frizzle is unknown. The frizzle gene is thought to have originated in Asia;^[8]: 137 frizzled chickens have been reported from the Far East since the eighteenth century.^[6] The Frizzle breed is the result of selective breeding for exhibition.^{[6][9]: 102} It is recognised in nine European countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.^[4][1]

Characteristics

The gene for the curling of the feathers is incompletely dominant over normal plumage; not all members of the breed have frizzled feathers. Frizzled birds are heterozygous for the gene; when two are bred, the offspring inherit the gene in the usual Mendelian 1:2:1 ratio: 50% are heterozygous and frizzled like the parents, 25% have normal feathering, and 25% are "over-frizzled", with brittle feathers resembling pipe-cleaners. The Frizzle has a single comb and is clean-legged – without feathers on the shanks.^[1]: 121 It is a good forager and is hardy.^[6]

Four colours are recognised in the Entente Européenne standard: black, blue, cuckoo and white.^[4] The Poultry Club of Great Britain recognises nineteen colours for both standard and bantam sizes;^[10] not all of them are currently bred.^[6] The Australian Poultry Standards recognise black, blue, buff, white, Columbian, red and "any recognised colour".^[2]

Genetics

Research suggests that the frizzled phenotype comes from a mutation within the keratin gene KRT75. A deletion that removed part of exon 5 and intron 5 ameliorated the splice site. This caused a 69 base pair deletion of the KRT75 gene.^[11]

Use

Blue Frizzle Pullets bred in Jandowae Queensland Australia to Australian Standard.^[2]

The Frizzle is reared exclusively for exhibition.^[1]: 121 It is a good layer of white or tinted eggs, and frequently gets broody.^[8]: 137