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Almost 20 years ago, VNIIGRZh received a new breed group of chickens, which in 2007 was registered as a breed called “Pushkin”. The Pushkin breed of chickens was not named in honor of the great Russian poet, although after his “Golden Cockerel” the name of Alexander Sergeevich could also be immortalized in the name of the breed of chickens. In fact, the breed is named after the place of breeding - the city of Pushkin, located in the Leningrad region.
The practical experience of the owners of Pushkin chickens differs from the theoretical and advertising information on Internet sites.
Origin of the breed
The general information is the same for the “virtual” and “real” description of the breed, so with a high degree of probability, they correspond to reality.
At the same time, the breed was bred at two breeding stations: in St. Petersburg and in Sergiev Posad. The types mixed with each other, but even now the differences are noticeable.
Breeding of the breed began in 1976. The breed was developed by crossing two egg breeds: the black and variegated Austrolope and the Italian Shaver 288 Leghorn. The obtained result did not satisfy the breeders; the egg performance of the cross turned out to be lower than that of the parent breeds, with the small body weight of a standard egg laying hen.And the task was to obtain a universal chicken for personal farmsteads with high egg production rates and a lethal meat yield.
To eliminate the lack of weight, the hybrid of Austrolorp and Leghorn was crossed with the Russian breed of broiler “Broiler - 6”. We obtained a result that almost satisfied the authors of the breed group with a relatively high egg production and a large body. But shortcomings in the newly bred breed group still remained.
The erect leaf-shaped comb of the chickens could not withstand the Russian frosts and the blood of Moscow white chickens was added to the new chickens at the St. Petersburg breeding center. The new population had a rose-shaped crest, which to this day distinguishes it from the population of Sergiev Posad.
Description of the Pushkin breed of chickens
The modern breed of Pushkin chickens is still divided into two types, although they continue to mix with each other and, apparently, the breed will soon come to a common denominator.
Pushkin chickens are large birds with a variegated color, which is also called striped-black, although this does not always correspond to reality. Due to the mixture of many breeds, chickens have certain deviations in one direction or another. In particular, Pushkin breed hens are darker than roosters. The color of roosters is predominantly white. Also, the St. Petersburg type, to which additional breed has been added, may look speckled rather than striped. But on individual feathers, as a rule, black and white stripes alternate.
The head is medium-sized, with orange-red eyes and a light beak. The comb of the Sergiev Posad type is leaf-shaped and erect, while that of the St. Petersburg type is rose-shaped.
In the photo on the left are birds of the St. Petersburg type, on the right are birds of the Sergiev Posad type.
Chickens have long metatarsus with widely spaced toes.The long, high-set neck gives the “pocktail hens” a regal posture.
Pushkin's chickens never reached the size of broiler meat breeds. However, this is not surprising; the breed was originally planned as a universal meat and egg breed. Therefore, the main attention was paid to the quality of meat and the quantity of eggs.
The weight of Pushkin breed chickens is 1.8 - 2 kg, roosters - 2.5 - 3 kg. The St. Petersburg type is larger than the Sergiev Posad type.
“Chicken Ryab” is bred today by private farms and private household plots. Buying chickens from a farm that has a good reputation is safer than buying from a private owner, who may keep impure birds. Especially if a private owner keeps several breeds of chickens at once.
Chickens begin laying eggs at 4 months. Egg production characteristics: about 200 eggs per year. Egg shells can be white or cream. Weight 58 g. But from this moment the discrepancies between theory and practice begin.
The owner of Pushkin chickens in the video uses scales to prove that the average weight of an egg of Pushkin chickens is 70 g.
Weighing (comparison) eggs of chickens of the Pushkinskaya and Ushanka breeds
The network claims that Pushkin chickens do not fly, are very calm, do not run away from people, and get along well with other birds. Practice shows that of what is written, only the last is true. Chickens get along really well with other birds.
The weight of these chickens is small, so they fly well and actively run away from the owner after mischief in the garden.
But for its egg production, tasty meat, beautiful color and unpretentiousness, the owners of the Pushkin breed forgive it the discrepancy between the descriptions on websites and real characteristics.
The differences between individuals of different types are described in more detail in the video:
In the same video, the owner-tester shares his impressions of the Pushkin breed, including the differences between the descriptions of the breed on websites and the real state of affairs.
Since the breed has not yet been established, there are no strict requirements for the appearance of chickens, but there are certain defects in the presence of which the chicken is excluded from breeding:
- the presence of pure black feathers in the plumage;
- hunched back;
- irregularly shaped body;
- gray or yellow fluff;
- squirrel tail.
The breed has a number of advantages for the sake of which you can put up with the excessive mobility and sneakiness of these birds:
- the carcass of Pushkin chickens has a good presentation;
- endurance;
- unpretentiousness to feed;
- ability to tolerate low temperatures;
- good safety of chickens.
The fertilization rate of eggs in the Pushkin breed is 90%. However, fertility does not guarantee the same high chick output. Embryos may die in the first or second week. The safety of hatched chicks is 95%, but at a more mature age up to 12% of the young may die. Mainly from diseases from which no breed of chicken is immune.
Keeping Pushkin chickens
Pushkin's do not require an insulated barn, the main thing is that there are no drafts in it. If you plan to keep chickens on the floor, then place a deep, warm litter on it. But since the statement about the non-volatility of these “ripples” is false, you can arrange standard chicken roosts.
For laying eggs, it is better to arrange separate nest boxes lined with straw.
It is also undesirable to place sawdust as bedding on the floor, even in a thick layer.Firstly, dry sawdust cannot be compacted to a dense state. Secondly, wood dust from sawdust, entering the respiratory tract, causes fungal diseases in the lungs. Thirdly, the chickens will dig up the sawdust litter to the floor, even if they can be compacted.
Long blades of grass of hay or straw become tangled with each other and are much more difficult to tear apart.
Place sawdust in chicken coop under straw is possible only in one case: if in the region straw is much more expensive than sawdust. That is, in order to save money.
Pushkin chickens are often kept on the floor, but they will be grateful if they are given perches 80 cm high and with a small ladder for ascending and descending.
Feeding
Pushkinskie are unpretentious in feed, like any village laying hen. You should avoid giving them sour waste or birds eating sour wet mash in the summer.
For this reason, you should not be particularly zealous with grain feed.
Shells and coarse sand should be placed in free access.
Breeding
Due to the mixing, when breeding Pushkin chickens, of breeds with a well-developed brooding instinct with those in which this instinct is not developed, Pushkin chickens experience disruptions in behavior. The hen can abandon the nest after sitting for several days. To avoid such incidents, chickens are hatched in an incubator.
To obtain a hatching egg, 10 to 12 females are selected per rooster.
Reviews from owners of Pushkin chickens
Conclusion
Pushkin chickens were bred as classic village “pocktail hens”, adapted to life in the countryside and capable of producing maximum results with a minimum of care. Their only drawback, from the point of view of a villager who wants to breed these birds, may be the reluctance to incubate the eggs. But this can also be corrected if there are other chickens in the yard.
