Rhinelanders

a.k.a. Rheinländers, Rijlanders

A pair of Black Rhinelanders
Photo courtesy of Cemil Parlakay

This German breed was originated in the 1890s by a Dr. Hans Rudolf von Langen. He crossed Italian chickens with birds from the neighborhood of Eifel, Germany. In 1908, these new Rhinelander chickens won the first German egg-laying competition. They lay a 55 gm white egg and the hen will produce around 200 eggs in her first year.

The birds occur in 5 varieties: Black, White, Black-laced Blue, Black/Blue (speckled), and Brown. They have a distinctive shape, with a wide back and deep chest. The ear-lobes are small and white. All I have been able to learn about their comb is that it is "an unusual comb." Roosters weigh 2-2.7 kg (5-6.5 lb) and hens 1.8-2.4 kg (4.25-5.75 lb).

The Rhinelander also occurs in a Black bantam form, developed in 1921.