Norfolk Grey chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are a rare breed chicken that originated in Norwich but are now reared across the UK. They are a heavy breed, weighing on average between 2.5 – 3 kg, but are not particularly large. They have a single comb and a red face with black eyes while the legs are slate or black. The breed is a dual-purpose chicken and is thought to be a result of a crossing between Silver Birchen Game and Duckwing Leghorn, getting its superior flavor from the game and laying ability from the Leghorn. The breed is particularly suited to free range farming, as they are known as excellent foragers, which also contributes to their flavor.
The Norfolk Grey was created by Fred Myhill of Norwich, Norfolk, with estimates of their creation being as early as 1908. The first birds were given the name Black Marias (the nickname of a First World War German military shell), but this name was unpopular and so was changed to Norfolk Greys in 1925. In 1926 a society, The Norfolk Grey Club, was formed, but the breed’s popularity declined slowly (partly due to the dark brown color of their eggs) and the society closed during the Second World War, after which numbers never really recovered. By the 1960s the breed was believed to be extinct but in 1974 a private smallholding was found to have 3 hens and a cockerel, and a breeding program was implemented to resurrect the breed. Today there are a few breeders across the UK, mainly in the south of England. It has been a very slow process resurrecting the breed; with very few blood lines existing there are now very few breeders in the UK, especially in the breed’s county of origin. The breed is more popular for private smallholdings rather than for commercial use, but with the numbers of breeders declining this too could be threatened in the long term. Photo: Gina Upex
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