Zwerg-Rhodeländer
The Zwerg-Rhodeländer is the German bantam form of the Rhode Island Red chicken, known in German as the Rhodeländer. It carries the same compact dual-purpose outline in miniature: a broad body, fairly level back, yellow legs, a neat single comb in most lines, and rich red to mahogany plumage with darker shading in the tail and wings. It is a true domestic chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus, developed for small yards and exhibition pens rather than as a separate wild-derived type.
Keepers value this bantam for a useful egg supply from a bird that needs less space and feed than the large fowl, although its eggs are naturally smaller. The breed does best in a dry, predator-secure coop with room to scratch, because active bantams can become restless in cramped pens. Breeding work centers on keeping the deep red color even, the body broad rather than narrow, and the comb and leg color clean to the standard. It suits fanciers who want a traditional utility bantam instead of a purely ornamental chicken.
Colors: Barred, Birchen, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Duckwing, Gold, Gold Laced, Laced, Lavender, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Partridge, Penciled, Porcelain, Red, Silver, Silver Laced, Spangled, Splash, Wheaten, White
