Families & Bloodlines
The Hennies
Where the Henny came from: Pontefract in 1670, the black hen-cocks of Wales, the Hen Feathers of Mexico, the Kikilia of the east, and the gene behind it.
September 10, 2026
Straight talk from the shop that ships bands to breeders in 39 states — how to mark fowl that last, keep records you can trust, and get more out of every hatch.
Where the Henny came from: Pontefract in 1670, the black hen-cocks of Wales, the Hen Feathers of Mexico, the Kikilia of the east, and the gene behind it.
Three 1927 accounts of the Claiborne gamefowl contradict each other on where the topknot came from, and an 1869 book complicates all three.
An Illinois family built out of a Welsh coal miner’s fowl by a storekeeper who wrote the whole thing down.
A small, green-legged Tennessee family with a composite foundation, a comb question that has been misread for years, and a transmission chain you can still follow name by name.
A breeder’s guide to marking and banding chicks — toe-punch charts, wing bands, and numbered leg bands — so you can track every bloodline from hatch to full-grown fowl.
Two wing band styles, one decision. What separates ZIP from JIFFY, what is identical between them, and which one fits the way you run your program.
Too loose and it’s gone; too tight and it’s trouble. A size-by-size guide to matching the band to the bird.
Fresh how-to guides, band drops, and yard-tested tips — straight to your inbox. No spam, just the good stuff.