{{Short description|German breed of chicken}} {{use dmy dates|date=November 2024}} {{use British English|date=November 2024}} {{use list-defined references|date=November 2024}} {{infobox poultry breed | name = Ramelsloher | image = Ramelsloher Henne weiß.jpg | image_size = | alt = | image_caption = Hen bird | status = {{ubl|FAO (2007): endangered{{r|barb|p=52}}|{{nobreak|GEH (2024): extremely endangered{{r|geh}}}}|DAD-IS (2024): at risk/endangered{{r|dad}}}} | altname = {{lang|de|Ramelsloher Blaubein|i=no}} | country = Germany | distribution = nation-wide | standard = | use = dual-purpose, eggs and meat{{r|vieh}} | apa = not recognised{{r|apa}} | aba = | ee = yes{{r|ee}} | pcgb = not recognised{{r|pcgb}} | aps = | maleweight = 2.5–3.0 kg{{r|bdrg|p=74}} | femaleweight = 2.0–2.5 kg{{r|bdrg|p=74}} | skincolour = | eggcolour = white or light cream{{r|geh|p=71}} | comb = single | leg colour = slate-blue | lobes = blue | note = | type = Chicken | latin = Gallus gallus domesticus }}
[[File:Dürigen 1886 Ramelsloher.tif|thumb|alt=Yellowed engraving of a white cock and hen|Cock and hen, illustration by Hugo Spindler from Bruno Dürigen, ''Die Geflugelzucht, nach ihrem jetzigen rationellen Standpunkt'', 1886]] The '''Ramelsloher''' ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaːml̩sˌloːɐ}}) is a German breed of dual-purpose chicken. It was bred in the 1870s by A.D. Wichmann, a Hamburg shipowner, and is named for the village of Ramelsloh, which lies some thirty kilometres south of Hamburg. In the early twentieth century it was an important utility chicken; in the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed. It is recognised in only two colours, white and buff;{{r|bdrg3}} there is no bantam Ramelsloher.{{r|bdrg2}}
== History ==
The Ramelsloher is named for the village of Ramelsloh, which lies some thirty kilometres south of Hamburg, in the landkreis of Harburg, in Lower Saxony in north-western Germany. It was bred there in the 1870s by A.D. Wichmann, a Hamburg shipowner, who selected white birds from the heterogeneous population of local farm chickens of the area and cross-bred them with Andalusian, Cochin and Spanish stock to produce a pure white chicken with slate-blue legs.{{r|geh|vieh}} The birds were first exhibited in Hamburg in 1874.{{r|geh2}} A buff colour variant was later developed, but did not become as widespread as the white. It died out in the 1970s, but was re-created from about 1985 using {{ill|Thüringer Barthuhn|de}} and {{ill|Italiener|de|Italiener (Huhn)}} (German Leghorn) blood.{{r|vieh|geh2}}
In the early twentieth century it was an important commercial chicken, and became widespread through much of Germany.{{r|geh2}} As with many other traditional dual-purpose breeds, numbers declined rapidly after the Second World War for reasons including the effects of the war itself, the advent of specialised single-purpose layer and meat breeds, and the industrialisation of chicken farming from the 1960s. A low point was reached in the 1970s and early 1980s, but numbers later recovered slightly.{{r|geh2|slow2}}
In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed: its conservation status is listed as "at risk/endangered" in DAD-IS, as {{lang|de|stark gefährdet}}, 'seriously endangered', by the {{ill|Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung|de}}, and as Category I, {{lang|de|extrem gefährdet}}, 'extremely endangered', by the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen.{{r|dad|ble|geh}} It is included in the Ark of Taste of the international Slow Food Foundation.{{r|slow}}
== Characteristics == thumb|alt=three dark buff cocks|Buff cocks thumb|A white pair thumb|Chick
The Ramelsloher is recognised in two colours only, the white and the buff.{{r|bdrg3}} It has a number of unusual features: the earlobes are bluish or blue, particularly in hens; the beak is bluish with a pale tip; and the legs and feet are slate-blue with white claws.{{r|geh2}} The eyelids are black and the eyes are so dark as to appear black also, a characteristic not seen in any other breed of chicken.{{r|geh2}} The comb is single and red.{{r|geh2|slow}}
Weights are {{val|2.0|–|2.5|u=kg}} for hens and {{val|2.5|–|3.0|u=kg}} for cocks,{{r|bdrg|p=74}} and ring sizes are {{val|18|u=mm}} and {{val|20|u=mm}} respectively.{{r|geh2}}
There is no bantam Ramelsloher.{{r|bdrg2}}
== Use ==
Hens lay about 170 white or light cream-coloured eggs per year; the eggs range from 50 to well over {{val|60|u=g}} in weight, with an average of {{val|56|u=g}}.{{r|geh2}}
== References == {{commonscat}} {{reflist|45em|refs=
<ref name=apa>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171104135004/http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/PDF%20Forms/APA%20Recognized%20Breeds%20and%20Varieties%20Sept2012.pdf APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012]. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.</ref>
<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201209/http://www.fao.org/3/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources], annex to [https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125634/http://www.fao.org/3/a-a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{isbn|9789251057629}}. Archived 23 June 2020.</ref>
<ref name=bdrg>[https://web.archive.org/web/20241201224454/https://www.bdrg.de/media/docs/Rassetafeln_Huehner.pdf Rassetafeln: Hühner] (in German). Reichenbach, Haselbachtal: Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Archived 1 December 2024.</ref>
<ref name=bdrg2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20241201124826/https://www.bdrg.de/media/docs/zwerghuehner_2011_A6.pdf Rassetafeln: Zwerghühner] (in German). Reichenbach, Haselbachtal: Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Archived 1 December 2024.</ref>
<ref name=bdrg3>[https://www.bdrg.de/media/docs/Satzung_11_KA_Rassen-_und_Farbenschlaege-Verzeichnis_2024.pdf Rassen- und Farbenschläge-Verzeichnis des Bundes Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter e.V.] (in German). Reichenbach, Haselbachtal: Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Accessed November 2024.</ref>
<ref name=ble>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240216180642/https://www.genres.de/fileadmin/SITE_MASTER/content/Publikationen/TGR/Plakat_-_Einheimische_Huehnerrassen_-_2023.pdf Hühner: Einheimische Rassen in Deutschland] (in German). Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung. Archived 16 February 2024.</ref>
<ref name=dad>[https://dadis-breed-datasheet-ws.firebaseapp.com/?country=DEU&specie=Chicken&breed=Ramelsloher&external=1&lang=en Breed data sheet: Ramelsloher / Germany (Chicken)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2024.</ref>
<ref name=ee>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130616062803/http://www.entente-ee.com/deutsch/sparten/gefluegel/dateien/2013/Verzeichnis%20R%20F%2028042013.xls Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013)]. Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.</ref>
<ref name=geh>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240730123804/https://www.g-e-h.de/rassebeschreibungen/55-gefluegelhuhn/153-ramelsloher-huhn Ramelsloher] (in German). Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Archived 30 July 2024.</ref>
<ref name=geh2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20221126224612/http://www.g-e-h.de/geh-gefl/ramelslo.htm Schwerpunkt – Geflügel: Ramelsloher] (in German). Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Archived 26 November 2022.</ref>
<ref name=pcgb>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143235/http://www.poultryclub.org/img/Breed%20Classification.pdf Breed Classification]. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.</ref>
<ref name=slow>[https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/arca-del-gusto-slow-food/gallina-di-ramelsloh/ Gallina di Ramelsloh: Arca del Gusto] (in Italian). Bra, Cuneo: Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità Onlus/Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. Accessed November 2024.</ref>
<ref name=slow2>[https://www.slowfood.de/was-wir-tun/projekte-aktionen-und-kampagnen/arche-des-geschmacks/die_arche_passagiere/ramelsloher_huhn/pdf_arche_web_ramelsloher_huhn_2012.pdf Ramelsloher Huhn: Das Norddeutsche Blaubein] (in German). Berlin: Slow Food Deutschland e. V. Accessed November 2024.</ref>
<ref name=vieh>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211129001932/http://www.vieh-ev.de/Rassen/Gefluegel/ramelsloher.html Das Rasseportrait: Ramelsloher] (in German). Suderbruch: Vielfältige Initiative zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Archived 29 November 2021.</ref>
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{{Chicken breeds of Germany}}
Category:Chicken breeds Category:Chicken breeds originating in Germany
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