The Appenzeller is a breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 of chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

 originating in Appenzell

Appenzell

Appenzell is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen....

 region of Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. The Appenzeller comes in two varieties. The Spitzhauben, meaning "pointed hood", has a V-comb and feather crests in males and females. The Barthuhner ("bearded hen") has a rose comb and no crest. Both types appear in either black, golden spangled and silver spangled plumage. They are mostly a show breed, but are okay egg layers.

Today the breed is largely an ornamental one kept for showing

Livestock show

A livestock show is an event where livestock are exhibited and judged on certain phenotypical breed traits as specified by their respective breed standard. Species of livestock that may be shown include pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, llamas and alpacas. Poultry such as chickens, geese, ducks,...

, but it lays also a respectable quantity of white eggs. It is a light chicken, with hens weighing an average of 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) and roosters 4.5 lbs (2 kg). Behaviorally, it is a flighty breed that doesn't do well in confinement, can forage well, and will roost in trees if given the opportunity. In North America, it is very rare and is recognized officially by neither the American Poultry Association

American Poultry Association

The American Poultry Association is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. Founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932 The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in response to the burgeoning need for an overseeing body to set standards...

or other breed registries. The silver spangled Spitzhauben is the most common variety found abroad.