Scots Dumpy Chicken (Bakies, Crawlers, Creepers)
Bakies Crawlers Creepers
Breed Club SecretaryMrs Hamilton-Gould
Tower Fields, Tusmore Rd, Souldern, Bicester,
HistoryDespite being bred in Scotland for over a hundred years; and the fact that it had probably been around much longer than that This breed was nearly extinct, They were originally known as Crawlers and Creepers because of their very short legs. Fowls of this description were described as early as 1678 in Britain. Similar birds existed since 900 A.D. and were probably ibrought by Phoenician traders. In Europe there are similar breeds the German Creeper and the French Courtes Pattes.
CharacteristicsAll the breeds have extremely short legs with the Dumpy standard requiring shanks of no more than 1 .5 inches (3.75 cm). Unfortunately the Dumpy will revert back to a longer legged type and if the shorter legged birds are regularly bred together they develop a lethal gene, where approximately 25% of the eggs will be infertile, 25% give long legged chicks and 50% short legged chicks similar to the lethal gene in crested birds.
The are available in Black, Cuckoo (Light grey with dark grey bands), White, Brown, Gold and Silver. In all varieties the eyes are red and feet are white except in the black and cuckoo where they are black and mottled respectively.
ClassificationLight / Soft feather