Portrait of a Red Dorking Hen

Red Dorking hen at 'Plimoth Plantation' in  Massachusetts

Meet the Red Dorking -- an ancient but now-rare breed of chicken.  I photographed this good-looking individual at the Plimoth Plantation, the "living history museum" near Plymouth, Massachusetts.  The Red Dorking chicken is one of the rare breeds of animals raised there today.

Plimoth Plantation re-creates the village life of the English immigrants who arrived in Massachusetts in the 17th century and established the Plymouth Colony.  The most well-known of those colonists were the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower.

If you would like to learn more about this five-toed chicken breed, here is a detailed article published a few years ago by Mother Earth News:

Dorking Chickens: Heritage Poultry Breeds