[Sca-cooks] chicken breeds in period? (sort of off-topic)

[Carol Smith]

Could anyone provide me with information on chicken breeds available in Europe during our time period (date and place would be a plus)?  And if yo know of any such breeds, is there any source where I could get them around NYC?  We're trying something, just for fun here: comparing several types of chicken using one recipe (Markham's excellent way to cook chicken) for flavor comparison.

So far, we think we'll be trying Chinese silk chicken, a free-range chicken, a commercially produced chicken, a Cornish game hen or a Guinea hen, and possibly a "period breed" of chicken, if such a bird exists.

Regards,
Brekke