In 2022 Magyar Posta began releasing a new series called Indigenous Hungarian Poultry Breeds, which, based on the plans, is intended to present different poultry breeds annually over a number of years. In 2023, the White Hungarian, the Speckled Hungarian, the Yellow Hungarian and the Partridge-Coloured Hungarian chickens feature on the stamps. The strip of four stamps designed by the graphic artist Ágnes Berta was produced by ANY Security Printing Company. The new issue is available from Filaposta, philately specialist services, certain post offices and www.posta.hu.
The indigenous Hungarian chicken breeds are medium sized, dual-purpose breeds. Hens weigh 2.0 to 2.3 kg, and cocks 2.5 to 3.0 kg. Their bodies are medium length and slightly cylindrical. The backs of hens are straight and long, and those of cocks are shorter and curved. Characteristically, they have a broad, full and convex breast, high-held wings, a well- developed laying belly, medium-length legs, overdeveloped tail feathers compared to their body size, and plumage that hugs the body. Their heads are small, their skulls convex, their beaks short and strong at the base, and their eyes bright. The comb is medium sized, upright and curves backwards, and that of the hens is often leaning to the side and evenly serrated resembling the teeth of a saw. The wattle is fine to touch and rounded, and the ear lobes are ovoid and always bright red.
The main value of the Hungarian breeds, which have delicate bones, is their fine-fibred, flavoursome, excellent meat, which makes them popular in both domestic and foreign markets. As a result of the breeding work that began in Gödöllő in the 1930s, their egg production reached 140 to 150 per year, making them to be considered as excellent dual- purpose hens for decades. Several colour variants were developed during the breeding process. The most common are the white, speckled, yellow and partridge-coloured varieties, which have survived to the present day and, due to gene conservation efforts, now exist as separate breeds. Source: Kátki - HU-BA village programme
The stamps in the strip show a male and a female of the following indigenous Hungarian chicken breeds (Gallus domesticus): the White Hungarian, the Speckled Hungarian, the Yellow Hungarian and the Partridge-Coloured Hungarian chicken. The accompanying first day cover depicts part of a poultry yard. The imprint of the special postmark on the first day cover is a stylised drawing of a cockerel and a laying hen.
