Sicilian Buttercup chicken
The Sicilian Buttercup is a light Mediterranean breed descended from Sicily's native Siciliana. It is known for its cup-shaped comb.
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The Sicilian Buttercup is a pure-bred chicken breed in the PCGB Rare Soft Feather Light class. Its origin is given as Sicily, Italy; developed in the USA. It appears on the RBST Watchlist as a priority breed, so keepers of pure stock help conserve it.
It is kept in large and bantam forms. Recognised colours: Gold, Silver.
Expect roughly 140–180 eggs a year, with white shells.
Compiled from poultryclub.org, rbst.org.uk, en.wikipedia.org. See sources
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Identity
- Species
- Chicken
- Type
- Pure breed
- PCGB class
- Rare Soft Feather Light
- Origin
- Sicily, Italy; developed in the USA
History
The Siciliana probably came from crossing local birds with North African fowl. Similar birds appear in 16th-century paintings in the Vatican Museums and the Galleria Borghese. In about 1863 or 1877, Captain Cephas Dawes bought Sicilian hens as ship's meat. They laid so well on the voyage that they were kept, and C. Carroll Loring of Dedham bred from them. All American Buttercups descend from an 1892 shipment. Breed clubs formed in the US in 1912 and in Britain in 1913, and the APA admitted it in 1918.
Appearance
Long separation has left it quite different from the original Siciliana.
Recognised colours
Gold, Silver
Size and weight
- Forms
- Large, Bantam
Eggs
- Eggs a year
- 140–180
- Egg colour
- White
- Notes
- Livestock Conservancy: about 140–180 white eggs a year.
Temperament
Not recorded yet.
Hardiness
Not recorded yet.
Broodiness
Not recorded yet.
Flying
Not recorded yet.
Suitability
- Good to know
- On RBST's Rare and Native Breeds list, and 'threatened' with the US Livestock Conservancy.
Conservation status (RBST)
A priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watchlist.
Breed club
- The Rare Poultry Society, umbrella · Website
Sources
This page is compiled from:
Review
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