Conservation status | FAO (2007): no data [1] : 9 Moula: in danger of extinction [2] : 53 |
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Other names | |
Country of origin | Belgium |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Classification | |
EE | yes [4] |
PCGB | not listed [5] |
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The Belgian Bantam, Dutch : Belgisch kriel, French : Naine belge, is a breed of bantam chicken from Belgium. It is a true bantam, and has no full-sized counterpart; cocks weigh about 650 grams and hens about 550 g. It is in danger of extinction; in 2010 a total of 168 birds were counted in the whole of Belgium. [2] : 53 Fourteen colour patterns are recognised in the European standard. [4]
Like the Dutch Bantam and the French Pictave, the Belgian Bantam derives from the widespread European population of small partridge-coloured bantams which in Flemish were known as Engelse kiekskes, "English bantams". From about 1900 these were selectively bred in the area of Liège, in Wallonia. Two distinct bantam breeds were developed, the Belgian Bantam and the Bassette Liégeoise. [6] [7] The Belgian Bantam breed standard was not drawn up until 1934. [7]
The Belgian Bantam is distributed mainly in Flanders, with a few in Wallonia and in the Netherlands. [7] It is rare and at risk of extinction; in 2010 a total of 168 birds were counted in the whole of Belgium. [2] : 53
The Belgian Bantam is very similar to the Dutch Bantam, but is slightly larger. It is nevertheless among the smallest bantam breeds, with cocks weighing about 650 grams and hens about 550 g. [8] It is small and alert. The comb is single, and the legs are slate-blue. [2] : 53
Fourteen colour patterns are listed in the European standard for the breed, [4] of which thirteen are officially recognised in Belgium. [9] Partridge is the colour most commonly seen; the partridge variant colours are rare, and the other colours extremely rare. [7]
Belgian Bantam hens are good layers of small white eggs weighing 30–35 g. They are good sitters and good mothers. [2] : 53
The Leghorn, Italian: Livorno or Livornese, is a breed of chicken originating in Tuscany, in central Italy. Birds were first exported to North America in 1828 from the Tuscan port city of Livorno, on the western coast of Italy. They were initially called "Italians", but by 1865 the breed was known as "Leghorn", the traditional anglicisation of "Livorno". The breed was introduced to Britain from the United States in 1870. White Leghorns are commonly used as layer chickens in many countries of the world. Other Leghorn varieties are less common.
The Braekel or Brakel is a traditional Belgian breed of chicken. It is thought to have originated in the area of Brakel, in the Flemish province of East Flanders, for which it is named. There is a bantam version of the Braekel. The Campine of the United Kingdom derives from it.
The Cochin is a breed of large domestic chicken. It derives from large feather-legged chickens brought from China to Europe and North America in the 1840s and 1850s. It is reared principally for exhibition. It was formerly known as Cochin-China.
The Sussex is a British breed of dual-purpose chicken, reared both for its meat and for its eggs. Eight colours are recognised for both standard-sized and bantam fowl. A breed association, the Sussex Breed Club, was organised in 1903.
The Hamburg, Dutch: Hollands hoen, German: Hamburger, is a breed of chicken which is thought to have originated in Holland sometime prior to the fourteenth century. The name may be spelled Hamburgh in the United Kingdom and in Australia.
The Barbu d'Uccle or Belgian d'Uccle, Dutch: Ukkelse Baardkriel, is a Belgian breed of bearded bantam chicken. It was first bred in the town of Uccle on the outskirts of Brussels, in central Belgium, in the early years of the twentieth century. It is a true bantam, with no standard-sized large fowl counterpart, and is one of eleven Belgian true bantam breeds.
The Sebright is a British breed of bantam chicken. It is a true bantam – a miniature bird with no corresponding large version – and is one of the oldest recorded British bantam breeds. It is named after Sir John Saunders Sebright, who created it as an ornamental breed by selective breeding in the early nineteenth century.
The Campine is a breed of domestic chicken originating in the northern part of Belgium. It is named for the Campine region of north-eastern Belgium and south-eastern Netherlands. It was known there as the Kempisch Hoen.
The Dutch Bantam is a breed of bantam chicken originating in the Netherlands. It is a true bantam, a naturally small bird with no related large fowl from which it was miniaturized. It is kept mainly for exhibition, and has been bred in many color varieties; it is a good layer of small eggs.
The Nankin Bantam or Nankin is a British bantam breed of chicken. It is a true bantam, a naturally small breed with no large counterpart from which it was miniaturised. It is of South-east Asian origin, and is among the oldest bantam breeds. It is a yellowish buff colour, and the name is thought to derive from the colour of nankeen cotton from China.
The Barbu d'Everberg, is a Belgian breed of bantam chicken. It is a tailless variant of the Barbu d'Uccle, and was bred in about 1906 at the Château d'Everberg, at Everberg in the municipality of Kortenberg, between Brussels and Leuven. It is among the most endangered chicken breeds in Belgium, and in 2010 its conservation status was classed as "critical". It is a true bantam, with no large counterpart. Cocks weigh 700–800 grams, and hens 550–650 g.
The Barbu de Watermael, Dutch: Watermaalse Baardkriel, is a Belgian breed of bantam chicken. It originated in the Belgian town of Watermael-Boitsfort, from which it takes its name, which means "bearded [chicken] from Watermael". It is closely related to the Barbu d'Anvers, but is distinguished from it by its small, backswept crest of feathers as well as its triple spiked rosecomb. The Barbu de Boitsfort is a rumpless variation, the only difference being that it lacks the uropygium, the part of the anatomy that carries the tail.
The Barbu de Grubbe, Dutch: Grubbe baardkriel, is a Belgian breed of bantam chicken. It is a true bantam, and has no full-sized counterpart; males weigh about 700 grams and hens about 600 g. It is a tail-less variant of the Barbu d'Anvers, and is otherwise similar to it in every respect. The same colour varieties are accepted for the Barbu de Grubbe as for the Barbu d'Anvers.
The Ardennaise, French: Poule ardennaise, is a breed of domestic chicken from the Ardennes plateau, in Belgium and eastern France. Its range extends from the Pays de Herve in Wallonia to the French département of Ardennes, and includes the Fagnes, the Famenne, and the valleys of the Amblève, the Ourthe and the Semois.
The Bassette Liégeoise or Bassette is a breed of large bantam chicken from Belgium. It is larger than most bantams, but much smaller than full-sized breeds; cocks weigh about 1000 grams and hens about 900 g. Like most Belgian bantam breeds, it is in danger of extinction. Eighteen colour patterns are officially recognised; many of them are rare.
The Pictave is an endangered French breed of bantam chicken. It is named for the Pictavi, the tribe which gave its name to the former Province of Poitou, now part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is a true bantam, and has no full-sized counterpart; it is the only true bantam of France. Cocks weigh about 800 grams and hens about 600 g. It was created in the twentieth century by Raymond Lecointre, who used the hens to incubate his pheasant eggs and raise the chicks.
The Brugse Vechter, French: Combattant de Bruges, is an endangered Belgian breed of gamecock. It dates from the early nineteenth century, and was bred specifically for cock-fighting. It named for its area of origin, that of the city of Bruges (Brugge), in West Flanders in the north-east of Belgium. It is one of three Belgian breeds of fighting-cock, the others being the Luikse Vechter and the Tiense Vechter. It is a hardy breed, but the birds are often aggressive; those reared for exhibition may show less aggression.
The Luikse Vechter, French: Combattant de Liège, is an endangered Belgian breed of gamecock. It dates from the late nineteenth century, and was bred specifically for cock-fighting. It is named for its area of origin, that of the city of Liège in Wallonia, in eastern central Belgium. It is one of three Belgian breeds of fighting-cock, the others being the Brugse Vechter and the Tiense Vechter.
The Tiense Vechter, French: Combattant de Tirlemont, is a critically-endangered Belgian breed of gamecock. It dates from the late nineteenth century, and was bred specifically for cock-fighting. It named for its area of origin, that around the city of Tienen in Flemish Brabant, in eastern central Belgium. It is one of three Belgian breeds of fighting-cock, the others being the Brugse Vechter and the Luikse Vechter.