Conservation status | Livestock Conservancy: threatened [1] |
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Country of origin | Sicily, Italy |
Traits | |
Weight |
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Comb type | Buttercup comb |
Classification | |
APA | Mediterranean [2] |
PCGB | rare soft feather: light [3] |
|
The Sicilian Buttercup is a breed of domestic chicken originating from the island of Sicily. The breed was imported to the United States in the nineteenth century, and to Britain and Australia early in the twentieth century. It derives from the indigenous Siciliana breed of Sicily, but long separation from the original stock has led to marked differences between the two.
The Siciliana breed of Sicily appears to derive from ancient inter-breeding of local birds with North African stock [4] such as the rose-combed Berbera breed [5] : 701 [6] or the Tripolitana described by Tucci. [7] These birds may have been similar to the "Gallus turcicus" described by Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1600. [8] [9] Similar chickens are depicted in sixteenth-century paintings in the Vatican Museums and the Galleria Borghese in Rome, and in Florence and Paris. [10] [11]
In about 1863 [12] : 439 or 1877, [13] : 22 a certain Cephas Dawes of Dedham, Massachusetts, captain of the Frutiere, was loading oranges in Sicily and bought a number of chickens to provide meat on his homeward journey. Some of these continued to lay well during the voyage, and were kept for eggs instead. Some of them were later sold to one C. Carroll Loring, also of Dedham, who became the first breeder of what would later become the Sicilian Buttercup. [12] : 439 [13] : 22 All American Buttercups, however, descend from a later shipment of hatchlings, in 1892. [1]
A breeders' association, the American Buttercup Club, was formed the United States in 1912, and by 1914 had 600 members; a similar association formed in Britain in 1913. [14] The Sicilian Buttercup was included in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1918. [2] It is listed as "threatened" by the American Livestock Conservancy [1] and is on the "Rare and Native Breeds" list of the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust. [15]
The American Game is an American breed of game fowl, chickens bred specifically for cockfighting. It has many color varieties, and may also be kept for ornament.
Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members of the association. Breed associations or clubs may vary in their goals, activities and nomenclature from country to country, even for the same breed. Most domesticated animals, whether they are agricultural animals such as cattle, llamas, poultry, sheep and pigs, or companion animals such as pigeons, horses, cats and dogs, have breed clubs associated with the breed.
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The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "heritage breeds" of livestock. Founded in 1977, through the efforts of livestock breed enthusiasts concerned about the disappearance of many of the US's heritage livestock breeds, The Livestock Conservancy was the pioneer livestock preservation organization in the United States, and remains a leading organization in that field. It has initiated programs that have saved multiple breeds from extinction, and works closely with similar organizations in other countries, including Rare Breeds Canada. With 3,000 members, a staff of eleven and a 19-member board of directors, the organization has an operating budget of over a million dollars.
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The Siciliana is an ancient Italian breed of chicken from the Mediterranean island of Sicily. It is notable for its unusual double or rose comb, for the early age at which birds reach maturity, and for the unusual shape of the eggs. The Sicilian Buttercup, bred in Australia, Great Britain and the North America, derives from it, but its long separation from the original stock has led to marked differences between the two.
The Barbaresca or Barbaresca Siciliana is a breed of large fat-tailed sheep from the Mediterranean island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It derives from the cross-breeding between indigenous Sicilian Pinzirita sheep with fat-tailed Barbary sheep of Maghrebi origin. These were probably brought to the island after the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century; Arabic texts preserved at Agrigento document the movement of large numbers of sheep to the Sicilian interior.
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Media related to Sicilian Buttercup at Wikimedia Commons