The Robusta Lionata is a recent dual-purpose breed of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

originating in the city of

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

in the

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region of north-eastern Italy. It was created between 1959 and 1965, by cross-breeding Buff Orpingtons with the commercial strain known in Italy as "White America".

History

The Robusta Lionata was created between 1959 and 1965 at the Stazione Sperimentale di Pollicoltura, or experimental chicken breeding centre, of Rovigo, in the Veneto. It was conceived as a dual-purpose breed, and derived from crossing the Buff Orpington with a commercial strain widely raised in Veneto in the 20th century, known in Italy as "White America". The White America is believed to have been based on mutant white

Barnevelder The Barnevelder is a Dutch breed of domestic chicken. It resulted from cross-breeding between local Dutch chickens and various "Shanghai" birds imported from Asia to Europe in the later part of the nineteenth century; these may have been of Brah ...

s, with contributions from White Leghorn, Rhode Island White and White Rock stock; in early 2012 it was no longer considered a breed. A standard for the Robusta Lionata was published by the now defunct Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Specie Avicole, or national association of breeders of avian species, in the latter part of the 20th century, and is published for historic interest on the website of the Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole, the federation of Italian poultry associations, the authority governing poultry breeding in Italy. In early 2012, the breed was not officially recognised by the FIAV. Together with the Pépoi, the Ermellinata di Rovigo, the Robusta Maculata and the Padovana, the Robusta Lionata is one of the five chicken breeds included in the CO.VA. project of Veneto Agricultura, the regional administration for agriculture of the Veneto. The project includes among its aims the conservation of local avian species of limited distribution, and the conservation of genetic resources and biodiversity, and has published a detailed description of the breed. Breed numbers remain low. A study published in 2007 used a figure of approximately 700 for the total breeding stock, of which approximately 200 were cocks.

Characteristics

The Robusta Lionata broadly resembles a Buff Orpington, with the difference that it has yellow skin and legs, which are traditionally preferred by Italian consumers of chicken meat. According to the old ANSAV standard, the Robusta Lionata is a warm buff colour. The tail and wing-tips are black with dark green lights. The skin and legs are yellow, the ear-lobes are red. The comb is single and medium-large, with 5–6 points. Average weight is for cocks, for hens. The more recent description by Veneto Agricultura gives greater weights: 4.0–4.5 kg for cocks and 2.8–3.3 kg for hens. The eggs are salmon-coloured and weigh 55 g or more.

Uses

The Robusta Lionata is a dual-purpose breed. Hens lay 160–170 eggs per year. In meat production, birds reach a weight of 1.9–2.0 kg in four months. Cross-breeding Robusta Lionata cocks with

Barred Plymouth Rock The Plymouth Rock is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was first seen in Massachusetts in the nineteenth century, and for much of the early twentieth century was the most widely kept chicken breed in the United States. It is a dual-pu ...

hens produces an

auto-sexing Auto-sexing breeds of poultry are those in which the sex of newly-hatched chicks can be determined from the colour and markings of the down. Some breeds of chicken, of goose and of domestic pigeon have this characteristic. The idea of such a b ...

first-generation hybrid.

References

{{Chicken breeds of Italy Chicken breeds Chicken breeds originating in Italy