The Valdarno is an Italian breed of black dual-purpose

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 ...

. It originates in, and is named for, the lower part of the

Valdarno The Valdarno is the valley of the river Arno, although this name does not apply to the entire river basin. Usage of the term generally excludes Casentino and the valleys formed by major tributaries. Some towns in the area: * Rignano sull'Arno * ...

, the valley of the

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a ...

river, in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

in central Italy. It became virtually extinct in the twentieth century, but the population is recovering. It is a quite different breed from the Valdarnese, which originates in the upper Valdarno, and is white.

History

The Valdarno chicken takes its name from the Valdarno, the valley of the Arno river. It was in the past extensively raised in the lower part of the valley between

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

and in the plains surrounding Pisa, in the areas of

comuni The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

such as Cerreto Guidi,

Pontedera Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy. The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florence. It house ...

, Empoli,

Poggibonsi Poggibonsi is a town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located on the river Elsa and is the main centre of the Valdelsa Valley. History The area around Poggibonsi was already settled in the Neolithic age, although the firs ...

and

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of Egol ...

. The earliest description of the Valdarno chicken is that given in 1900 by Luigi Pochini, who recommends it above all others as suitable for both small- and large-scale rearing, for its rapid growth and the maternal instinct of the hens, but who notes that it requires space and does not adapt well to close confinement. He illustrates four colour varieties – black, white, buff, and cuckoo – and notes that the black and the white are the most common. The first breed standard was presented by Maggi at a conference in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

in 1905; the author believed the breed to date from before 1848 and noted the predominance of the black variety, as evidenced by the local saying "", or "black chicken, real chicken". The breed was described by both Pascal and Faelli in the same year. In the following years the Valdarno became the subject of extended and heated discussion of its authenticity, and of whether it should be considered a variety of the Livornese. Although its authenticity was eventually recognised, its numbers declined owing to competition from the

White Leghorn The Leghorn (, ; it, Livorno, italic=no 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. Th ...

, and despite various attempts by breeders to preserve it, continued to decline through most of the twentieth century until it had virtually disappeared. Recent reconstitution and recovery of the breed was based on a small number of autochthonous birds found in the Sienese countryside, with out-crossing to

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whi ...

and Castellana Negra. The first results were presented at Reggio Emilia in 1998, and were well received. The Valdarno is bred to the 1905 standard, and is included in the official standard of the Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole, the federation of Italian poultry associations, the authority governing poultry breeding in Italy. Breed numbers remain low. A study published in 2007 used a figure of approximately 200 for the total breeding stock, of which approximately 50 were cocks.

Characteristics

The Valdarno is black, with dark green lights. The legs are a dark slate colour, and the beak is black. The skin is white. The comb is medium-large, with 5–6 points. The wattles are medium-long and red, the ear-lobes oval and porcelain white. Average weight is for cocks, for hens. The eggs are white and weigh at least 55 g. Ring size is 18 mm for cocks, 16 mm for hens.

References

{{Chicken breeds of Italy Chicken breeds Chicken breeds originating in Italy Ark of Taste foods