The or Belgian d'Uccle, nl, Ukkelse Baardkriel, italic=no, is a Belgian

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

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 This is a list of the true bantam breeds of chicken, breeds which are naturally small and do not have a corresponding "full-size" version. * Barbu d'Anvers (Antwerpse Baardkriel) * Barbu d'Everberg (Everbergse Baardkriel) * Barbu d'Uccle (Ukkel ...

, with no standard-sized large fowl counterpart, and is one of eleven Belgian true bantam breeds.

History

The Barbu d'Uccle was created by Michael Van Gelder of Uccle, Belgium, in the early years of the twentieth century, with help and advice from Robert Pauwels and Louis Vander Snickt. It is thought, but not known for certain, that he

cross-bred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

the existing Sabelpoot and Barbu d'Anvers bantam breeds. The Barbu d'Uccle was first shown in 1905. The first

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

were millefleurs and porcelain, but black, white and cuckoo were soon added; by 1909 the breed was well established. The Barbu d'Uccle was first exported to the United Kingdom in 1911. The millefleur variety was added to the

Standard of Perfection The ''American Standard of Perfection'' is the official breed standard for the poultry fancy in North America. First published in 1874 by the American Poultry Association, the ''Standard of Perfection'' (commonly referred to as "the ''Standard''" ...

of the American Poultry Association in 1914. From that time, partly as a consequence of the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second World Wars, it gradually declined. A breed society, the Club belge du Barbu d’Uccle, was formed in 1969. In the twenty-first century conservation status of the breed is listed as "critical"; it is nevertheless the third-most numerous true bantam breed in Belgium.

Characteristics

The Barbu d'Uccle has a low posture, a full beard and a muff; the legs are heavily feathered. It has a single comb, unlike the Barbu d'Anvers, which has a rose comb. In the Netherlands the recommended weight is for cock birds, and about for hens, while the French standard recommends average weights of and respectively. The Poultry Club of Great Britain suggests a weight in the range for males and for females. The American standard specifies an ideal weight of for cocks, for hens and cockerels, and for pullets. Twenty-eight colour varieties are listed for the Barbu d'Uccle in Belgium. Colours listed by the Entente Européenne include blue, blue quail, cuckoo, millefleur, porcelain, lavender, lavender quail, black, black mottled, silver quail, quail, and white. The American Poultry Association lists seven varieties: black (1996), golden neck (1996), millefleur (1914), mottled (1996), porcelain (1965), self blue (1996), and white (1981).

References

Bantam chicken breeds Chicken breeds Chicken breeds originating in Belgium {{poultry-stub