The or Belgian d'Uccle, nl, Ukkelse Baardkriel, italic=no, is a Belgian breed of bearded bantam chicken. It was first bred in the town of

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...

on the outskirts of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, 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.

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 , country = , distribution = , standard = , use = show , apa = feather legged , aba = , ee = yes , pcgb = rare true bantam , maleweight = maximum 850 g , femaleweight = ...

and

Barbu d'Anvers The Barbu d'Anvers, nl, Antwerpse baardkriel, italic=no, is a breed of bantam chicken from Belgium. It is a true bantam, and has no full-sized counterpart; males weigh about 700 grams and hens about 600 g. The Barbu d'Anvers is one of the oldest ...

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 associ ...

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 of the

American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...

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 War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

s, it gradually declined. A

breed society 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 Club belge du Barbu d’Uccle, was formed in 1969. In the twenty-first century

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

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 The Poultry Club of Great Britain is a registered charity founded in 1877. Its stated purpose is to "safeguard the interests of all pure and traditional breeds of poultry including chickens, bantams, ducks, geese and turkeys". The club mai ...

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 Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

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