The Ermellinata di Rovigo is a modern Italian breed of 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 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, from which it takes its name. It was created between 1959 and 1965, principally from Sussex and

Rhode Island Red The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island. It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay wit ...

parentage.

History

The Ermellinata di Rovigo was created between 1959 and 1965 at the Stazione Sperimentale di Pollicoltura, or experimental chicken breeding centre, of

, in the

. It was conceived as a dual-purpose breed, and based on

and Sussex stock. It broadly resembles a Light Sussex, with the difference that it has yellow skin and legs, which are traditionally preferred by Italian consumers of chicken meat. A standard for the breed 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 Robusta lionata, the Robusta maculata and the Padovana, the Ermellinata di Rovigo 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 Genetic resources are genetic material of actual or potential value, where genetic material means any material of plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity. Genetic resources is one of the three levels of biod ...

and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, and has published a detailed description of the breed. Breed numbers remain low. A study published in 2007 used a figure of approximately 500 for the total breeding stock, of which about 100 were cocks.

Characteristics

According to the old ANSAV standard, the Ermellinata di Rovigo is white with typical "ermine" markings – black neck hackles, wing-tips and tail; that is, it has the same Columbian colour pattern as the Light Sussex. The skin and legs are yellow, the ear-lobes are red. The comb is single and large, with 5–6 points. Average weight is for cocks, for hens. The eggs are pinkish brown and weigh

Uses

The Ermellinata di Rovigo is a dual-purpose breed. Hens lay 170–190 eggs per year. In meat production, birds reach a weight of in 120 days.

Cross-breeding 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 ...

buff Livorno cocks with Ermellinata di Rovigo hens produces an autosexing hybrid, with ermine-silver males suitable as spring chicken, and buff hens of light to medium weight that are good layers of ivory-pink eggs. Another autosexing hybrid is obtained by cross-breeding with

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

cocks, which produces fast-growing ermine-coloured cockerels, and medium-weight red layers of salmon-brown eggs.

References

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