The Mericanel della Brianza is a breed of small

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 ...

or bantam from Lombardy, in northern Italy. It takes its name from the

Brianza Brianza (, , lmo, label= Brianzöö dialect, Briànsa) is a geographical, historical and cultural area of Italy, at the foot of the Alps, in the northwest of Lombardy, between Milan and Lake Como. Geography Brianza extends from the ...

, an area to the north-east of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and from , a Lombard diminutive of ''merican'' "American". In early 2012 it was the only officially recognised Italian bantam breed.

History

The Mericanel della Brianza is named after the Brianza, a hilly geographical area which extends to the north and north-east of Milan, in the provinces of Monza e della Brianza,

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label= Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

, with a small part of the

province of Milan The Province of Milan ( it, Provincia di Milano) was a province in the Lombardy region, Italy. Its capital was the city of Milan. The area of the former province is highly urbanized, with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, the third highest populat ...

. It is one of the few dwarf or bantam breeds in Italy, others being the

Mugellese The Mugellese, also known as Mugginese, is a rustic dual-purpose breed of small chicken or bantam from Tuscany, in central Italy. It takes its name from the historic Mugello region to the north-east of Florence. It is not officially recognis ...

and the Pépoi. The Mericanel della Brianza is a traditional chicken breed of Lombardy, and was apparently selectively bred from local dwarf strains in the early 1900s. Recent attention from breeders has led to a phase of recognition, selection and recovery. In early 2012, the Mericanel della Brianza was the only Italian bantam breed officially recognised by the Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole, the Italian federation of poultry breeders; the breed standard was approved in 1996. Breed numbers remain low. A study published in 2007 used a figure of approximately 350 for the total breeding stock, of which approximately 50 were cocks.

Characteristics

Eight colour varieties are recognised for the Mericanel della Brianza, including white, black, silver, gold, pyle and white-spotted black. The skin and legs are yellow. The comb is single, with 5 points and a pronounced rear lobe. The ear-lobes are red. Average weight is for cocks, for hens. The eggs vary from cream to light brown, and weigh approximately 35 g.

References

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