Belgian Bearded d'Uccle

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The Belgian Bearded d'Uccle, or Barbu D'Uccle in French, is a breed of bantam chicken originating from the town of Uccle on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium. It also has a related variant that is tailless, called the Belgian d'Everberg.

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[edit] Origins

The Breed came into being in the early 20th Century, and was created by a Belgian man by the name of Michael Van Gelder. Most sources maintain that it originated from crosses of the Antwerp Belgian and the Nederlandse Sabelpootkriel, known today as the Booted Bantam and raised as a closely related but separated breed.[1]

[edit] Appearance

A very good Barbu d'Uccle must have a low posture, a short but well developed neck and a rather open tail-feathering. The tail must not be too broad and has to make a triangular shape on the cock as well as the hen. A D'Uccle must have a single comb, different from its rose combed relative the D'Anver. The weight of a cock is around 26 ounces. A hen weighs roughly 22 ounces. Cockerels weigh 22 ounces, and Pullets weigh 20 ounces. D'Uccles come in the following recognized colours: Mille Fleur, Porcelain, Black, White, Gold Neck, Mottled and Self Blue.

[edit] Characteristics

The Belgian Bearded D'Uccle is renowned for being a calm bird and is very amiable with young children. They are normally quiet. Occasionally a D'Uccle cockerel may be aggressive around the breeding season, although often numerous cock birds can live together in relative harmony.

Interestingly, the Belgian D'Uccle is one of the few breeds where vulture hocks are actually desired (it is a disqualification to not have them).

[edit] Links

  • [1]- A very informative site on all Belgian breeds
  • [2]- The home of The British Belgian Bantam Club
  • [3]- The US D'Uccle Club
  • [4] - great overall chicken website
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