Valdarnese

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Valdarnese
Cock bird
Conservation statusRecovering
Country of originItaly
DistributionUpper Valdarno, Tuscany
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    2.9–3.3 kg
  • Female:
    2.0–2.5 kg
Skin coloryellow
Egg colorivory white
Comb typesingle
Classification
Cock and hen at the Rural Festival, Gaiole in Chianti, 2016

The Valdarnese, also referred to as Valdarnese Bianca, Valdarno Bianca or Pollo del Valdarno, is a breed of large white chicken from the upper Valdarno, the valley of the Arno river, in Tuscany, central Italy. It became virtually extinct in the 20th century, but the population is recovering. It is a different breed from the Valdarno chicken, which originates in the lower part of the Valdarno, and is black.

History

The Valdarnese chicken takes its name from the Valdarno, the valley of the Arno river. It was in the past extensively raised in the upper part of the Arno valley which runs south-east from

comuni of Montevarchi, San Giovanni Valdarno and Terranuova Bracciolini in the heart of the valley, and neighbouring comuni including Bucine, Castelfranco di Sopra, Cavriglia, Figline Valdarno, Laterina, Loro Ciuffenna and Pergine Valdarno.[1]

The first description of the white chickens of the Valdarno is that of Giuseppe Licciardelli in 1899.[2] Luigi Pochini (1900, 1905) recommends the Valdarno breed above all others as suitable for both small- and large-scale rearing, for its rapid growth and the maternal instinct of the hens, but notes that it requires space and does not adapt well to close confinement. He illustrates four colour varieties, black, white, buff and cuckoo, and notes that the black and the white are the most common.[3] The Valdarno breed was also described by Ferruccio Faelli in 1905.[4]

Various examples of white Valdarnese chickens were exhibited in

White Leghorn breed, of which chicks incubated in northern Italy were readily available. The breed association closed in 1964, and the Valdarnese continued to decline through the later twentieth century until it had virtually disappeared.[1]

The risk of extinction of the breed was recognised in the 1990s, and the Conservatorio delle Razze Avicole in Pericolo di Estinzione (conservation centre for avian breeds in danger of extinction) of the Veneto region began a repopulation programme.[5][6] When the Conservatorio closed in 2001, the remaining breeding stock was transferred to the Valdarno area. This stock formed the basis for a project for the recovery and protection of the breed launched by the Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l'Innovazione nel Settore Agricolo-Forestale, a part of the Tuscan regional administration for agriculture.

The Valdarnese is not included in the official standard of the Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole, the federation of Italian poultry associations, which is the national authority governing poultry breeding in Italy.

Regione Toscana, the regional administration of Tuscany, which publishes the breed standard. A breed register is held by the Associazione Provinciale Allevatori, or provincial breeders' association, of Arezzo.[6]

Breed numbers remain low. A study published in 2007 used a figure of approximately 1200 for the total breeding stock, of which approximately 300 were cocks.[8]

Characteristics

The Valdarnese is white, with some tendency to straw-colour on the neck and back allowable in cocks. The legs are orange-yellow, and the skin is yellow. The comb and wattles are large and blood-red; the comb has five or six points. The ear-lobes are creamy yellow with some red veining. Average weight is 2.9–3.3 kg (6.5–7.5 lb) for cocks, 2.0–2.5 kg (4.5–5.5 lb) for hens. The eggs are white and should weigh 58–70 g.[6]

Uses

The Valdarnese is raised principally for its meat, which is firm and tasty, and notably different from that produced by intensive farming methods. Approximately 6000 birds are slaughtered per year.[9]

Hens tend to become broody, and are poor layers;[9] they lay an average of 135 eggs per year.[6]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valdarnese.
  1. ^ a b Alessio Zanon ([s.d.). Valdarnese (in Italian). Il Pollaio del Re. Accessed January 2012.
  2. ^ Giuseppe Licciardelli (1899). Il libro dei volatili domestici ... Opera illustrata da 24 ricche tavole in cromolitografia (in Italian) Milano: Ulrico Hoepli.
  3. ^ Luigi Pochini (1905). Avicoltura pratica 2nd ed. (in Italian) Firenze: Giovanni Fratini, pages 46–49 [1st ed.: 1900].
  4. ^ Ferruccio Faelli (1905). Animali da cortile: polli, faraone, tacchini, fagiani, anitre, oche, cigni, colombi, tortore, conigli, cavie, furetto (in Italian). Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, page 74.
  5. ^ Conservatorio delle Razze Avicole in Pericolo di Estinzione (in Italian). Regione Veneto: Consorzio per lo sviluppo avicunicolo e della selvaggina del Veneto. Accessed January 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d Manuela Gualtieri (editor) (2006). L'allevamento della Valdarnese bianca (in Italian) Firenze: Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l'Innovazione nel Settore Agricolo-Forestale. "Raising the white Valdarnese".
  7. ^ FIAV (1996). Standard Italiano delle Razze avicole (in Italian). Casatenovo, Lecco: Tipografia Artigiana.
  8. ISSN 0003-9098
  9. ^ a b Scheda identificativa del prodotto: Pollo del Valdarno (in Italian). Elenco dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali: Regione Toscana (D.Lgs. n° 173/98, Art. 8 -Decreto Mi.P.A.F. n° 350/99). Regione Toscana: Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l'Innovazione nel settore Agricolo-forestale. Archived 26 August 2014.
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