Valdarnese

Valdarnese chickens arethe heterozygous result of the crossbreeding of many different breeds, among which is conspicuous the Livorno. This hybrid was born in 1950’s, appreciate by Prof. Quilici, it never obtained an official standard so that it was never really selected. Since 1999 there are an association (“Agricultori Custodi”) where some farms organised a Protection Agency. The Valdarnese is excellent when reared free in the countryside: not adapted to intensive production. It’s slaughtered at 5 months. The eggs have an ivory-coloured shell. Content and photo source: Agraria.org

Valdarno

The standard was done by Cav. Maggi, big breeder of the Valdarno, in 1905. The same year it was made official by the Italian Poultry Society, presided by Marchese Trevisan, during the National Congress in Mantova. Anyway the polemic went on among judges, breeders and experts even after 1905. The publishing house Battiato, in 1914, published the book “Poultry scattered pages”, in honour of Teodoro Pascal. A chapter of the book is titled “Minestrone alla Valdarno”, where articles and letters about the discussion are collected. While the polemic went on, the breed died out few years later. Since few years, an enthusiast breeder, Fabrizio Focardi, is doing a big effort to recover the breed. After long researches, h ...

Vorwerk

Vorwerks, sometimes called Golden Lakenvelders, are a dual-purpose chicken from Germany, well suited for both meat and egg production. Vorwerk hens are good layers of cream-colored eggs, and produce approximately 170 a year. They are hardy and adaptable. Also they are alert and active, but not necessarily flighty.   The are buff colored with a black head, neck, and tail. Vorwerks have a single comb, slate grey underfluff, and white earlobes.