The Barbu d'Uccle or Belgian d'Uccle, italic=no, is a Belgian breed of bearded bantam chicken. It was first bred in the town of Uccle on the outskirts of Brussels, in central Belgium, in the early years of the twentieth century. It is a true bantam, with no standard-sized large fowl counterpart, and is one of eleven Belgian true bantam breeds.
History
The Barbu d'Uccle was created by Michael Van Gelder of Uccle, Belgium, in the early years of the twentieth century, with help and advice from Robert Pauwels and Louis Vander Snickt. It is thought, but not known for certain, that he cross-bred the existing Sabelpoot and Barbu d'Anvers bantam breeds. The Barbu d'Uccle was first shown in 1905. The first colours were millefleurs and porcelain, but black, white and cuckoo were soon added; by 1909 the breed was well established. The Barbu d'Uccle was first exported to the United Kingdom in 1911. The millefleur variety was added to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1914. From that time, partly as a consequence of the First and Second World Wars, it gradually declined. A breed society, the Club belge du Barbu d’Uccle, was formed in 1969. In the twenty-first centuryconservation status of the breed is listed as "critical"; it is nevertheless the third-most numerous true bantam breed in Belgium.
Characteristics
The Barbu d'Uccle has a low posture, a full beard and a muff; the legs are heavily feathered. It has a single comb, unlike the Barbu d'Anvers, which has a rose comb. In the Netherlands the recommended weight is for cock birds, and about for hens, while the French standard recommends average weights of and respectively. The Poultry Club of Great Britain suggests a weight in the range for males and for females. The American standard specifies an ideal weight of for cocks, for hens and cockerels, and for pullets. Twenty-eight colour varieties are listed for the Barbu d'Uccle in Belgium. Colours listed by the Entente Européenne include blue, blue quail, cuckoo, millefleur, porcelain, lavender, lavender quail, black, black mottled, silver quail, quail, and white. The American Poultry Association lists seven varieties: black, golden neck, millefleur, mottled, porcelain, self blue, and white.
