Ardennaise

Ardennaise

Engraving of an Ardennaise cock and hen, from Victor La Perre de Roo, Monographie des races de poules (1882)
Conservation status FAO (2007): endangered[1]
Other names
Country of origin Belgium
France
Distribution Ardennes
Use dual-purpose, eggs and meat
Traits
Weight Male: 1.75–2.5 kg[2]
  Female: 1.5–1.75 kg[2]
Comb type single comb
Classification
APA not listed[3]
EE yes[4]
PCGB not listed[5]
Chicken
Gallus gallus domesticus

The Ardennaise or French: Poule d'Alsace is a breed of domestic chicken from the Ardennes plateau, in Belgium and eastern France.[6] Its range extends from the Pays de Herve in Wallonia to the French département of Ardennes, and includes the Fagnes, the Famenne, and the valleys of the Amblève, the Ourthe and the Semois.[7]

History

The Ardennaise is a traditional breed of the Ardennes region. The first description is that of Victor La Perre de Roo in 1882,[8] at a time when the breed was already becoming rarer. A poultry breeders' club, the Union Avicole de Liége, was formed in 1893, and under its protection the Ardennaise enjoyed almost thirty years of success. Following the First World War, mass importations of yellow-legged birds from Italy, with much higher laying abilities, were a new threat. Selective breeding of the Ardennaise for better laying ability began in 1922, with some success. However, the Ardennaise was also cross-bred with Leghorn stock, resulting in a further decline. By 1940 there was no remaining trace of the breed. It was reconstituted over a period of about thirty years after the Second World War. In 2009 the total population was estimated at well over 2000.[7]

A bantam Ardennaise was created in Liège in the space of five or six years from 1904. It was shown from 1907, and the standard was approved in 1913.[7]

A tail-less variant, sometimes treated as a separate breed,[9] the Dutch: Ardenner Bolstaart or French: Sans-queue des Ardennes, is identical to the standard breed in all respects, except for the absence of the coccygeal bone and the tail, caused by the dominant Rp gene. Both the Sans-queue and its tail-less bantam variant are critically endangered.

Characteristics

The Ardennaise is genetically close to the Bresse Gauloise.[7] Twelve colours are recognised.[4]

Use

In a year an Ardennaise hen lays approximately 180 white eggs weighing 36–57 g, with an average weight of 52 g.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed October 2014.
  2. 1 2 Alain Fournier (2005). L'élevage des poules. Paris: Artémis. ISBN 9782844163509.
  3. ↑ APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties as of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Accessed October 2014.
  4. 1 2 Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Accessed October 2014.
  5. ↑ Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Accessed October 2014.
  6. ↑ Breed data sheet: Ardennaise/Belgium. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 N. Moula, M. Jacquet, A. Verelst, N. Antoine-Moussiaux, F. Farnir, P. Leroy (2012). Les races de poules belges (in French). Annales de Médecine Vétérinaire 156: 37-65. Accessed October 2014.
  8. ↑ Victor La Perre de Roo (1882). Monographie des races de poules (in French). p. 162–64.
  9. ↑ Breed data sheet: Ardenner bolstaart/Belgium. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2014.


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