Arguably one of the most beautiful chicken breeds in the world is the Belgian Barbu d’Uccle or shortened to d’Uccle (‘du-clay’).
The little bird was created in the late 1800s by a wealthy rich Dutch businessman, Michael Van Gelder. Barbu means “bearded” in Dutch; Uccle is an area in Belgium. The lower case “d” in front of Uccle means “of.”
D’Uccles have single combs and red or orange eyes. The birds have a muff and beard which extend around the head. Hens have very small or non-existent wattles. Their beaks are horn-colored. Their necks are short, their skin is white, and their legs are feathered.
Feathers of the mille fleur variety, which means “thousand flowers,” are a rich red-brown with a nearly mahogany base and a black iridescent crescent band midway through. The tips of the feathers look similar to a white half-moon. They have been referred to as “living flowers” and as “lawn ornaments”, however they are fairly productive layers of petite white eggs (quite useful when baking).
D’Uccles are true bantams, meaning there is no large fowl counterpart for the bird.
Regarded as one of the easiest breeds to tame, these lovely “booted bantams” make great pets (one of the best choices for families with young children) and are amongst the least destructive in the garden – due to their feathered feet they tend to be less inclined to scratch the earth to the extent as smooth legged breeds.
Currently Livingseeds Hatchery supplies the Mille Fleur coloured d’Uccles, and we are working on the Porcelain colour so keep checking back for that!