The Belgian D’Uccle is indeed a unique breed of chicken. It has several varieties including the most popular one which is the Mille Fleur D’Uccle. The Belgian D’Uccle is a cute chicken, pint-sized, and has a happy personality. They like to interact with people, especially their owners. You may be surprised sometimes when they fly over your shoulder to give you a heads up.
In this article, we will discuss all the important things that you need to know about Belgian D’Uccles including their history and origin, egg laying capabilities, appearance, size and color, temperament, and how you could properly take care of them.
Contents
History and Origin
The Belgian D’Uccle is also called Barbu D’Uccle which means bearded. The name came from an area called Uccle located in Belgium. All credits for creating this breed goes to Michael Van Gelder who was a rich Dutch businessman.
With the assistance of Robert Powels, Van Gelder spent years and lots of cash to create the perfect version of this breed. In 1905, the breed became very popular that it reached far places like the USA and England.
How Van Gelder made the breed, is still shrouded in mystery. Speculations say that the breed was made from the crossing of Barbu D’Anvers and the Dutch Sabelpoot.
Appearance
The Belgian D’Uccle has a single comb in its head. It also has red or orange eyes. It has a beard and a muff that wraps around its head, giving it an owl-head like appearance. Female Belgian D’Uccles have either small or no wattles. Their beak is horn colored.
The Belgian D’Uccle also has a small neck, but well developed. It runs down into its broad body. the breed has broad and well-developed chest. Its skin is colored white.
The tail of the Belgian D’Uccle has a perpendicular angle to its body. Its legs are far apart from each other. But these legs are strong, short, and feathered. Each foot has four toes and a feathered outer toe. The chicken breed also has vulture hocks pointed downwards, which adds beauty to the appearance of this chicken.
The feathers of the Belgian D’Uccle are colored red or brown. The base has a black crescent band in the middle of the feather. The tips of the feathers have a half moon shape and colored white.
Size and Color
In terms of size, female Belgian D’Uccles weigh around 22 oz. while males weigh around 26 oz. The American Poultry Association (APA) recognizes seven varieties or colors of Belgian D’Uccles. These are: Mille Fleur, Porcelain, White, Black, Golden Neck, Mottled, and Lavender.
Egg Laying
Belgian D’Uccles are not quite popular for their egg laying capabilities because they could only produce between 150 to 200 eggs per year. These eggs are small in size, and colored either white or tinted. They are lazy egg layers in spring but lays a lot of eggs in the winter.
Belgian D’Uccles are known for their broodiness. Hence, they make great mothers to their chicks. They will devotedly sit on their eggs until they hatch and care for them once they go out of their shells and into the world. To provide your D’Uccle chickens with good comfort, make sure to invest in any of these best chicken coop beddings.
Temperament
Belgian D’Uccles are talkative and cheerful chickens. They like to roam around the coop or yard. The rooster Belgian D’Uccle has quite a loud voice, which may somehow annoy your neighbors.
They have the ability to fly low. They can even fly to your shoulders and chat with you. Belgian D’Uccles enjoy being picked up and cared for by their owners.
During the mating season, rooster Belgian D’Uccles can get feisty. But they don’t tend to become mean or aggressive to other chickens. Belgian D’Uccles are, however, smaller in size compared to other chickens. They are bantam sized in general. Hence, if you add them to your current flock with other breeds, keep an eye out for bullying.
Should I Get a Belgian D’Uccle?
The Belgian D’Uccle is indeed a great chicken breed. The most in demand variety is the Mille Fleur because of its stunning appearance. Its plumage seems to shine under sunlight. The patterns on their feathers look like pretty ornaments. They are even called the living flowers of gardens.
Despite of that beauty, Mille Fleurs are kind and cheerful. They do well with kids and will even love it if kids pick them up and pet them.
The Belgian D’Uccles is leaning more towards an ornamental bird. It does poorly in terms of egg production and meat for the table. Hence, if you are looking for a dual-purpose chicken, turn your head away from the Belgian D’Uccle.
But if you want a cheerful chicken that you would enjoy having its company, then the Belgian D’Uccle is a good breed for you.
Conclusion
Overall, the Belgian D’Uccle is an outstanding chicken breed, which is why it is considered to be one of the top 20 chicken breeds. You have been given the most important things that you need to know about Belgian D’Uccles – including how the breed originated, its appearance, temperament, size and color, and egg laying capabilities. The choice is up to you now to decide whether to get one for you coop or backyard. Whatever your decision may be, we wish you good luck in your chicken breeding journey!
