Robusta Lionata
A Robusta Lionata cock
Conservation statusrecovering
Country of originItaly
Usedual-purpose breed
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    3.8–4.2 kg (8.5–9.5 lb)
  • Female:
    2.8–3.0 kg (6–6.5 lb)
Skin colouryellow
Egg colourpinkish brown
Comb typesingle
Classification

The Robusta Lionata is a modern Italian breed of dual-purpose chicken originating in the city of Rovigo in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy. It was created between 1959 and 1965, by cross-breeding Buff Orpingtons with the commercial strain known in Italy as "White America".

History

The Robusta Lionata was created between 1959 and 1965 at the Stazione Sperimentale di Pollicoltura, or experimental chicken breeding centre, of Rovigo, in the Veneto. It was conceived as a dual-purpose breed, and derived from crossing the Buff Orpington with a commercial strain widely raised in Veneto in the twentieth century, known in Italy as "White America". The White America is believed to have been based on mutant white Barnevelders, with contributions from White Leghorn, Rhode Island White and White Rock stock; in early 2012 it was no longer considered a breed.[1][2]

A standard for the Robusta Lionata was published by the now defunct Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Specie Avicole, or national association of breeders of avian species, in the latter part of the twentieth century, and is published for historic interest on the website of the Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole, the federation of Italian poultry associations, the authority governing poultry breeding in Italy. In early 2012, the breed was not officially recognised by the FIAV.[1][3]

Together with the Pépoi, the Ermellinata di Rovigo, the Robusta Maculata and the Padovana, the Robusta Lionata is one of the five chicken breeds included in the CO.VA. project of Veneto Agricultura, the regional administration for agriculture of the Veneto. The project includes among its aims the conservation of local avian species of limited distribution, and the conservation of genetic resources and biodiversity, and has published a detailed description of the breed.[4]

Breed numbers remain low. A study published in 2007 used a figure of approximately 700 for the total breeding stock, of which approximately 200 were cocks.[5]

Characteristics

The Robusta Lionata broadly resembles a Buff Orpington, with the difference that it has yellow skin and legs, which are traditionally preferred by Italian consumers of chicken meat.

According to the old ANSAV standard, the Robusta Lionata is a warm buff colour. The tail and wing-tips are black with dark green lights. The skin and legs are yellow, the ear-lobes are red. The comb is single and medium-large, with five or six points. Average weight is 3.8–4.2 kg for cocks, 2.8–3.0 kg for hens.[3] The more recent description by Veneto Agricultura gives greater weights: 4.0–4.5 kg for cocks and 2.8–3.3 kg for hens.[4]

Use

The Robusta Lionata is a dual-purpose breed. Hens lay 160–170 eggs per year; the eggs are salmon-coloured and weigh 55 g or more.[3] In meat production, birds reach a slaughter weight of some 1.9–2.0 kg in four months.[6]

Cross-breeding Robusta Lionata cocks with Barred Plymouth Rock hens produces an auto-sexing first-generation hybrid.[7]: 191 

References

  1. 1 2 Robusta lionata, Robusta maculata ed Ermellinata di Rovigo (in Italian). Matelica, Marche: Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole. Archived 21 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Giancarlo Pozzi (1961). Le razze dei polli (in Italian). Bologna: Edizioni Agricole.
  3. 1 2 3 Robusta Lionata (in Italian). Matelica, Marche: Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole. Archived 20 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 Progetto CO.VA. – Interventi per la Conservazione e la Valorizzazione di razze avicole locali Venete (in Italian). Veneto Agricoltura: Azienda Regionale per i settori Agricolo, Forestale e Agro-Alimentare. Archived 17 October 2022.
  5. ↑ A. Spalona, H. Ranvig, K. Cywa-Benko, A. Zanon, A. Sabbioni, I. Szalay, J. Benková, J. Baumgartner and T. Szwaczkowski (2007) Population size in conservation of local chicken breeds in chosen European countries – Populationsgrößen in Erhaltungszuchtprogrammen für einheimische Hühnerrassen in ausgewählten Ländern Europas. Archiv für Geflügelkunde. 71 (2): 49–55. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer. ISSN 0003-9098.
  6. ↑ Razze italiane: Robusta Lionata (in Italian). Atlante delle razze di Polli. Accessed January 2012.
  7. ↑ M. Arduin, M. Baruchello, F. Panella (1999). Poultry species in risk of extinction: possibility of free-range management, and first generation cross-breeding on farms. In: Gianfranco Piva, Giuseppe Bertoni, Francesco Masoero, Paolo Bani, Luigi Calamari (1999). Recent progress in animal production science: proceedings of the A.S.P.A. XIII congress, Piacenza, June 21-24, 1999]. Milano: F. Angeli. ISBN 978-88-464-1535-6.
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