Belgian Bearded d’Uccle Chicken: Pictures, Info, Traits, and Care Guide

If you aren’t familiar with the Belgian Bearded d’Uccle chicken, get ready to get acquainted! This lovely bird is known for its beard and “boots” and several color variations. The breed is used mainly for ornamental purposes rather than egg-laying, but you can get a few eggs each year. These birds are very sweet-natured and make excellent feathered friends!

Quick Facts about Belgian Bearded d’Uccle Chicken

Belgian Bearded d’Uccle Chicken Origins

The Belgian Bearded d’Uccle originated somewhere between 1890 and 1900 in Uccle, Belgium. The creator of this breed was Michael Van Gelder, who used seed stock that probably came from the Antwerp Bearded Bantam and Dutch Booted Sablepoot breeds. The goal of the breed was a bearded bantam with feathered feet and legs.

The Belgian Bearded d’Uccle was shown for the first time in 1905 and became popular quickly. Not long after, it traveled to the United States and was accepted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1914.

• See Also: Dutch Bantam Chicken: Pictures, Facts, Uses, Origins & Characteristics

Belgian Bearded d’Uccle Chicken Characteristics

This chicken breed is known for its docile nature. They are laid back, friendly, and overall don’t make noise often (though the right chicken can get talkative with its owners!). The Belgian Bearded d’Uccle can even be trained to socialize well with humans. Because of their relatively calm temperaments, it’s rare that you’ll find these chickens fighting with each other. However, the exception is mating season when roosters can get a bit riled up. You’ll likely want to house them separately from larger chicken breeds to prevent bullying if you have this breed, as the d’Uccle is on the smaller side.

This breed is also known for its hens, who get all broody. Though not all will go broody, those hens that do prove to be gentle mothers will be devoted to eggs before they hatch and take care of all chicks regardless of size. And the result of this devotion is high hatch rates and higher survival for chicks. Hens who go broody will see a decrease in egg production for several weeks until their clutch hatches, but it should be a negligible difference since this breed isn’t a huge egg layer anyway.

Uses

Overall, the Belgian Bearded d’Uccle breed is ornamental, meaning they’re typically kept for show or as pets. That doesn’t mean they can’t be used for eggs; it just means not to expect much in the way of egg-laying. At most, they’ll lay twice a week, with an average of 100 eggs a year (unless they go broody, in which case you’ll miss out on a few weeks of egg-laying).

This breed is suitable for those who may want a few eggs for a smaller family or who just enjoy keeping chickens around.

Appearance & Varieties

Though it can be easy to mix up the Belgian Bearded d’Uccle with Booted Bantams, there are differences. The d’Uccle breed will have both roosters and hens with beards that grow underneath the eyes and beak. This beard will be formed by three lobes of feathers that grow backward to reach the neck hackles. This breed will also have “boots”, or feathered feet and legs.

Another way to recognize the d’Uccle breed is their size and backline. This chicken breed is small, with both hens and roosters weighing under 2 pounds. They have broad chests with tails and heads held high, and their back and tail form a “V” shape.

The Belgian Bearded d’Uccle breed also comes in a variety of colors (though there are more colors in Europe than in the States). Though only the colors of mille fleur, white, and porcelain were originally recognized, self-blue, golden neck, mottled, and black have been added to the list for the American Poultry Association. The American Bantam Association also recognizes buff, black, blue, and gray.

Habitat

The Belgian Bearded d’Uccle is a common chicken breed, so you’ll find plenty around the United States! They do well in hot areas but not so great in colder ones. This breed is an active one who will need plenty of room to roam around so they can free graze. They are also good fliers, so if you want to add them to your keep, you’ll need to accommodate for the fact they can fly higher than other breeds and might escape. The d’Uccle will also need plenty of dust to roll around in to clean themselves of the mites that are liable to get into their boots.

Are Belgian Bearded d’Uccle Chickens Good for Small-Scale Farming?

If you’re looking for just a few eggs here and there to feed a small family, then the Belgian Bearded d’Uccle chicken is good for a small-scale farm. Likewise, if you just want some fun chickens hanging around but don’t expect much from them overall. The good news is they’re fairly hardy and really only at risk for common chicken diseases such as coccidiosis and Marek’s disease.

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Conclusion

The Belgian Bearded d’Uccle chicken breed is gorgeous with its many color variations and “boots”. They are mostly used for exhibition or as pets due to their sweet temperaments. Though they do lay some eggs, they aren’t the breed for you if you’re looking for one that lays a lot. Overall, the d’Uccle is a hardy breed, but you’ll do well to let them roam about and to keep them in climates that aren’t too cold.

Featured Image Credit: Bicanski, Pixnio