Polverara Chicken

     The Polverara, also known as the Schiatta or the Sciata, is an old breed of crested Chickens from the area of Polverara, in the province of Padova, in Italy. They are a highly ornamental chicken breed, which is quite similar to the Brabanter of The Netherlands.

     The Polverara is a medium-sized bird with a feathery crest, that erects on its head and doesn’t cover the eyes (a distinguishing characteristic from the closely related Padovana, that shares the same place of origin too). The bird has also a V-shaped comb, white earlobes, and small wattles covered by its beard.

     Two color-varieties are recognized for the Polverara, the black and the white. The black color-variety is of a deep black color, with beautiful luster and strong dark-green sheen. The Polverara has willow-green legs in both color-varieties, and a stunning appearance that won this breed a place as fabulous showy birds. Other color-varieties for the Polverara may result due to crossbreeding the bird with other local fowls in its area, but they are not standardized.

     Polverara hens are fair layers of white eggs (around 150 eggs per year of a minimum weight is 50 g per each), and they are classified as non-setters. The meat of this breed is darker than the meat of some other breeds, but it’s delicate and well-flavored.