Overview of Native Chicken Breeds in Italy: Small Scale Production and Marketing

Animals

Martino Cassandro¹  Filippo Cendron¹  Nicolaia Iaffaldano²  Michele Di Iorio²  Silvia Cerolini³  AhmadAbdel Sayed³  Cesare Castellini⁴  AliceCartoni Mancinelli⁴  Annelisse Castillo⁵  Alessandro Franzoni⁵  Achille Schiavone⁵  Marta Gariglio⁵  Stefano Sartore⁵  Dominga Soglia⁵  Margherita Marzoni⁶  Sonia Salvucci⁶  Federica Mannelli⁷  Arianna Buccioni⁷ 

[1] Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy;Dipartimento Agricoltura, Ambiente e Alimenti, Università degli Studi del Molise, Via Francesco De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, Italy;Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via dell’Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy;Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali, Università di Firenze, Via delle Cascine 5, 50144 Firenze, Italy;

关键词: Italian poultry breeds;    avian biodiversity;    autochthonous poultry;    small-scale production;    products market;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani11030629

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The intensive use of high-performing strains in poultry production has led to the extinction of several autochthonous chicken breeds and, consequently, loss of genetic variability. Interest in saving biodiversity is growing rapidly and has become a major objective worldwide. The aim of this study was to shed light on the production trends of native Italian poultry breeds and the related market. A questionnaire, which asked about the production cycles, the number of animals and table eggs produced per year and their retail prices was completed by 121 breeders across Italy. The surveyed breeders were divided into two categories: breeders conducting an agrozootechnical farm, referred to as ‘farmers’ (F); and breeders keeping chickens as backyard poultry, referred to as ‘fancy breeders’ (FB). Analysis of the data acquired indicated that animals were mainly slaughtered between 6 and 12 months of age, with F processing more animals per year. The same production trend was observed for table eggs. The recorded retail prices of native chicken products were higher than those for conventional products, but similar to those reported for valuable niche poultry products, such as the Poulet de Bresse in France and organic eggs. Knowledge about these highly valuable markets should be used to encourage the use of local breeds in alternative poultry farming and help protect biodiversity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown