Sicilian Buttercup Chickens

Day Old Sicilian Buttercup Baby Chicks

• Exhibition/Egg Layer
• 140-180 Eggs annually
• rare, flighty and skittish
• APA  Mediterranean
• Conservancy Status: Threatened

Two attributes give this chicken its name: its region of origin and its unique comb. The Sicilian Buttercup, unsurprisingly, originated in Sicily. "Buttercup" refers to the shape of the comb. Both roosters and hens have a cup-shaped comb, with points forming a circle. It looks a bit like a red crown. No other breed has this type of comb.

Sicilian Buttercups came to the United States sometime before 1860, and it took quite a few generations for a standard color pattern to become established. The breed was first included in the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1918.

Roosters and hens are markedly different in coloring. The males have black tail feathers, and are a rich, reddish-golden color, while females have a base color of golden buff, with black spangles. They have yellow skin, white ear lobes, and red combs and wattles.