Farmers hope to reverse extinction risk of Maltese black chicken

Just a handful of Maltese farms are hoping they can bring back into the mainstream a Maltese breed of chicken that to this day is at risk of extinction.

With the NGO Breeds of Origin Conservancy, the Tulliera farm in Delimara and Ta’ Gużman in Siggiewi are working with the government experimental farm in Gozo to conserve endemic species and indigenous Maltese breeds, including animals and plants.

“The majority of these breeds and species are endangered and at imminent risk of extinction, including the Maltese black chicken,” says Darryl Grech, the NGO’s founder and an MCAST lecturer who teaches livestock production and management.

The Maltese black chicken was developed at the Għammieri government farm in 1934 by the Department of Agriculture under the direction of J. Cesareo.

“During this period, agriculture was developing systems and new breeds for greater food production, as demand was constantly increasing. It was a time when several new commercial breeds were being imported to our islands to increase production and reduce imports,” Grech says.

“At that time, Malta was facing certain poverty, a lack of education, and also a lack of hygiene, a situation that was leading to problems for these commercial breeds. Many imported birds were carrying local diseases, diseases to which these breeds were not resistant, and as a result, they were dying in large numbers,” Grech adds.

It was for this reason that the decision was made to create a local breed of chicken, a breed that would be resistant to diseases, produce a substantial number of eggs and meat, and not require much attention.

“The government decided to invest in a breed of chicken because chickens can easily be raised by everyone, everywhere. In addition, chickens reach maturity quickly, can lay eggs every day, consume kitchen scraps, and mature in 21 days. This means that a new generation can be created in a few weeks,” Grech says.

The Maltese breed started with 40 chickens and three local roosters of various shapes, sizes, and colours – but all black – a mixture from around Malta and Gozo.

When the Maltese black chicken breed achieved the desired qualities and characteristics, a new section was created for them in Wied Inċita, where they began to be bred on a larger scale for production.

“These chickens and their eggs were then sold to people to start spreading around our islands, and soon they gained popularity,” Grech says, with the Maltese chickens laying over 200 eggs a year, and roosters reaching weights of over 3kg. “The breed came to be considered a ‘dual-purpose’ breed good for both eggs and meat.”

Despite efforts to improve the Maltese black chicken, by 1970 it was being replaced by commercial breeds that were adaptable to intensive farming systems – unlike the black chicken, a native breed that is rustic.

Today the Maltese black chicken only survives thanks to its status as a show breed for exhibitions, with breeders having ignored its productive characteristics, which were lost over the years.

The Tulliera farm in Delimara, run by farmer Kenneth Abela, has previously also tried to reintroduce the Maltese goat, a breed which disappeared from the island after the discovery of Brucellosis in goats’ milk by Sir Temi Zammit, which prompted the British authorities to encourage farmers to replace goats with cows.

Before the breed disappeared from Malta it was common for farmers from other countries such as Sardinia and Sicily to come and buy goats from Maltese farmers. Through a genealogical book listing goat breeds in Italy and where these are bred, Abela traced down Maltese goats in Sicily.

Abela has previously said he hopes the Maltese herd can be used to produce milk products made from the goats’ milk, on the same lines as those which are already being successfully produced and marketed in Caltanissetta in Sicily, where the goat’s milk is used to produce organic yoghurts, and a vast selection of typical cheeses made from Maltese goats’ milk. “We believe that by marketing these highly artisanal products, we will indirectly create a demand for rearing the Maltese goat, which eventually will lead to the final phase of the project, that of breeding extra goats to supply local farmers who show interest in rearing this breed,” Abela told MaltaToday.