Old Yuan Black Chicken

Old Yuan Black Chicken

　　The Old Yuan Black Chicken is tall in stature, well-muscled, robust, and develops well. It is cold-resistant and highly disease-resistant, and lays green-shelled eggs. It is a dual-purpose breed for both meat and eggs. People call it "a black pearl in body and a green gem in egg." With high egg content, experts have dubbed it the "life egg" of humans. This breed is unique to Wanyuan, only found in Sichuan, and rare throughout China. (Wanyuan)

　　 The Old Yuan Black Chicken is produced within a radius of dozens of square kilometers around Jiuyuan Town, Wanyuan City, and has been named by the Chinese Academy of Sciences as: "rare in the world, unique to China, and special to Wanyuan." It is known as a green food from the source of life. The chicken’s skin and feathers are pitch black and rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, selenium, various vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids needed by the human body. Roosters are warming and nourishing for yang energy, while hens are beneficial for yin and blood. When carefully cooked, the meat of the Old Yuan Black Chicken is tender, fragrant, and naturally delightful—a true delicacy.

　　 According to various tests conducted by Sichuan Agricultural University, the total content of 16 free amino acids in fresh samples of the Old Yuan Black Chicken is 22.89%, and in dried samples, it is 78.22%. The fresh samples contain 24.02% crude protein and 0.84% crude fat. Notably, the selenium content reaches 0.09%/mg. Measurement results show that the Old Yuan Black Chicken has higher levels of amino acids, crude protein, crude fat, calcium, and phosphorus than ordinary native chickens, and is also rich in selenium. It is highly nutritious with broad development prospects.

　　1. Main Producing Areas and Ecological Conditions

　　 　The Old Yuan Black Chicken is produced in the Jiuyuan District, Dazhu District, Guandu District, Chengguo District of Wanyuan County, Sichuan Province, as well as the neighboring Baisha Gongnong District and Chengkou. It is also distributed in counties such as Xuanhan. The production area is part of the Daba Mountain mid-mountain region, with altitudes ranging from 500 to 2,300 meters and significant vertical climate variation. The annual average temperature is 14.2–15.4°C, the frost-free period is 196–254 days, precipitation ranges from 894 to 1,673 mm, and relative humidity is 64.5–73.0%. Agricultural production conditions are poor, with main crops including corn, potatoes, rice, wheat, oats, sweet potatoes, and other miscellaneous grains.

　　2. Brief History of Formation

　　 　There are no historical records on the formation of the Old Yuan Black Chicken. Legend has it that mountain residents, in order to adapt to the mountainous environment and avoid threats from predators, have long preferred raising black chickens. This chicken was formed through years of artificial selection under such ecological conditions.

　　3. Main Breed Characteristics

　　 　The Old Yuan Black Chicken is an excellent local breed, characterized by large size, fast early growth, high meat yield, large eggs, stable heredity, and tolerance to coarse feed and cold. Some chickens in the flock lay blue-shelled eggs.

　　4. Body Shape and Appearance

　　 　The Old Yuan Black Chicken is relatively large in size, with a rectangular body shape. Its skin comes in two colors: white and black. Roosters are tall and large, and those with pea combs bear a resemblance to fighting cocks—proud, chest-out, and combative. Their feathers are mostly black-red, with hackle, saddle, and sickle feathers appearing black with red edges and glossy. A small minority are entirely black, accounting for about 20%. Hens have black feathers with a greenish sheen, and a few have neck feathers that are black with red-edged feathers. Their facial skin is red or purple, their beaks and wattles are black, and their irises are orange-red. They have either single or pea combs. Their earlobes are red or purple, their combs are black, and they lack shank feathers.

　　5. Production Performance and Weight

　　 Adult roosters weigh 2.61 kg, and hens weigh 1.76 kg. Meat production performance: The Old Yuan Black Chicken grows quickly; at 6 months old, roosters reach 85.05% of adult rooster weight, and hens reach 88.64%. Slaughter rate: At 6 months, roosters have a dressing percentage of 75.0%, with breast and leg muscles accounting for 37.0% of carcass weight; hens have a dressing percentage of 71.42%, with breast and leg muscles making up 39.5% of carcass weight. For adult chickens, the dressing percentage is 79.7% for roosters and 67.0% for hens, with breast and leg muscles accounting for 40.2% and 38.8% of carcass weight, respectively. Egg production performance: The Old Yuan Black Chicken lays an average of about 100 eggs per year, with an average egg weight of 54.6 grams, reaching up to 74 grams. The eggshells are light brown. However, 5% of the flock lays blue-shelled eggs. The blue shells are not caused by the environment; experiments show that when blue-shell-laying hens are crossed with white-shell-laying Jingbai roosters, 83.9% of the first-generation hens lay blue-shelled eggs. Research proves that the blue shell trait is hereditary. Breeding performance: The typical rooster-to-hen breeding ratio is 1:8–12. The fertilization rate of breed eggs in the production area is 95%, the hatchability of fertilized eggs is 88.9%, and the survival rate at 30 days is 94.2%.

　　6. Utilization Direction

　　　 The Old Yuan Black Chicken has relatively consistent external characteristics and is close to meat-type breeds, with stable heredity. Its advantages—fast early growth, high meat yield, and large eggs—should be utilized for early fattening. Since some chickens lay blue-shelled eggs, this rare economic trait has been proven to be genetic. The role of these rare genes in breeding should be emphasized.

　　　The production area of the Old Yuan Black Chicken includes the following 20 administrative regions under the jurisdiction of Wanyuan City, Sichuan Province: Jiuyuan Town, Baisha Town, Shatan Town, Qinghua Town, Caoba Town, Dazhu Town, Huangzhong Town, Jingxi Township, Baiyang Township, Gujun Township, Yantang Township, Fengtong Township, Tiekuang Township, Batai Township, Shitang Township, Caojia Township, Huaye Township, Chaye Township, Hualou Township, and Siluo Township.