Wuding Zhuang Chicken

Wuding Zhuang Chicken

Wuding Zhuang Chicken is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Wuding Zhuang Chicken is a high-quality breed developed by farmers of various ethnic groups in Wuding County through long-term breeding from the superior "Jiujiin Huang" variety. These chickens are typically hatched in spring, castrated in summer, and marketed in winter. Among them, castrated hens are particularly popular with consumers, not only for their high meat yield but also for their exceptionally tender and flavorful flesh.

　　Wuding Zhuang Chicken is a distinctive poultry breed formed over time under the unique natural conditions of Luowu land (Wuding), including its geography, climate, biology, and spring water, through both natural and artificial selection. It is a local premium breed known for its excellent production performance, stable genetic traits, and strong market appeal. The chickens are primarily fed a diet of corn, soybean meal, and rice bran, and are free-range, foraging for ants, beetles, and leaves of valuable medicinal herbs such as astragalus and codonopsis, while drinking spring water from the Yi and Miao mountains. Moreover, Wuding Zhuang Chicken is not sold until it has been raised for at least one year, often resulting in high demand and limited supply. Since the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, Wuding Zhuang Chicken has been a tribute to emperors and officials, and it has been recorded in the *Yunnan Livestock and Poultry Breed Chronicle*. According to the *Newly Compiled General Gazetteer of Yunnan*, “Wuding Chicken is one of the finest in the province, renowned throughout Yunnan since the late Ming Dynasty.” It is also one of the flagship varieties of “Yunnan Cuisine Enters Beijing.”

　　Wuding Chicken has distinct physical characteristics, namely tall legs and an upright posture, with one or two leg feathers. Based on body size, they are categorized into large-breed and small-breed chickens; based on the color of meat and bones, they can be divided into Silkie (black-boned) and white-meat chickens; and based on feather color, they include red mottled, black mottled, white mottled, and dark brown mottled. According to the *Compendium of Materia Medica*, Silkie chickens have significant medicinal value, and most Wuding Chickens are Silkies, whose meat and bones are brownish in color. The ancestors of Wuding had the practice of castrating chickens early on—not only roosters but also hens. Castrated chickens, after being fattened, develop strong bodies, glossy and beautiful feathers, and even more tender and delicious meat (the castrated hens and roosters of Wuding are truly the premium among Wuding Chickens—Wuding Zhuang Chicken). The muscles of Wuding Zhuang Chicken are rich in amino acids, glutamic acid, active proteolytic enzymes, and other scarce elements essential to the human body, which can soften blood vessels, promote blood circulation, improve gastrointestinal function, and thereby aid digestion, enhance beauty, and prolong life.

　　In 2013, “Wuding Zhuang Chicken” was recognized by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as a China National Geographical Indication Certification Trademark.