Distribution and consistency of Ancona and Livorno poultry breed in Central Italy

Nowadays most of the Italian chickens’ breeds are replaced with commercial hybrids characterised by higher productive performance. However, the safeguard of biodiversity and consequently the genetic variability are a very important issue, and for this reason, it is fundamental to include local strains in preservation programs. In Italy, the poultry Genealogic Book has been recently constituted, and includes 22 chicken breeds. The diffusion of these strains is strictly linked to the territory of origin, in particular in the Central Italy, the Ancona and Livorno chicken breeds are the mainly widespread ones. The aim of this study was to determine the consistency and the characteristics of the farms involved in the farming of Ancona and Livorno chicken breeds in Central Italy. A survey to analyse the facilities, the human resources and the chicken population consistencies was conducted in the farms of Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche, Tuscany and Umbria regions. All the investigated farms can be identified as ‘hobby-farms’ being small scale ones and leading the breeding of Ancona and Livorno chickens as a secondary business. The survey also confirmed that the presence of the strains depends on the region: 100% of Marche farms bred Ancona whereas, in Tuscany the Livorno breed is the most common.Highlights A survey in centre Italy was carried out to determine the consistency of Ancona and Livorno chicken breeds; The Ancona and Livorno chickens breed were reared in small scale farms; The widespread of the breeds depend on the region: Ancona breed is most present in the Marche region while the Livorno is mainly bred in Tuscany.