Cindy Pinion loves her pet Belgian d’Uccle Itty Bitty.
Photo by Retha NelsonCindy Pinion is cuckoo about her Belgian d’Uccle.
“It’s a cute, lovable little chicken,” Pinion said of her 1-year-old feathered pet. “I just fell in love with her even though I knew nothing about the breed.”
According to backyardchickens.com, the Belgian d’Uccle is a breed developed by Michel Van Gelder, a chicken fancier who lived in the small town of Uccle, Belgium.
He crossed the Bearded D’Anver with feather-footed bantams in an attempt to get a booted bird with low posture, a compact and asymmetrical body, a full beard and a single comb.
Pinion was attracted to the chicken’s sweet personality and its spotted feathers.
“She’s so friendly,” she said. “I realized she was more like a dog than a chicken when she started following me everywhere. And she comes to me when I call her.”
The chicken, named Itty Bitty, sits on Pinion’s shoulder and gently pecks her cheek as a sign of affection.
“When I first got her, she wasn’t pretty at all,” Pinion said. “In fact, she’s kind of like the ‘Ugly Ducking.’ As she grew older, she turned into the most beautiful little creature.”
Itty Bitty is half the size of an average hen, Pinion said.
“She lays tiny eggs that are edible. I don’t cook them like regular eggs, but I do use them in cornbread.”
Pinion’s 30 regular-size chickens don’t have much to do with Itty Bitty, she said.
“I don’t think they can figure out what she is,” she said, noting that Itty Bitty’s leg feathers on her legs make her look like she’s wearing pantaloons.
Pinion, who lives in North Georgia on the same farm where her great-grandparents lived, said she has had chickens all her life, although she doesn’t eat them.
“I’m friends with my ‘girls.’ They’re all my pets,” she said. “I can’t look at them one day and eat them the next.”