The modern Livensky breed of chickens is the product of the work of specialist breeders. But this is a restored version of hens of folk selection. The initial productive characteristics of the Liven calico breed of chickens were very good for the beginning of the XNUMXth century. But with the advent of specialized crosses, Livenskaya quickly lost ground and practically disappeared. Only the work of enthusiasts made it possible to preserve this breed, but already in a slightly modified form.
History
At the very end of the XNUMXth and beginning of the XNUMXth centuries, poultry industrial areas began to appear in the Empire, specializing in breeding chickens for meat and eggs. At that time, the largest eggs were received in the Yelets and Liven districts of the Oryol province.
The egg products of these counties were especially valued in England. If you believe the Poultry Farm magazine of 1903, then in that year 43 million 200 thousand eggs were taken out of Liven. True, the question arises “how many chickens were in Livny and the surrounding area, if at that time laying hens gave a maximum of 200 pcs. eggs per year. Simple arithmetic shows that there should have been more than 2 million laying hens. Even with the good development of poultry farms in the county, the figure looks unrealistic. If we take into account that 200 pcs. eggs per year then gave the best egg-laying breeds, sometimes just fantastic. In the Yaroslavl province, peasants fattened only about 100 thousand chickens for meat. Most likely, a zero, or even two, was assigned to the above figure of exported eggs.
But in any case, the eggs of the Livensky chickens were very large in size (55-60 g) for those times, for which they were valued in the UK.
In the situation with the Livensko-Yelets eggs, an interesting phenomenon was observed, which could not but interest the scientists of that time: large eggs were laid by hens only in this area. Because of this circumstance, the scientists of the Department of Agriculture became interested in the question “what breed lays such large eggs”. In 1913-1915, a mass census of all chickens bred by peasants was carried out in this region. The discovered livestock was divided into five “races”. They were divided not by productivity or appearance, but solely by the color of plumage. The Liven chintz breed of chickens was not noted, but the Yurlov vociferous ones were distinguished, which were distinguished by large eggs and a large live weight. It was one of the few large-scale attempts to census farms and livestock.
Two years later, Our Country was not up to the agricultural economy. After the restoration of order, work on the study of local poultry in the Central strip of Our Country was continued. Work has been carried out since 1926 for 13 years. All collected data concerned only Yurlovsky vociferous. Again not a word was said about the Livenskys. During the Second World War in the occupied areas, almost the entire population of poultry was eaten. In the Livny region, only a small number of pure chickens survived.
To find out the state of private poultry farming in the liberated areas, the Department of Poultry Farming of the TSKhA organized expeditions. Including the Livensky district. Ya.Ya. Shapovalov, based on the results of the first study, described the appearance of the chicken most characteristic of the Livensky district:
- weight 1,7-4,0 kg;
- the comb is leaf-shaped and rose-shaped (almost equally);
- the lobes are usually red;
- metatarsus yellow, unfeathered in 80% of chickens;
- the predominant color is black and yellow;
- egg length 59 mm, width 44 mm;
- more than 60% of eggs have colored shells.
In fact, Shapovalov “appointed” the surviving kur of the Livny area as a breed by description. In his opinion, Asian breeds participated in the formation of this livestock. But later the version of the origin of the Liven livestock was changed. There was an assumption that the appearance of the Livenskys was significantly influenced by the Yurlovskaya breed. That is, Yurlovskaya vociferous + local outbred = Liven breed of chickens. Such hybrids reached a live weight of 4 kg for laying hens and 5 kg for roosters. The mass of eggs was 60-102 g.
Due to the size of the eggs, the Liven poultry stock has become of great importance for agriculture. Shapovalov attributed the difference in egg weight to the diversity and richness of vegetation in the study areas. The maximum egg weight was in areas with a rich food supply.
But the obtained characteristics of the newly-minted Liven breed of chickens did not provide information on many indicators of productivity. Therefore, in 1945, a second study was carried out in the Nikolsky and Livensky districts. 500 heavy eggs from large hens were collected for subsequent incubation at the TCA department.
At that time, the Leghorns began to gain popularity and it was necessary to find out the characteristics of the reproduction and development of chickens of the local stock in comparison with the Italian breed.
In the post-war years, it was not necessary to sort out feed, and chickens were fed barley, oats and bran. But even on this meager diet, interesting data were obtained. Pullets weighed 2,1 kg, males – 3,2 kg. The variability of traits in the livestock was only 6%. Thus, chickens from the vicinity of the city of Livna could indeed be attributed to a breed created by folk selection. According to the productive characteristics, the hens of the Liven breed belonged to the meat and egg type. They reached full development by the age of one, that is, they were late-ripening. This state of affairs did not satisfy the authorities, who needed to increase the speed of agricultural production.
After Stalin’s death, Khrushchev came to power, and the global task of “catching up and overtaking America” was set in the USSR. And pragmatic Americans preferred to grow broiler and egg crosses, not chasing the appearance of chickens. Something had to be done about the delay.
In 1954, the same Shapovalov proposed to cross half the herd of Liven hens with roosters of the Kuchinsky jubilee breed instead of the originally planned New Hampshires. At that time, the Kuchinsky Jubilees had higher egg production and better indicators of live weight gain.
In 1954, a backcross actually happened. Then two groups of the Livensky herd were bred in themselves, fixing the result. The lower performance indicators were set:
- egg production more than 50 pieces;
- live weight from 1,7 kg;
- egg weight at least 50 g.
According to these indicators, only 800 individuals were selected from a total herd of 200 heads. At the same time, it turned out that with competent breeding and selection, the purebred group shows results no worse than the bird crossed with Kuchinsky roosters.
As a result of the selection for increasing egg production by 1955, it was possible to increase the performance from 60 pcs. in 1953 to 142 eggs in 1955. Live weight also increased. Laying hens began to weigh 2,5 kg, roosters – 3,6 kg. Egg weight also increased to 61 g. But the number of hens prone to incubation decreased to 35%.
By 1966, native chickens no longer met the needs of poultry farms, and they began to be replaced by industrial crosses. Although local breeds are still being used to breed new lines of crosses, but by 1977 the Livenskaya chicken was already considered extinct.
In 2009, chickens corresponding to the description of the Livenskaya calico breed suddenly appeared at the regional exhibition in Poltava. Photos of the “old” hens of the Livensky breed have not been preserved, so it is impossible to say exactly how the newly discovered birds correspond to the old standards.
In the years when industrial chickens were bred at poultry farms, the Livenskys that remained with private owners randomly crossed with other breeds. An accident helped to revive Livenskaya.
The family of amateur poultry farmers did not set themselves such a goal. They collected different breeds of chickens in their farmstead. And they went to buy Poltava calico. But the seller for some reason called the sold bird Livenskaya. Numerous checks have confirmed that this is indeed a miraculously preserved Liven breed of chickens, which has found its second home in Ukraine.
Description
Today’s Liven breed of chickens belongs to the meat and egg type, like its ancestors. Large, weighing up to 4,5 kg, roosters of the Liven calico breed even look impressive in the photo, the chickens are practically not inferior to them in size. The live weight of an adult laying hen is up to 3,5 kg.
The head is small, with a red face, crest, wattles and lobes. The comb is more often leaf-shaped, but pink-shaped is often found. The beak is yellow-brown or black-brown. The eyes are orange-red.
The neck is short, thick, set high. The body is horizontal to the ground. Silhouette of a triangular rooster. The back and loin are wide. The chest is fleshy, wide, protruding forward. The tail is short, bushy. Pigtails are poorly developed. The belly is full, the chickens are well developed.
Legs of medium length. Metatarsus can be yellow or pink, sometimes grayish or green.
The color today is mostly variegated (calico), but a bird of black, silver, yellow and golden color is also often found.
Productivity
Chickens are late maturing and reach full weight by the year. The meat is tender. The weight of a gutted carcass can reach 3 kg.
Egg production up to 220 pcs. in year. The eggs are large. Pullets rarely carry an egg weighing less than 50 g. Subsequently, the weight of the eggs increases to 60-70 g.
This circumstance makes them related to Yurlovsky vociferous. Today, the shell of the eggs of Livensky chickens has various shades of brown. White eggs are almost non-existent.
Advantages
The Livenskys have soft, tasty meat and large eggs. The breed is distinguished by its large size and relatively high egg production, which decreases little even in winter.
Livensky are unpretentious in content, like any native breed, and in the summer they can provide themselves with vitamin and animal supplements. According to poultry farmers, the Liven breed of chickens, even today, is often fed the old fashioned way: first with crushed grain, and then with wheat alone. The breed tolerates frosty winters well and is resistant to infectious diseases.
Doubts are caused by their instinct of incubation. According to the description, the Livenskaya breed of chickens incubates well, but there are no photos of hens with chickens. The statement about 200 pieces also comes into conflict. eggs per year and hatching only 2 broods per season. Either the hen lays eggs, or incubates about 20 pcs. eggs at a time.
But you can find photos of Livensky chickens in an incubator.
Disadvantages
Judging by the reviews, the Liven chintz breed of chickens requires additional costs for warming the room at an early age. This is a long-feathering breed that needs high air temperature for a long time. Some poultry farmers believe that the breed is characterized by cannibalism. Hens can peck at laid eggs.
Character
Due to the fact that from the very beginning it was a breed group, and even now there is no certainty in the presence of the Livensky breed, and not just motley chickens, they say different things about the character. According to some, chickens are very restless and shy, but an adult bird becomes calm. Others argue that there is no single pattern of behavior among the Liven breed chickens. With a similar plumage color, birds behave differently.
The same goes for roosters. Some can engage in combat with dogs and birds of prey, while others are quite calm. But today, when selecting roosters with the first behavior model, they are rejected, as they show aggression towards people.
Reviews
Conclusion
The survival of the real Livensky breed somewhere thousands of kilometers from the “homeland” is hardly possible. Simply because the owners of private farmsteads in the villages had neither the physical nor the financial ability to keep the breed clean for almost 40 years. There was also a lack of education and understanding of how to properly conduct breeding work. Therefore, the “suddenly reborn” Liven breed of chickens is most likely a mixture of cheaper breeds. But the marketing ploy “the revival of a rare breed” allows you to sell crossbreeds much more expensive than purebred chickens of the same breeds.