Sicilian Buttercup

I have had one of these as a pullet and she was great! You would have to be careful cause every time you bent down she would jump on either your head, back, or leg! The comb is very unique and plumage color is fascinating! Another great thing was her size. She was a smaller chicken than the others but not quite bantam size (as this is a LF breed). Great breed!

I love these birds. The roos are some of the most interesting. Both have the cup combs. They are not super friendly but not overly afraid. Great fliers so make sure you have a top on your run. I will get more of them soon.

I was concerned after purchasing these birds because I live in a very cold winter climate. But they have turned out to be quite tolerant of the cold. They forage outside during high winds, bitter cold, deep snow. Nothing bothers them. At night they roost in between their coop mates for warmth. I don't heat the coop.They did equally as well in the summer heat.

I've also been getting about 10 small white eggs from 2 birds per week. Not bad for the breed.

Due to their small size they certainly can fly! But tend to stay close to the coop with the flock. They get along well with others in the flock and are about middle in the pecking order. They're not friendly with humans, but won't run from you either. Basically indifferent, unless you try to pick one up.....then they're gone in a flash. They can also tolerate confinement, but are much happier free ranging.

Very beautiful breed, distinctive coloring and combs.

I have one Sicilian Buttercup... RC... I call her my "Racecar Chicken" - due to her head ornament (comb - she has a perfect little buttercup 'crown') and "spoiler" (erect tail) LOL.
I love her - and she makes me want to breed more just like her!

RC comes up to me to hang out. She likes to poke me, not peck...rather, it feels like she's "tapping me on the shoulder" (or my foot, ankle, knee...lol) to get my attention. She loves when I talk to her, and she chats back. She is very vocal...as we can have a "conversation" that is back-and-forth! I love it!

(I don't mind this...though I see that some would...) She jumps the fence to free range, so she's always in-and-out of the pen. She is a great, active free-ranger. She is two years old and lays lovely little/medium white eggs...probably two or three a week.

I have a bantam hen named buttercup she is fast but calms down after about a minute

I had a trio of these guys for a long time, at first they were all a little skittish-- but they soon became friendly. The rooster was the first to calm down, and was quite a character. The hens were still cautious-- of all the chickens I lost to roaming dogs, coyotes, and raccoons...the only thing that was quick enough to take these guys out was a great horned owl! They are good free range birds, and are so exotic looking--everyone would ask me what they were, or even if they were chickens. Very fun, absolutely one of my favorites

At long last, I'm able to give my Cookie her 5-star rating since she just laid her first egg today! I've waited 7 long months for this, so prepare yourself for a long, babbling statement about just how much I adore this breed. I'm IN LOVE with my precious little girl who is comparable to Alex in almost every way possible. I bought Cookie from Meyer Hatchery as an extra, preparing myself in advance for a stunning bird who would be extremely flighty, simply to prevent any future disappointment. Boy, was I ever given a surprise! She has, since chickhood, been friendly and docile as all get out. Plus, she flies up on my arm and makes her opinions known in a crackly voice just like my other sweetie pie, Alex. You could essentially say that I got two of my favorite chicken! Since we live in a colder northern climate, I've had to rub that lovely buttercup comb with Vaseline to prevent frostbite, and never once has she struggled. You could probably do almost anything to her, and she wouldn't ONCE think of putting up a fight. Most likely due to a back injury as a chick that left her with a slight hump, her growth was impeded slightly, leaving her at close to 3 lbs. Her biggest accomplishment was flying on top of our coop, which I would calculate to be about 9 ft. tall. One last cool Cookie fact: she's growing spurs, and is the only pullet in our decently large flock to do so.





Cookie's actually a spoiled brat who flies up on the food storage can because she KNOWS that she can wheedle a bit of hand-fed food from me! Here, though, I was pampering her during her first laying experience by providing some...well....bedside service?


You've got to love those pleading, irresistible dark eyes!

See the beginnings of spurs?

-Alex

I love my little Sicilian Buttercup pullets. These girls have a hand full of weeks to go before they should start laying but I do intend to get more of them. I love how active they are. While a naturally active bird, once in hand they are easy to handle. They are no more upset about confinement than any of my other chickens. My Hamburg's are actually the last in every single night and were the hardest to break to roosting in their new coop. No problems with aggression either. They hold their own.

Very interesting birds, cute but Type A. Also not that many left in the USA, I think 750 sounds right?

We adopted an adult SB this past summer. She is a good egg layer, although her eggs are super long and slimmer than most. They look like a bullet! She is not a cuddley chicken, nor is she aggressive towards humans. I have caught her pulling feathers from her "sister's" tail and eating it but I believe this is a habit she learned in her previous coop from lack of nutrition. If you want an egg layer this is a good breed. If you want a pet, look elsewhere.

My Sicilian Buttercup, Piquin, is a consistent layer of small creamy eggs, about 3-4 a week. Her plumage is a gorgeous coppery gold with distinctive leopard-like spots; a double comb and high tail carriage really make her stand out, despite her diminutive size. Sicilian Buttercups are quite small and lean with a very erect stance. Summers are regularly 100+ but the Sicilian Buttercup's Mediterranean heritage helps her cope; I suspect it might also be a liability in a colder climate.

Piquin has been an independent hen from a young age and is a bit anti-social within the flock. She frequently wanders off to hunt grubs on her own and as an excellent flier would often escape the backyard, easily sailing over a 6 foot fence. She managed to escape any predator that came after her, but eventually I had to clip her flight feathers to keep her in the yard. She is friendly and curious but does not like to be handled. She is much smaller than my other girls but manages to hold her own in a conflict.

I recommend this breed for its distinctive look and excellence heat tolerance. Sicilian Buttercups are active, curious, and independent but not good for people seeking docile heavy production birds.





Curious Piquin watching the camera.




Checking the fence for vulnerabilities, clever girl!

I looooooooove this breed sooooooooo much. They are soooooo sweet. Great egg layers, perfect amount of broodiness. And the most GORGEOUS hens and roos.




P. S I would have done 5 stars but my kindle's acting up.

I absolutely love my sicillian buttercup. I'm not sure of how rare they really are cause I picked one up at a feed center no problem. Mine is my "lap chicken" waiting eagerly to be picked up. Loves sleeping in my hands.

After reading reviews, I expected our Sicilian buttercup chicks to turn into friendly, beautiful birds who were so-so layers. Turns out we were only correct on the beautiful part. Until they started laying, they were our most standoffish and skittish chickens of the entire flock. We had 2 buttercups and they stuck together, but wouldn't come anywhere near us, even when offered mealworms. They were the most skittish chickens I've EVER seen, and I've seen a lot. The funny thing I've noticed in my first year keeping chickens, ALL my chickens had personality changes after they started laying. The buttercups became a LOT more friendly, and will now eat out of our hand, follow us around the yard, and one will allow us to pet her. They are still more skittish than the others, but they've come a long way.

As for laying, they are GREAT layers! I've been surprised, actually, and was under the impression that this breed was a week layer. Not so with our two, they lay 6-7 eggs a week. They are cute, smaller white eggs. Perfect size for adding that extra uncalled for stability to a baking recipe (I always add a little more egg to cake recipes than called for). Also, the Sicilian buttercups are so pretty. They are smaller chickens compared to our others (Plymouth Rock, RIR, red sex link, etc.) but they hold their own. They are our most vocal birds, but I wouldn't say it''s unreasonable either. This is also something that appeared after they started laying. Before laying, they were completely silent.

They are definitely flightly! Being smaller, they can get some lift the way other chickens can't. They love to roost up high and you can expect to find them on top of the coops from time to time. I would definitely recommend the Sicilian buttercup to any chicken keeper looking to add a little beauty and cute egg layers to the flock.

Our first experience with chicken math was when I saw this little peeper and her perky personality just drew me in. She came home with us and theres been no looking back. She is beautiful to look at, her crown is very fitting to her personality. She has always been the princess at the top the the pecking order but doesn't rule aggressively. She is very smart and aware, keeps a large beautiful brown eye on things in her kingdom. Visitors often comment that she is the favorite, whether its for looks or personality or both!
We love her medium size, her green legs and shiny iridescent feathers. She seems to keep herself pretty clean and well groomed. She loves attention and sits in your lap for affection often. Curious and spunky, shes brave and a little bossy.
Very busy, she quits moving only when shes asleep and is always last to bed at night and first up in the morning. She has been a great teacher to the other girls,
A huge digger/scratcher means she makes an excellent forager and rototiller, unless its an area you didnt need a tasmanian devil mess.
A bit flighty, she doesnt do well with confinement and I think she would make best fit for flocks that can at least part time free range.

I have a pair of pullets, beautiful birds. Better have a top on your pen these things really fly.

I just LOVE my sicilian buttercup, Poppy. Anytime I go outside she loves to hop up onto my back or my arm. She's very curious and loves to he held or played with. I've also noticed that she loves fruits and veggies more than my other chickens, for some reason. I also think her feathers are so pretty. I'm very happy with my Sicilian Buttercup and expect more in the future! I totally recommend this breed with anybody with time because they like attention and if you don't visit them that often they will become flighty and scared.



Oops she's camera shy! This is the best pic I could find of her on my computer at the moment maybe I can take some more later.

Our Sofia was a one of a kind buttercup, I could go on and tell you about how wonderful she was and how devastated we are that we lost her, but I would hate to get a little speck of hope in your mind that you could get one like Sofia... 2 other people that liked Sofia went and got a buttercup of their own and they ended up getting rid of them they were so bad. They're usually flighty, skittish, unfriendly, don't do goo in confinement, very solitary and bossy to the point of aggression. If you want one of these, You'd need some serious land, a few acres that they free range.

We have 1 Sicilian Buttercup hen, who is very nice to us. She allows us to handle/pet her. She's on top of the pecking order; so not super friendly to other chickens.