Malta’s unique chicken, the Black Maltese, has been saved from extinction as people flocked to buy them after reading students’ pleas in The Times.
A group of dedicated students from the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology have been working on a breeding programme for years to put the Black Maltese back on the market.
Their call was heard and all the available stock – some 200 of them – was bought by Maltese and foreigners.
“They all came with the aim to save the breed,” said Paul Spiteri, lecturer and project co-ordinator at the Mcast Institute of Agribusiness.
“People came from all over Malta and Gozo telling us that they want to buy the chicken in the paper,” said Robert Debono, a 21-year old student.
The chickens – a hit with the children – sold out within four hours and some people, disappointed that they missed on the chickens, were even buying the unhatched eggs.
The chicken fever went international and Mcast even had requests from people in Australia and Gibraltar. “One Dutch man came over and bought the eggs. If all goes well, a couple of Maltese Black chickens should be hatching in Holland any time soon,” said Mr Spiteri.
They now have a flock of about 50 chickens, which will be breeding over the summer, to cater for a waiting list of about 200 people wanting the Maltese Black.
“We can safely say that the Maltese chicken has been saved,” said Mr Spiteri, explaining that there are enough of them in different places in Malta. “So God forbid something should happen over here, we know that the breed is safe,” said Mr Spiteri.
Now that they have the peace of mind, the students can focus on the next stage: studying the breed in depth and focusing on selection of particular traits, and ultimately publishing the research.
During the college’s Open Day, the students were also trying to promote the use of a “grazing arc” for people who have small gardens. The arc is like a chicken pen without a bottom. “You move it around every day, so chickens can have fresh grass to feed on, but they don’t nibble on your other plants,” explained Mr Debono, a fith year Mcast student who has been working on the Black Maltese project for the past four years.
He said the chickens were ideal for an organic way of getting rid of the fruit fly. “The flies lay their eggs in the soil – if you have a Maltese Black, they’ll nip it at worming stage,” he said.
The young student has 20 Black Maltese at home. “It’s not for commercial purposes. They make lovely pets. And the fact that they are a pure Maltese breed, makes them even more special,” he said.
The Black Maltese
The Black Maltese has several distinctive features: its all-black plumage which camouflages it from being preyed upon at night time; a ruby-red comb; and white ear lobes – indicative of the colour of their egg.