Bulgaria as a part of the world’s poultry genetic resources – Bulgarian chicken breeds

Today, only a few major chicken breeds are used in industrial poultry farming, which leads to a considerable reduction in the genetic diversity of the domestic chicken in the world. This trend is also affecting rural poultry farming. On the other hand, there is exhibition and ornamental poultry breeding, where productivity is not so important. Amateur poultry breeders play an important role in maintaining genetic diversity in domestic birds, especially in domestic chickens. In Bulgaria there are 10 known chicken breeds, two of which are recognized by the state institutions (Black Shumen and Stara Zagora Red Chicken) and the others are recognized or in the process of recognition by the Union of Fanciers and Small Domestic Animal Breeders in Bulgaria, which is a part of the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture (EE). Depending on the presence or absence of dwarfism, the breeds can be divided into standard (Black Shumen Chicken, Stara Zagora Red Chicken, Katunitsa Chicken, Struma Chicken, Rhodope Painted Chicken, Southwest Bulgarian Chicken, and Bulgarian Longcrower) and miniature (Bregovska Dzhinka, Struma Bantam, and Southwest Bulgarian Dzhinka) ones. The breeds with attractive appearance have higher populations compared to the productive breeds, which are at risk of extinction.