Penedesenca

The Penedesenca is a Spanish breed of chicken originating in the autonomous community of Catalonia, in the area around Vilafranca del Penedès, the principal town of the historical Penedès region.

Penedesenca

Cock birds near Santa Margarida i els Monjos, in the comarca of Alt Penedès, in the province of Barcelona
Country of origin	Spain
Distribution	Catalonia
Use	eggs
Traits
Weight	Male: 2.3–3 kg[1] Female: 1.7–2.3 kg[1]
Egg colour	dark reddish-brown
Comb type	single
Classification
PCGB	rare soft feather: heavy[2]
Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus

Cock in the Fira del Gall market of Vilafranca del Penedès

Galls del Penedès cooked

History

It is not known for how long country people in Catalonia have raised chickens that laid dark brown eggs. The first documentation of them is from 1928, when attempts were made to avert the extinction of the type.^[1]: 670 In 1932 selection of a black type was begun by a group of breeders in a town near Vilafranca del Penedès. A breed standard for this black Penedesenca was approved in 1946, with the name "Villafranquina Negra", or black Vilafranca chicken.^[1]: 670

Uses

It was developed in the first half of the twentieth century from native barnyard chickens, and today is noted for its dark brown eggs, said to be among the darkest of any breed of chicken.^[3]: 66