A large fowl Buttercup rooster with several hens. Photo courtesy of Natascha Wille of Three Gables Farm.

Articles

Our club locates and archives older articles, which are incredibly valuable with their indispensable information on the history of the breed and breeding tips from the old masters. 

Additionally, we seek out experts on the breed to write new articles today. There is only so much information out there on the breed, so it is important for us to publish new information and keep folks up to date on the state of the breed. 

Below are a few samples of our articles. We send new articles with each newsletter to our members. 

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Note: Our newest article on Buttercup Color has not been published yet. Please stay tuned, as it will be uploaded very soon! - (Update: October 28th, 2025)

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Selecting & Breeding for Buttercup Color

This article discusses various aspects of buttercup color in detail, including history, selection, and breeding. 

By Benjamin Janicki, 2025
(Coming soon, stay tuned!)

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Understanding Buttercup Type & Common Flaws

This article includes a multitude of original illustrations to educate breeders on ideal buttercup type and the terminology of various flaws.

Written by Benjamin Janicki, 
Illustrations by Josiah Moore, 2022

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Selecting Buttercups

This article includes an overview of basic information on selecting buttercups for breeding from an experienced breeder and long time member of the American Buttercup Club. 

By Bob Berkemeier, 2020

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Proposal to Lighten the Colored Illustration of the Sicilian Buttercup Male

In 2020, the APA sought proposals to improve the Standard. The American Buttercup Club officer team proposed lightening the buttercup male painting to better match the written description. 

At the time, the Standard Revision Committee accepted our proposal. The change has not yet been implemented, but this proposal still stands. 

By Benjamin Janicki, Michael Schlumbohm, Jason Branson, & Amanda Heitzman, 2020

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Getting Started with Buttercups

In this article, the late Carl Fosbrink describes how he got started with buttercups, after fearing that important traits may have been forever lost.

He shares important tips for securing your initial stock, selecting good buttercups for breeding, and how to mix bloodlines to achieve your breeding goals.

By Carl Fosbrink, 2011

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Raising Sicilian Buttercups In America:
​Discovering a Mediterranean Chicken Breed

This article originally appeared in the June/July 2009 print issue of Backyard Poultry magazine.

Barbara Bullock, an experienced breeder of buttercups and member of the American Buttercup Club, describes the early history of the breed, selecting birds, breeding, and showing.

​By Barbara Bullock, 2009

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Judging Buttercups

This article first appeared in the 1929 yearbook of the American Buttercup Club, and was written by the president of the club at the time.

It discusses how Buttercups should be judged, both by breeders in selecting their birds for matings or by judges in the showroom. 

This article comes from a unique time period. Prior to 1918, the breed was still being developed and the ideal breed standard was still being debated. Even after Buttercups were admitted to the standard in 1918, 
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By C. Sydney Cook Jr., 1929

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The Sicilian Buttercups

This article first appeared in Everybody's Poultry Magazine in January, 1917.

​Edwin Megargee, a prolific painter of poultry, produced several original illustrations for this article, which provides an overview of the breed. 

Note: this article appeared one year before Sicilian Buttercups were officially admitted into the American Standard of Perfection, so some details do not match the final standard description, such as the earlobe color. 

​By S. Edwin Megargee, Jr., 1917

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Buttercups
& Their Standard
Parts I & II

These articles first appeared as two parts in American Poultry World in November 1913 & April 1914, and were written and illustrated by A. O Schilling himself - the artist behind many of the illustrations in the American Standard of Perfection. 

In the first article, he presents a possible breed standard, and in the second, he revises this standard and includes letters of feedback from breeders. 

The final standard differs slightly from what is presented in these articles, and they provide incredible insight into the development of the breed.

By A. O Schilling, 1913 & 1914

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