This is my ONE HUNDRETH Fun Friday Facts post, and I’ve been
stressing out about that because I didn’t know what to write about, so I typed “funny
breeds of” into Google and it helpfully supplied me with these chickens. I’m
sure I remember that some of you keep chickens, so that’s a bonus. Also, this
might be an appropriate time to warn you that there are nude animal photos up
ahead.
The Onagadori chicken appears to be an honest to goodness,
real live thing, despite my appalled insistence that no chicken could possibly
grow tail feathers that are 12
to 27 feet long. Even as I write this, I’m still a little skeptical,
because although there
are some images on the Internet of these alleged chickens sporting these
alleged 30-foot tail feathers, you can’t believe everything you read
online, and I should know. The Wikipedia page for this breed shows a chicken
with tail feathers that are admittedly rather long, but not abnormally so.
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| Image by Tsunade13 from Wikipedia. |
This chicken grows such long feathers because it takes them
at least three years to molt.
They inherit this trait from the Green
Junglefowl, a paternal ancestor.
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| A great uncle or something. Image by Stavenn from Wikipedia. |
Like it’s fellow French breed, La Fleche, the Crevecoeur has
weird little red horns.
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| Look at it, it's chicken Satan. Image by Blaise.desaintjouin from Wikipedia. |
This chicken is one of the oldest types bred in France, and
it may be an ancestor of La Fleche. It comes from the town of Crevecoeur in
Normandy, to the surprise of absolutely no one. They are mostly bred for show,
though it was originally developed for its plump, juicy flesh. Its name means “broken
heart.”
The Naked Neck is also know as the Turken because it looks
like a cross between a chicken and a turkey. In fact, it is a cross between oh
god and why.
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| Image by Demontux from Wikipedia. |
The breed originates in Transylvania, so it’s also known as
the Transylvania Naked Neck, a name that is not improved by the dubious
addition of the word “Transylvania.” Nothing good for necks has ever come out
of Transylvania. Wikipedia notes that the naked neck gene is dominant and “fairlyeasy to introduce into other breeds.” Maybe they should cross it with the
long-tail one. That would be fun.
Now for a prettier one to cleanse your eyes. The Sultan chicken
is a Turkish breed that knows it looks fabulous:
.jpg) |
| Image by Eunice from Wikipedia. |
These birds were, again to the surprise of absolutely no one,
once bred for the gardens of the sultanate. They have, as you can see, “a great deal of decorative plumage.” The male weighs just six pounds (2.7 kilos), while
the female weighs about four pounds (2 kilos). The bantam version weighs an
adorable 22 ounces (625 g).
The Araucana chicken comes from Chile, lays blue eggs, and
won the 1987 World Beard and Mustache Championships:
The blue eggs have caused some to speculate that the bird
was developed from pre-Columbian breeds. These breeds would have come from
Polynesia, and would establish proof of contact between pre-Columbian South
Americans and seafaring Polynesians. Research into the matter has been
inconclusive. The Araucana chicken has passed its blue egg-laying abilities on
to other breeds, including the Ameraucana (ha ha, it’s the American version) and
the Cream Legbar. A mongrel chicken that lays blue eggs is known as an Easter
Egger, and gets its blue-egg-laying abilities from the Araucana too.
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| The eggs aren't really that blue though. |
