Meet The World's Strangest Chicken Breeds (Part 2/3)

This is the second part of my "World's Strangest Chicken Breeds" mini-series. Click here for part 1 in case you missed it!

6# Onagadori

Onagadori Chicken (credit)

The first chicken for today is a true sight to behold! Meet Onagadori, a breed originating from the Kōchi Prefecture of Japan. Not surprisingly, the Japanese word "Onagadori" translates to "Long-tailed Chicken".

Their remarkably long tails (only found in roosters) can reach a length of 3 to 8 m, when under proper care. And by "proper care" I mean keeping the animal locked in:

"special hutches with perches well above the ground where the tails are kept clean and in good condition." [1]

If you are on the look out for an easy to breed chicken this one is definitely not for you! But even if you insist, getting your hands on one won't be easy. Apparently, pure-bred animals are only available in Japan and some European countries. Good luck importing a pair of them!

7# Ayam Cemani

Ayam Cemani (credit)

The second chicken of the day is the all-black Ayam Cemani. And by all-black, I mean all-black including feathers, beak, organs, meat and bones! This excess pigmentation is due to a genetic condition known as fibromelanosis. This is a rare and relatively new breed originating from the island of Java, Indonesia. 

If the price of the Dong Tao Chicken from yesterday's post surprised you than your jaw will drop once I tell you how expensive these guys used to be! A pair of them used to go for around 5.000$, hence the nickname 'Lamborghini of poultry'. 

Once the world's most expensive chicken, now a pair of them goes for around 400-800 $ in the U.S.. Oh, how the almighty have fallen!

In case you wonder, these chickens are docile and low maintenance so getting a few ones for your hen is not a bad idea!

8# Araucana

 
Araucana Chicken (credit)

Third chicken of the day is one I find really funny to look at, the Araucana! This breed is from Chile and it's named after the Araucanía region where it is believed to have originated. 

An interesting fact about this breed is that depending on the exact variety it may produce blue or green eggs. Here, take a look:  

An Araucana egg (left) with white and brown eggs for comparison (credit)

Why the eggs of this breed are blue still remains a mystery but there are a few theories running. The most prevailing  is that its due to a genetic mutation, resulting from a retrovirus infecting the breed sometime after its domestication. [7]

Again, this is a docile and friendly breed but finding a pure bred  bird is going to be tricky. Getting an Ameraucana chicken would be a better alternative. This Araucana-derived breed looks similar, produces blue eggs and is free of the lethal alleles that trouble the original breed.

9# Crèvecœur

Crèvecœur chicken (credit)

After the funny looking Araucana, I give you one of the oldest breeds of France, the Crèvecœur chicken. Named after  Crève-Coeur en Ange, a small town in Normandy, France, this historical breed doesn't seem to have a bright future.

The breed almost went extinct during the first and second world war. Although there is an effort to recover the breed since 1976, there hasn't been much of success. In 1995 their numbers were reported to be between 100 and 1000 individuals and in 2007 the breed was still classified by the FAO as "endangered".

Although they were initially developed for meat and egg production, this breed isn't really good at any of the two and is mainly raised poultry shows. Despite their endagered status, it's possible to buy them from a few hatcheries for a good price.

10# Marty McFly

This is the last chicken for today. I am so glad @mobbs reminded me of its existence because I would totally forget about it. What's so intriguing about this chicken is that it has some serious self identification issues. It's very docile and friendly but becomes a bit aggressive when somebody calls it for what it is.. a chicken!

The End..For Now

So this is it with the second part of the series. Stay tuned for the third and last part that (hopefully) will be up tomorrow! In the meantime, you may want to check the links down below if you want to learn more about the strange chicken breeds you just saw!

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onagadori
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayam_Cemani
3. http://www.businessinsider.com/most-expensive-chicken-2013-9
4. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3185398/The-goth-chicken-black-skin-meat-bones-organs-Day-old-chicks-rare-breed-selling-200-latest-craze.html
5. https://greenfirefarms.com/ayam_cemani.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucana
7. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071393#s2
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameraucana
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8vec%C5%93ur_chicken
10. https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/crevecoeur

 My dear readers, thank you for reading today's article. Hopefully, you found it interesting enough to follow me, @trumpman. You may also want to check my strange animal series where you get to discover some of the world's weirdest animals!  Here are the last 3 weirdos of the series: 

1. Meet the Platypus a Very Strange Mammal That Lays Eggs!
2. Notaden bennettii: The Super Cute Holy Cross Frog
3. Scientists Baffled by Weird Jelly Blob. Find Out How You Can Help Them!

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