More ugly chickens

[nnbreeder]

These birds are some of my Malay/ NN crosses plus a pic of a hen, I've never seen black skin on a NN before.

[trudy]

They're cute, are they suppose to be featherless around the necks like that? Or are they moulding? trudy

[crazy1]

Ummm T..........He is Naked Neck breeder

[mickee311]

trudy said:

They're cute, are they suppose to be featherless around the necks like that? Or are they moulding? trudy

I had to chucle when I saw that...I think you mean molting. Heh...I pictured the chickens losing their feathers because of some weird fungus when I read that.

Those chickens aren't ugly, but the white ones sure do look funny. All chickens are cute, I think. If I raised them, I wouldn't be able to eat them, for I would become too attached. Same with a pig. I'm a sap. I'd do what you all do and raise them for show or something.

[nnbreeder]

I do raise the majority for show and have hatched many out. Those not sutable for the breeding program goes to families that like chicken dinners. I don't eat chicken myself, had too much as a kid.

[trudy]

Well I didn't know thats what her username stood for, lol. An yeah I ment molting, geez my spelling sucks. T

[crazy1]

Just had to poke phun at ya T

[mckenzygirl]

Well I learn sumthin new everday!
I didn't know NNbreeder meant that !
I think they are some mighty fine lookin' chickens!
I raise chickens to eat....best chicken ever!
We buy about 30 cornish crosses chicks and raise them till they are about 9-12 weeka old, and we butcher our own. we sell about 10 of them to our very nice neighbor, and that pays for all the chicks, and feed we use to raise the chicks. Works good!
But I'm off topic,........ so again.. they are nice looking chickens!

[nnbreeder]

Through research I have deduced that the Naked Neck chickens were bred from the now almost extinct Madagascar Games of SE Asia. I believe that Missionaries brought them back to Europe where they were bred to standard type birds to make a duel purpose fowl, both for eggs and meat. In the late 40s, early50s they were marketed in Germany as the fowl of the future due to the fact that the less than half the feathers made for easy plucking. We have had mature cocks weigh up to 15lbs and hens weigh up to 6lbs. They are very cold hardy and lay big brown eggs even through winter. I have seen our birds foraging in the snow when the flock of Rhode Island Reds were refusing to get off the roost. The first bantams were imported from Germany in the mid 60s by Mr. Bernard Kellogg and the birds were not mixed with any bantam breeds to get them small but were bred by choosing small standard birds and breeding them down in size.

[mckenzygirl]

Wow that is very interesting!
Like I said I learn somethng everyday on here!

[jack]

Gidday

Now here is a strange chicken story:-



IAIN McGREGOR/Waikato Times

TWIN BEAKS: In an extremely rare case, these twin chicks hatched on a Turua poultry farm are healthy, but half the size of a normal chick. They came from a normal sized egg, not a double yolked one.





Strange tale of the chickens and the egg
04 November 2006
By MARTIN TIFFANY

Turua poultry farmer Mark Goldby had to do a double take as he helped his chicks hatch recently. And he still doesn't know which came first, the chicken or the chicken.


Two weeks ago a number of the eggs had been in his incubator for several hours so he thought he would give them a helping hand to make sure they hadn't dried out.

"I broke the white on one of the eggs and the chick inside must have been pushing because it fell out," Mr Goldby said. "I was looking at it when I realised there was another one inside the shell."

Mr Goldby said he didn't think the other chick would be alive, given the lack of air at that end of the shell. But both the blue australorp chicks were alive and well –- something he thought was impossible. "I told some other breeders and they said: `We don't put double yolkers in the incubator'. I told them neither do I. It was a normal egg."

Mr Goldby said they avoided putting in double yolkers because they never hatched. and the egg the twins emerged from was normal size.

Vanessa Wintle, technical executive officer of the Poultry Industry Association, said she had discussed the case with industry people and they had agreed it was highly unusual and extremely rare.

Mr Goldby compared the twins to Forzie, the four-legged chicken, born in Te Uku in September but who later died. "That one (Forzie) was like conjoined twins that didn't divide properly. These two did."

He said the chicks were developed normally but just half the size of others the same age –- a normal chick weighed 100g, but these two combined weighed just 97g.

Mr Goldby and his wife Fiona breed chickens for a hobby and started with six chickens for a personal supply of eggs. After doing some reading on chicken types, Mr Goldby said he found that the numbers of some of the more rare breeds were dwindling. He decided to farm some of these breeds and now has half a dozen breeds on his farm just out of Ngatea.

[KellyGa]

Nice chicken pics! I never get tired of seeing other peoples chickens...there is such a variety out there! Thanks for sharing them...