Top 10 Weirdest Chicken Breeds
As we mention chicken, perhaps what can be remembered is what we would be taking for dinner. After all, chicken meat is considered as one of the tastiest and most exquisite meats you could ever find, especially when cooked and fried with utmost skill and expertise. However, with the celebration of the National Chicken Month this September, we may have to take chickens in a different light, aside from being the usual tasty treat.
10. The Phoenix
Although it may not be taken as a weird breed since Phoenix birds are cool to begin with, especially their unquenchable flames and self resurrection from the ashes, The Phoenix chicken breed has its different sense of being odd. Because their tail feathers are so long, which grows to as long as 20 feet, they have to be rested in high roosts, so that they won’t have any complications when it comes to tail growth. It became known from the Japanese breed Onagodori, which was handled and preserved for over 1000 years. Also, their molting period is two times longer than most chickens.
9. The Plymouth Rock
While they do not look as rocky as you are expecting them to be, it can be comforting to know that their striped appearance does not seem to reflect their kind of personality. In fact, the Plymouth Rock is considered as a calm chicken breed that can go well with other pets and also people. Reared as a dual-purpose breed back in 1869, they are great farming chickens that offer good tasting meat, along with fast egg-laying, which is great for business. Their white and black stripe can be compared with that of a zebra.
8. The Frizzle
One of women’s worst dilemmas is a frizzy hair, especially when they want to look good and fresh all the time. But with the chicken breed called the Frizzle, frizz is just an ordinary thing because its feathers are all twitched going upward, instead of the usual look where feathers are straight and going downward. It looks like an ordinary domesticated hen or rooster, it’s just that the feather is actually making things difficult for it all thanks to the feathers that cannot be treated easily, which may be otherwise easy for ladies using conditioner.
7. The Araucana
Even if you do not have much of an idea what the Araucana breed is all about, there is a hunch of Hispanic in its name, which actually makes it a more distinguishable kind of chicken. Because it came from Chile, you can just imagine how its ear tufts look like mustache, especially when they are facing straight to people. Its other name, the South American Rumpless, also go complementary with its physical attributes due to the absence of its tail and rump. Oh, and has it been mentioned that it lays blue eggs?
6. The Silkie
The Silkie at first glance can be identified as a walking cotton ball, especially when sitting down from afar. However, aside from the soft and silky feather it has, it is also considered strange because of what can be seen deep within the attractive exterior. They have blue colored bones, earlobe, and skin, which turn to almost black when cooked, and they also have five toes, something that is apart from most chicken breeds. They are also funnily identified as the chicken version of a lap dog since you can barely see its eyes, where only the beak becomes the visible part in its appearance. Yup, even the rest of its legs and feet are covered with its nice feathers.
5. The Sultan
Originating from the land of Turkey, the Sultan is very distinctive with its turban looking head crest, which makes it very easy to distinguish. Also, this is one of the rare breeds that have five toes on each foot, just like the Silkie from China. They look dashing in white, and they can also be found in other shades such as the sophisticated black and the daring blue.
4. The Polverara
You have seen the Laced Polish display its headdress for fun. This time around, the Polverara, or the Schiatta is a known crested chicken that was anciently bred somewhere in north-eastern Italy, which has a different kind of crown on its head. Instead of seeing the usual crown, you can see hair instead, which looks just like hairdos from cartoon characters like Bart Simpson or Paul Phoenix from Tekken. It also has a beard that takes its appearance from the feather, which makes them look cleaner and more rad.
3. The Laced Polish
There are chickens with crowns, but have you seen breeds that have long hair on them? The Polish, or Poland, is a breed that has a large crest on its head, which makes it possible to have hair close to where the crown is. The Laced Polish was even identified with David Bowie when he appeared at one of his movies or concerts, because of the hair appearance, which can be checked online. Its history of crests have immersed from Netherlands, where it actually figures. No, their head don’t look like flowers of some sort.
2. The La Fleche
Perhaps one of the weirdest chicken breeds that you would see is that something of the same flock has crowns of them that pose as devil’s horns. The La Fleche breed can stun you with its horn-like features that can be an interesting sight to see. And while this chicken may have an evil kind of disposition for its deceived lookers, the French people love it because of its fine meat, being served in high-class restaurants.
1. The Naked Neck
When you find yourself with a rafter of turkeys, you may not be able to identify this chicken breed as easy because it has similar features with them, particularly, how their neck looks like. Often mistaken as a cross breed between a chicken and a turkey, the Naked Neck has also been called as the Turken. Yes, it does not look attractive, but despite of which, who could have figured that this breed actually came from Hungary and was tended to in Germany. You can even enjoy a larger serving of fried chicken neck, in case you are planning to eat one.