The largest chickens are animals of only meat and egg orientation. They have average egg production and high meat productivity. Giant chickens are distinguished by weight and height, including paying attention to stocking. The article discusses the largest chickens in the world, as well as animal champions.
Kokhinhin
This is one of the oldest breeds of chickens, known in Indochina since the 18th century. The birthplace of the breed is considered to be the Vietnamese region of Kohhinhina in the Mekong River Valley. In China, interesting and extraordinary birds were considered something valuable, untouchable, because of this, animals served as decorations in the imperial court. When the Anglo-Chinese “opium” war ended, Queen Victoria often received a kokhinhin as a gift.
Chickens have become very popular with English poultry farmers, they were taken to America. Chickens are still popular and in demand. Breeding work ended in the fact that it was possible to breed chickens with different colors. Partridge, black, white, fawn, blue birds are found.
Before the revolution, Russia actively engaged in breeding birds in peasant farms. They were especially appreciated for their high egg production in winter. Today the population has declined, the reason for which was the overpriced cost of breeding chickens. Often, kokhinkhins are kept as a decorative bird and for breeding.
The distinguishing features include the following bird criteria:
- strong and powerful shins;
- dense plumage;
- live weight of hens - 6 kg, roosters - 4 kg;
- hens are very hardy, acclimatize well in regions with cold and long winters;
- for a year, laying hens give 110-120 eggs weighing 55-60 g, the color is buffy-brown with yellow yolk.
Chickens have excellent natural qualities, they are actively used to breed new breeds of meat chickens. Birds were used for breeding hens of Brama breed, on their basis it was possible to create many breeds of modern broiler crosses.
Jersey giant
A large breed of chickens bred in the United States in the 20s of the last century. Breeders paid much attention to the muscles and growth rate of young animals. It was possible to breed a breed that is unpretentious to the conditions of detention. The name of the breed actually corresponds to the birds.
Hens are considered excellent laying hens with a calm character. Both females and males grow rapidly, instantly gain weight. The live weight of chickens reaches 3.7-4.5 kilograms. Roosters weigh about 5 kilograms by the age of 12 months.
The poultry breeder needs to take into account some features of birds - they are prone to obesity, it is important to carefully monitor their diet. Also, the Jersey giant needs a large space and when fed for more than one year, poultry meat becomes less tasty.
Hungarian giant
Lush chicken, by the name of which it is immediately clear that this animal was bred in Hungary. The bird is very impressive in size. The Hungarian breeder wanted to bring out such a bird that it could please with excellent productivity. Another of their goals was the desire to get a variety of unpretentious, easy to grow, able to adapt to any climatic conditions.
To achieve their goals, breeders used orpingtones, crossing them with local, village hens, which have excellent user characteristics. It turned out to achieve a good result:
- Birds have a fiery red color. Plumage is somewhat similar to a fox fur coat. In their homeland and in some other countries, the Hungarian giant is called a red broiler.
- Hens are characterized by the ability to incubate. They tend to twice in 1 season become mothers for young animals. Hungarian chickens are characterized by the emergence of a viable, healthy offspring, rapidly gaining weight. Survival of chickens is about 95%, but often the chicks suffer due to slow plumage - they need to be kept in a warm room, where the temperature and humidity are stable.
- Outwardly, the birds are unremarkable, except that they have a lot of weight and impressive dimensions. They are characterized by dense feather coats, a proportional body with well-developed muscles. The weight of an adult rooster reaches 4-5 kilograms, chickens - 3.5-4 kilograms.
- Birds are unpretentious in nutrition. They need regular foods that contain proteins and vitamins. Animals need a spacious walk. It is believed that birds living in freedom have tastier meat than those that are kept in cages.
Gilan breed
A giant bird, considered very ancient. It is for this reason that it is difficult to answer where this bird comes from. Scientists are more inclined to believe that the layers were bred in the province of Gilan, located in Iran. But researchers from other groups refute this version, believing that the Gilanians come from Persia.
In Makhachkala, poultry farmers even united in a club to revive this breed, they try by all means to popularize the breed and make its population numerous.
Distinctive characteristics of the Gilan bird:
- It has a unique appearance. It is characterized by high growth, a vertically placed body, an elongated neck, and long, but at the same time stable paws. The birds have well-developed muscles, but high growth does not allow them to be called large barrels. Initially, the variety was considered a fighting bird, because its physique is typical for fighters. Outwardly, the Gilan bird is similar to the Oryol chickens.
- Gilan hens are considered caring mothers for their chicks. They have a well-developed maternal instinct, they are prone to organization. Roosters - strict and uncompromising, will not let a stranger into their territory. They will not be able to come to terms with the neighborhood with other types of chickens, but they will not quarrel among themselves.
- The weight of Gilan birds varies from 6 to 11 kg. Animals grow for a year and a half. Puberty comes late. Egg laying begins at the age of 1-1.5 years. Females during the year give about 150 large eggs weighing up to 80 grams.
- The advantage of the breed is its increased resistance to cold and frost, high immunity, endurance and unpretentiousness in care.
Malin
An unusual cuckoo color caused the name of the birds. Breeders from Belgium wanted to create a large brood hen so that her meat had a unique taste. To achieve the desired during selection, Flanders, Shanghai, Bram and other chickens were used.
Over several generations, they managed to achieve a lasting result. For more than a hundred years, raspberry chickens have been successfully bred by farmers from different countries.
Birds have many advantages:
- They are not prone to obesity. Their entire carcass consists mainly of muscle mass.
- Raspberries have a trapezoidal, well-coordinated body. The distinctive features of birds are a strong, broad back, rounded breast, powerful legs. The peculiarity of the bird is not only its size (it looks decorative due to feathered paws and a beautiful pattern on each feather), but also in its unique color - each feather is decorated with a striped pattern made in the form of gray and white lines.
- The weight of the rooster reaches up to 5.5 kg, chicken - up to 4.5-4.7 kg. But some poultry farmers boast incredible results - often at exhibitions they showed birds weighing 7-8 kg.
- Adult chickens are fed three times a day. Animals can not be supercooled, they need to create the optimum temperature and humidity. Often, birds are attacked by parasites, due to magnificent plumage. Frequent prevention will be useful. Birds also suffer from a lack of vitamins during growth and oviposition.
- The maternal instinct in birds is present, but not always. For this reason, many breeders do not risk placing raspberry chickens on the nest, it is possible that the birds will leave it in a couple of days. Chickens are tenacious, the average survival rate is 97%.
Brahma
Brahma is meat and egg chickens with excellent weight. The peculiarity of the breed lies in its attractive appearance, the presence of magnificent and soft plumage. On the feet of the birds are a kind of feather “panties”. There are animals with a light, dark and partridge color:
- Light birds widely distributed in Europe since the 50s of the last century. They have white plumage, and dark feathers are located on the tail and neck. They are distinguished by good productive qualities and unusual appearance. Posture is proud, a little important. The weight of chickens is about 3-4.5 kg, roosters - at least 4.5 kg.
- Dark hens similar to light relatives, but have dark plumage with the presence of light feathers on the neck and back. In addition, which are characterized by excellent meat qualities, they are appreciated for their external characteristics - often birds decorate the chicken coop. They have a calm character, not against the neighborhood with individuals of other breeds. A dark rooster weighs about 5 kg, sometimes 6-7 kg. The weight of chickens reaches 3-4.5 kg.
- Partridge representatives outwardly practically do not differ from white and dark birds according to the description. The only difference is the red-black color on the fawn background. The weight of chickens is close to 3-4 kg, roosters - 3.5-4.5 kg.
Broiler
Growing broilers contributes to the rapid production of cheap meat products, which is especially beneficial for large poultry farms and farm farms. The first broilers were obtained by English poultry farmers who crossed two large breeds.
Broilers are not a breed, they are a hybrid with loose genetic characteristics that do not appear in subsequent offspring.
Each year, poultry farms manage to develop new species, usually for this purpose they use white corns, pomfret, rhode islands, langashans, kokhinkhins, plymouths, and Kuchin hens. A distinctive feature of broilers is their unpretentiousness to feed and content, and increased resistance to diseases.
Chickens tend to quickly gain muscle mass, but in size they do not exceed large chickens. The weight of the largest broiler Ross-708 on the 35th day of life is 2.9-3 kilograms.
Orpington
The largest English breed, Orpington, was bred in the second half of the 19th century in the city of the same name. Breeders at that time wanted to get a chicken with an exclusively white skin without yellowness. English standards demanded that. Chickens were crossed with the Cochinchin breed, thanks to which it was possible to obtain not only an externally exotic animal, but also a bird with high productivity.
Poultry farmers immediately appreciated the bird. In addition to an attractive appearance, the breed brought an average of 160 large, brown eggs weighing up to 70 grams. High meat indices were also noted. At the age of one year, the weight of the roosters was up to 5 kilograms, sometimes even 6-7 kilos. The weight of chickens is up to 3.5 kilograms.
From the Kokhinkhins, the Orpingtons got an amazingly majestic appearance. Birds have a massive body with a wide chest, a small head, on which there is a leaf-shaped crest and rather long earrings.
There are birds of different colors: hawk, yellow, black, brown, gray, white, ash gray. Chickens are unpretentious in care, but young growth grows slowly and needs large feed investments.
Master gray
Color has become the main reason for getting this name. Gray and black spots are located on the white plumage of the bird. There are black feathers around the neck in the form of a necklace. Hubbard breeders bred the bird in France. The breed is considered meat and egg.
A distinctive characteristic of the bird is its highest productivity. The maximum weight of hens reaches up to 4 kilograms, roosters - up to 7 kilograms. For a year, laying hens give up to 300 large eggs weighing 70-90 g. They reach sexual maturity as early as 3.5 months.
Poultry farmers especially appreciate this breed, thanks to almost 100% survival of young animals, fast weight gain. The advantage is that the bird does not suffer from the enclosed space, it is permissible to keep it in cages. The animal has dense meat, similar in consistency to the product of domestic chickens. At the same time, the meat is tender and tasty. Poultry muscles are highly developed in birds - this contributes to a high yield of dietary white meat, suitable for preparing baby food.
Individual champions
Achievement of your own bird breeding records has gained popularity for a very long time. Today, many chicken owners compete among themselves, trying to achieve maximum results in order to go down in history. Some just want to share their achievements, give some recommendations to beginner poultry farmers.
The largest birds that have become famous thanks to their owners, and have become known throughout the world, are represented:
Little john
This name was given to the Brahma breed cock, received from the owner - Jeremy Goldsmith. A giant bird lives in England, the county of Essex. At the age of 12 months, the growth of little John was already 66 centimeters. It is more likely that by the second year of life, the bird will become even higher. The owner does not directly respond, which contributed to such a rapid growth of the rooster, but hints that it constitutes a special diet for the pet.
Jeremy Goldsmith allows the child to come for examinations of the rooster, and does not even mind that he is fed with chips and popcorn.
Melvin's previous record holder was 6 centimeters lower than Little John. Its owner was also Jeremy Goldsmith.
Big Snow
Such a nickname was officially registered cock-record holder in the category of heavyweights. The bird belonged to the Australian Ronald Aldridge, a native of Queensland. The registration date of the rooster falls on 1992, at that time the weight of the bird was 10.36 kilograms, its withers reached a height of 43.2 centimeters, and the chest circumference was 84 centimeters.
The breed of bird is quite rare - Whitesulli. Representatives can reach a weight of 8-10 kilograms. The owner of the animal was very proud of his pet, as evidenced by a lot of photos with celebrities, where Big Snow is also captured. In the fall of 1992, the bird died for natural reasons.
Roster coburn
Record holder from the bream breed, lives in the UK. His interesting name was given to him in honor of the protagonist of the American film "True Courage." The giant weighs 11 kilograms, and grew 91 centimeters. The owners of Rooster Coburn are a married couple - Mr. and Mrs. Stone. They argue that the bird is a real guard of its chicken coop, because it does not admit even foxes to it.
Features of keeping large chickens
The largest chickens are often unpretentious in care. But the poultry farmer needs to take into account some of the features associated with breeding heavyweights:
- The chicken coop should be clean. It is necessary to regularly clean the house - this will ensure good health for the birds and protect them from various diseases.
- Large birds need space, this should be taken into account when preparing a chicken coop before breeding birds. It is advisable for birds to go for a walk. An aviary will become comfortable for animals, where 1-2 birds per 1 square meter.
- Due attention is paid to ventilation. Feces of birds emit ammonia, which accumulates on the floor - it negatively affects the health of animals.
- When constructing a house, it is important to consider the size of the birds. Animals will not be able to fly over the fence or jump. In accordance with this, nests and perches do not have a high position - hens should have free access to them. In extreme cases, the poultry farmer can build a ramp.
- Due to the fact that females are prone to frequent pressure of eggs or their ejection from nests, they need supervision. Thus, the loss of unborn offspring can be avoided.
- It is recommended that the floor in the house be covered with sawdust, straw, grass or other soft materials. High weight often causes falls, even from low heights - this can result in personal injury.
- Bird combs are very sensitive and can be damaged at temperatures of 0 degrees and below. In the cold season, it is advisable to relocate the birds to a warm room or grease their combs with oil.
In the world there are numerous large breeds of chickens. All of them are united by large dimensions, unique appearance, high egg and meat productivity. Most poultry farmers breed large birds for the further sale of eggs and carcasses of animals - this contributes to excellent benefits.
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