The average person rarely wonders how chicken meat gets into the store and on the dining table. But breeders are constantly working on the productivity of breeds of chickens, increasing their mass, especially for meat breeds.
Over the past 100 years, new large breeds of chickens have been bred, which should provide people with chicken meat. Interestingly, the large size and massive body affect the behavior of chickens. They are calm and easily adapt to the conditions of detention.
At the mention of these pets, the Broiler immediately comes to mind. But this is an early hybrid, and applies not only to raising chickens, but also to other pets. Although, thanks to this method of crossing breeds, large specimens of poultry were obtained.
Let's find out which chickens are the largest in the world.
5
Brahma
Brama was bred in North America at the end of the XIX century, and the standard for this breed was issued in 1874. Two South Asian large breeds of chickens were taken as the basis: Kokhinkhinskaya and Malay. It is noteworthy that Malay is bred exclusively for fighting and weighs up to 4.3 kg.
As a result of breeding work, a completely new meat and egg breed of Brahma was obtained. The weight of these birds reaches 3-4 kg. One of their features is fast weight gain.
The hens of Brama are beautiful and graceful. Head high on massive curved neck. There are two subspecies: light and dark. The dark subspecies are smaller in size and, therefore, in weight.
The chicken, with its large dimensions, is very calm and easily gets along with another bird on the farm or the farmstead. This bird was introduced to Russia in the 19th century and now ranks second in number. At each farm you can find Brahma chickens.
By the way, on thebiggest.ru there is a very interesting article about the largest birds in the world.
4
Master gray
French breeders bred a hybrid that got its name because of its speckled gray-white color. The task was completed. Chickens of this breed easily adapt to the conditions of detention, do not require additional nutrition with growth and quickly gain weight, which is why they can be found on every farmyard.
Master Gray is gaining weight in 2 kg already on the 50th day. Adult Master Gray reaches a weight of 4 kg, roosters a little more - 6 kg.
Hens are very beautiful, with a massive body on short legs. Breeders have established the pattern that with the cellular content of birds gain more weight.
With such "meat" sizes, birds carry up to 300 eggs per year.
Among the characteristics of the breed, unpretentiousness and endurance can be distinguished. Master Gray have excellent immunity.
3
Kokhinhin
The Vietnamese breed looks very similar to Brahma chickens. Due to low productivity, it is almost not used for breeding in the countries of Europe and Russia.
But at the end of the XIX century there was a whole fashion for these birds in Europe. There is no color standard for the breed; they have white, red, and yellow fawn colors. On farms and breeding plants you can find various colors of Kokhinkhin.
The body is massive with a small head. Plumage on the legs gives such a unique appearance to such peculiar “panties”.
The live weight of Kokhinhin reaches 3.5–4 kg. They carry between 100 and 120 eggs per year. It is noteworthy that the southern breed grows easily and lays eggs at fairly low temperatures. For this reason, in pre-revolutionary Russia it was quite popular among chicken breeders.
Birds are calm, sometimes even phlegmatic, prone to obesity, good mother hens take care of chickens. Cochinchins are very expensive. Perhaps this explains their paucity on European farmsteads and farms.
2
Orpington
The English breeder William Cook was faced with a difficult task, to bring out a large meat and egg breed with white, and not yellowish, like that of American chickens, meat.
The new breed was named "Orpington" by the name of the city in Kent, where work was carried out to breed the breed.
The appearance of an English bird is akin to the English weather itself. Chunky, short on paws, with short plumage of a chicken, with a small head and a straight neck. Kurozavodchiki note a gloomy look in birds of this breed.
The weight of chickens reaches 4.5–5.5 kg, roosters can gain weight up to 7 kg. Under certain conditions of keeping and feeding, males can reach a weight of 6–7 kg.
Chicken meat is really tender and light. Interestingly, as a result of selection, the scientists developed a breed that has 11 different colors of plumage.
1
Jersey giant
The largest breed of chickens in the world, the Jersey giant was bred in the United States in the 20s of the twentieth century. A new breed certificate was issued in 1922.
During selection, special attention was paid to the muscles and growth rate of young animals. A new type of chickens turned out unpretentious to various conditions of detention. Hens are good laying hens with a balanced character.
The name "Jersey giant" is fully true. Chickens reach a weight of 3.7-4.5 kg. Both females and males of this breed quickly gain weight. Roosters weigh 5 kg by the year.
There are several features in the cultivation. Birds require a large space and are prone to obesity, so you need to strictly monitor the diet. When feeding more than one year, the meat loses its taste.
Record holders
Rooster Rooster Korbun
In conclusion, we say that today the representatives of the Brama breed are the record holders in size. This is Rooster Korbun, whose height is 91 cm. If his master decides to send him to the soup, he is unlikely to succeed. The cock himself personally protects the chicken coop from foxes, ferrets and dogs.
Little john
Second place is firmly held by Little John's cock of the same breed of Brahma. The growth of this giant is 66 cm. The owner made him an aviary with an area of 4 hectares. Everyone can look at the record holder and take a picture. Rumor has it that the cock reached such large sizes thanks to popcorn.
It would seem chicken, but how much diversity and uniqueness in this type of poultry.
Conclusion
As you can see, certain large breeds of chickens are used on different continents and in different parts of the world. First of all, it depends on the culinary preferences of the population, the possibilities and conditions of detention and nutrition.
Genetic engineering and selection is the future, but in the pursuit of productivity and large size, breeders should not forget about the ecology and purity of the product that goes to the consumer’s table.
Article author: Valery Skiba