We’ve all probably seen a video of that ‘Giant Chicken of Doom’. You know, the one that strolls casually out of its coop and looks like a mix between a Pterodactyl and a bird? Unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps) the bird is real, and not part of an experiment.
The chicken in question is of the Brahma breed. This aptly-named “King of All Poultry” dwarfs your standard supermarket chicken: males can weigh up to 8kg and stand as tall as a small child. Most of their size comes from their voluminous feathers around their legs and feet, but that doesn’t stop them from looking like a kaiju that accidentally ate radioactive feed.
Thankfully, they’re still chickens, so technically they can’t fly so well, but have “calm and docile personalities”. Like this guy:
However, these big birds aren’t the only chickens that are ‘freakish’ – have you heard of Ayam Cemani? Hailing from Indonesia, it looks like a Goth bird because it’s entirely black – the feathers, beak, bones, and even internal organs are black due to a dominant gene.
Since it’s so unique, it’s one of the most expensive chicken breeds, fetching US$2,000 due to its rarity.
You may be thinking that it’s the same chicken used in ‘black chicken soup’… but if that were the case, your soup would cost way more than $6. Surprisingly, while the skin and bones are black, the black chicken used in ‘black chicken soup’ (when alive) looks totally different to an Ayam Cemani:
This breed is called a ‘Silkie’ because… well, it has really soft silky feathers. Just look at how fuzzy it is. What’s more, it’s the only chicken breed with 5 claws instead of the usual 4.
Who knew the world of chickens could be so freaky diverse?
