Burmese chicken

The Burmese chicken is a breed of bantam chicken from Myanmar. The breed was never common, and was thought to have become extinct in the early 20th century. However, several surviving individuals were discovered in the 1970s and subsequently bred with the Bearded d'Uccle, Crevecoeur, Cochin and Japanese Bantam to recreate the breed. They are still scarce today.[1]

Burmese
Country of originMyanmar
UseOrnamental
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    600 g
  • Female:
    500 g
Egg colorBrown
Comb typeSingle
Classification

The Burmese chicken was mentioned in Charles Darwin's book, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication.

The Burmese chicken possesses the so-called "creeper gene", which results in exceptionally short legs. Named for the creeping or floating gait that it elicits in the chickens that carry the mutation, this gene causes high mortality, as all embryos carrying two copies of the allele die before hatching. Only embryos containing a single copy of the "creeper gene" develop short legs; embryos with no copies yield a chicken with legs of normal length.[2]

The Burmese chicken has a single comb and a small crest. Their legs are generously feathered and they have vulture hocks like the Sultan chicken. Their carriage is low. The hens lay brown eggs. This breed requires considerable attention to maintain its appearance.[3]

References
  1. www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/BurmeseBty/BRKBurmBant.html
  2. Damerow, Gail (2012). The Chicken Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Reference. North Adams, MA, US: Storey Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-60342-561-2.
  3. Perris, Christie Aschwanden ; photographed by Andrew. Beautiful chickens : portraits of champion breeds (1st US ed.). New York: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-312-61377-8.
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