According to American Standard of Perfection, the breed name is Naked Neck, but many of us also know them as Turkens. The naked neck chicken was developed from the desire for a smooth-skinned, dressed fowl. Their bare areas made plucking easier and quicker, as they have less than half the feathers of other comparable fowl.
They are good brown egg layers and tolerate cold climates well. Standard weights are 8-1/2 lbs. for cocks, 6-1/2 lbs. for hens, 7-1/2 lbs. for cockerels and 5-1/2 lbs. for pullets.
Naked Neck chickens are an unusual chicken breed but very great birds to handle, work with, and take to poultry shows. It’s again Naked Neck chicken time for me. My little ones arrived March 19th and 29th this year, and they are thriving very well and getting big.
Naked Neck chickens are an odd bird to look at, and many people are baffled when they see them. The origin of the Naked Neck chicken is fuzzy: they have been tracked to Europe where they are called Transylvania Naked Neck chickens. And that’s no fib; they are hatched with zero feathers on their necks and sparse on their vent (bottoms). As they grow, most of the males will grow “beards” mid neck and are quite impressive. The females can also grow these beards; I’ve had both sexes with these beards.
In Kenyan communities alot of myths are associated with bare necks, sons in law are not supposed to feed on then. Their meat are also used as a cure to certain diseases.
