Naked Neck Chickens

Breed Rating (19 Reviews)

Appearance
Friendliness
Hardiness
Egg
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Naked Neck History

These have to be the strangest looking chickens in the poultry world. They look like a cross between a turkey and a chicken with their completely featherless necks and faces and this was a common myth when they were introduced to this country in the 1920s when they were described as Churkeys! The exposed skin actually turns bright red in sunlight just like that of the turkey. They originate from Hungary but it was in Germany that the breed was perfected and the lack of feathering on the neck is due to a dominant gene. They actually possess half the total number of feathers in other breeds which makes them much quicker to pluck than other table birds. They are currently very popular in the hotter Eastern countries where they are kept as table birds because they are able to withstand much hotter temperatures than other birds. They have existed as free ranging birds in France for centuries where they remain popular to this day. They are heavy birds with long, elongated bodies. The legs are featherless and slate blue in dark feathered breeds or yellow in the paler feathered varieties with four toes on the feet. The neck is totally without feathers and this bare skin continues right up to the crop. The top of the head has feathers on and they usually have a single comb or sometimes a rose comb and large wattles. The earlobes are red and the eyes are reddish bay. There is also a bantam version of this breed.

Naked Neck Behaviour

They are good layers, producing brown eggs and are hardy, vigorous birds. They are happy to free range or be confined in runs and are not known as being particularly good fliers. They need protection in extremely cold temperatures because of their lack of feathers but can cope remarkably well in very hot climates. They are easy to tame and are very placid, calm birds. They are not good broodies as their lack of feathers makes it hard to keep the eggs warm but if allowed to sit on just a few eggs, they are capable of hatching their own eggs and the resulting chicks are born with their necks already exposed and featherless. Males weigh around 7-8lbs while the females are 5½-6½lbs.

Naked Neck Varieties

The Naked Neck can be found in several different colour varieties including black, white, cuckoo, buff, red and blue.

Naked Neck Status

Rare

Naked Neck Pictures

a one day old yellow chick stood on the roof of a chicken coop

Little dave - getting more beautiful every day!

Our naked neck pecky bustling for laying space with our hybrid mrs bok bok

Holding a naked neck chicken in the palm of my hand.

A naked neck chicken walking in the snow.

A pair of naked neck checks - blue and black.

Naked Neck For Sale

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Latest Reviews For Naked Neck (5 of 19)

2 Stars:

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Based on 19 Verified Reviews

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Would recommend as pets - Darcy, 23 April 2024

We got some Naked Neck Hens to foster for a friend they were 2 days old & so small, now they are 3 months old & growing up fast. I can't really comment on egg production yet but I've heard they are good layers, as for friendliness they are so sweet. They used to snuggle up on the couch with me, they still jump up on my shoulder if I bend down & they love being around us. They are in an outdoor pen now but still super friendly & they are content, they know when it is bedtime so they tottle off into their house then they wake up around 5:30am ready for their day. Everyone says how strange or ugly they look but honestly I think they are adorable, we were supposed to be sending them back to my friend but they are here to stay now (my friend is fine with it) 😊

- Sakil, 17 May 2019

Can any one help me identify my chicken breed I own a chicken which is nacked necked it has a crest on its head the chick it hatched had feathers on its leg it is not a good layer its body is short feathers are cream colours most of the chick she hatched over her lifetime didn't have nacked neck. My country is India.

Looks aren't everything. - Wayne, Cornwall, 25 September 2017

Personally, never liked naked necks, due to their looks... My son has won me over after he purchased two chicks from a local poultry shop. As they grew older, so did my liking for them. Probably the most timid birds we have. They grew twice as fast as the chicks we had same age, and they do grow big ! The cockerel is now 5 months old and huge, almost twice the size of the hen. Both hen and cockerel are very dosile and (when they want to) can be easily caught and handled. Fortunately he has a cock and hen, so hopefully be breeding some in the spring. So from a bird I originally thought was ugly and not right, they have definitely gone up the list of must have Chickens.

real name - Ovi_Ineu, 25 March 2016

The real name is "Naked Neck From Transilvania" ans original country is Romania

Great Birds - Seth, 14 March 2016

I love my Turkens. I do lots of school poultry presentations and they win every crowd with their hilarious apperance.

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