The Naked Neck chicken is an old dual purpose poultry breed. It is naturally devoid of feathers on its neck and vent. The origination of Naked Neck chicken is unclear, but the breed is thought to have been brought back from Asia at the end of the ninth century by Hungarian conguerers.
This chicken breed is also called the Turken, Kaalnek, Transylvanian Naked Neck chicken etc. Many people thought this breed as a hybrid of a chicken and the domestic turkey. But this is not true, and these birds are pure chicken.
The Naked Neck trait is highly dominant and is passed on the first generation offspring when crossed with a non-naked neck breed. Nowadays the Naked Neck chicken is rare in North America, but it is fairly common in Europe.
This breed was recognized by the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1965. Naked Neck chicken breed also has bantam versions. Review characteristics, behavior and full breed profile below.
Naked Neck Chicken Characteristics
The Naked Neck chicken is the strangest looking bird in the poultry world, which has a very interesting appearance with the absence of neck feathers or hackles. They look like a cross between a turkey and a chicken with their completely featherless necks and faces.
They have fairly standard shape for a chicken raised mostly for meat production purpose. Generally, they are large fowl and have a broad back.
Naked Neck chicken comes in a variety of colors. The exposed skin on their necks turns bright red in the sun (just like turkey), but when not exposed to the sun, it remains pink or yellow. The rest of their skin is yellow.
Their legs are featherless and yellow in the paler feathered varieties or slate blue in dark feathered breeds with four toes on the feet. Naked Neck chickens have red colored single comb and large wattles.
They have reddish bay eyes and their earlobes are red. On an average, standard Naked Neck males weight about 3.9 kg and females about 3 kg. And the bantam male weights about 965 grams and females about 850 grams. Photo from Wikipedia.
Behavior/Temperament
Naked Neck chickens are very hardy, active and vigorous birds. They are raised as a dual purpose breed and suitable for both meat and eggs production.
Hens are good layers, producing good number of brown eggs. They are good foragers and will be happy in free range. But they can also tolerate confinement well. They are pretty cold hardy, but require protection in extremely cold temperatures because of their lack of feathers.
They are excellent and even can perform better in very hot climates. They are very placid, calm birds and are easy to tame. This chicken breed is resistant to disease and very strong. So this breed can be a perfect choice for the small farmers.
| Breed Name | Naked Neck |
| Other Name | Kaalnek, Turken, Transylvanian Nacked Neck |
| Breed Purpose | Dual Purpose (Meat & Eggs) |
| Breed Temperament | Active, Calm, Friendly, Quiet, Easily Handled, Bears Confinement Well |
| Breed Size | Large |
| Broodiness | Average |
| Comb | Single |
| Climate Tolerance | All Climates |
| Egg Color | Brown |
| Egg Size | Large |
| Egg Productivity | Medium |
| Feathered Legs | No |
| Rarity | Available |
| Varieties | Buff, Black, Blue, Red, Silver and White |
These birds are extremely strong and hardy and their meat is of very good quality, tasty. Only one problem I found is, they grow relatively slowly.
Yes, their growth is relatively slow as compared to modern breeds. Good luck!