"Superchicken" from about 1970?

Does anyone remember the very large extremely aggressive white chickens that were developed in the late 60's or early 70's? There was an article partially about them in I believe Reader's Digest. They were developed by repeated hybridization/inbreeding. The article mentioned their cell size was larger than other chickens. The one I saw personally was a rooster about 2/3 to 3/4 the size of a tom turkey. It looked a lot like a white leghorn but was more robust. It could fly a little but did not gain altitude easily. It put out an eye of its owners mid size dog and spurred the owner badly in the back of his leg. The rooster met a violent end when it attacked a bird-phobic teenager that was using a sling blade. I would not be surprised if the breed was no longer in existence but I am puzzled that I can find no mention of it online.

I hope it no longer exists. Who wants killer attack chickens? It sounds like the "bunny" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Odelia said:

I hope it no longer exists. Who wants killer attack chickens? It sounds like the "bunny" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

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Agreed! Oh and Welcome to BYC!

Thanks. I would not be disappointed if the breed died out but I am curious. I recently read up a bit on modern large scale poultry rearing and wondered if the old Superchicken was ancestral to the unfortunate birds in that environment. I am going to start getting my eggs & chicken from family members that raise their own. I think they will like this site.

ChelequaRom said:

Thanks. I would not be disappointed if the breed died out but I am curious. I recently read up a bit on modern large scale poultry rearing and wondered if the old Superchicken was ancestral to the unfortunate birds in that environment. I am going to start getting my eggs & chicken from family members that raise their own. I think they will like this site.

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What breed/breeds do your family members raise?

ChelequaRom said:

Does anyone remember the very large extremely aggressive white chickens that were developed in the late 60's or early 70's? There was an article partially about them in I believe Reader's Digest. They were developed by repeated hybridization/inbreeding. The article mentioned their cell size was larger than other chickens. The one I saw personally was a rooster about 2/3 to 3/4 the size of a tom turkey. It looked a lot like a white leghorn but was more robust. It could fly a little but did not gain altitude easily. It put out an eye of its owners mid size dog and spurred the owner badly in the back of his leg. The rooster met a violent end when it attacked a bird-phobic teenager that was using a sling blade. I would not be surprised if the breed was no longer in existence but I am puzzled that I can find no mention of it online.

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The breed to which you are referring was the White Sully, a hybrid developed by Grant Sullens of West Point, CA. who continually crossed Rhode Island Whites with other breeds until he developed a super sized chicken. White Sully roosters could exceed 23 lbs. and were so ferocious that one male rooster named "Weirdo' killed two cats and crippled a dog. As far as I have been able to determine, the last White Sully died sometime in the 1990s.

Odelia said:

What breed/breeds do your family members raise?

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My brother-in-law has Pekin ducks and maybe mixed chickens. His rooster looks like the Wyandot pics here but the hens vary a lot. They are average size. I have not seen my sister's.

Michael OShay said:

The breed to which you are referring was the White Sully, a hybrid developed by Grant Sullens of West Point, CA. who continually crossed Rhode Island Whites with other breeds until he developed a super sized chicken. White Sully roosters could exceed 23 lbs. and were so ferocious that one male rooster named "Weirdo' killed two cats and crippled a dog. As far as I have been able to determine, the last White Sully died sometime in the 1990s.

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Thank you, that was the bird. I never learned the true breed name-people even listed them as "superchickens" in the classifieds in Progressive Farmer. I am glad the people trying to re-create dinosaur's from chickens do not have access to their genetic material ;-); I always wondered though if their aggression was inextricably linked to their large cell size.

ChelequaRom said:

Thank you, that was the bird. I never learned the true breed name-people even listed them as "superchickens" in the classifieds in Progressive Farmer. I am glad the people trying to re-create dinosaur's from chickens do not have access to their genetic material ;-); I always wondered though if their aggression was inextricably linked to their large cell size.

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You're welcome. I have know idea where the White Sully's aggression came from. Among standard breeds, the largest breeds (Jersey Giants, Brahmas, and Cochins) are among the calmest and most gentle breeds, but that was definitely not the case with the White Sully.

Very few people intentionally breed for aggression, and with larger fowl it's especially important to breeders that they be docile. If you're showing, a people aggressive bird is not likely to do well. As a boy, my only silkie roo was very aggressive and would always bite the judges if they held him. Needless to say, he never did well.

Fortunately, chickens are just not capable of being a true threat to an adult. I've never met a roo that scared me, I would be happy to go bare-handed against any roo out there and I can guarantee he'd be dead after 1 lunge at me. I'm sure the dog involved was a small wimpy thing too, or just taken by surprise, most dogs will easily win any fight with any chicken, as long as they know there is a fight taking place.

Personally, I have a "zero tolerance" policy for aggressive roos. They don't scare me, but others have to deal with them and I've had my share of bad roos (mostly silkies, oddly enough) and simply won't have anymore. No one buying stock from me would want that aggression either, so the aggressive genes die out quickly.