This article will cover some basic information, as well as certain notable aspects of the Tsouloufati (Τσουλουφάτη) or as it translates in English, the Crested chicken of Greece. All the information in this article comes from my personal observations, as well as information shared amongst keepers of the landrace and its mixes. For your viewing pleasure, this article is divided in different sections. You might notice that for a crested breed my birds lack it entirely, but unfortunately I couldn't convince my male to stop grabing the small crest feathers when mating, so I apologize in advance. Lastly, throughout the article you will notice a reoccurring theme, and that is the variability of this landrace. It is important to remember that this is still not a breed, and thus specimens from different areas of Greece will vary.
External appearance
Before we begin, I would like to mention that there is a second offshoot of the Tsouloufati, which is typically referred to as the Karagouniki. These two landraces are still so closely linked, that for the sake of this article they'll be placed under the same name of Tsouloufati, since the only real difference between them is that the Karagouniki typically don't have a crest.
With that out the way, here are the distinguishing characteristics of the Tsouloufati.
1. A crest, that can vary a lot from tiny to a pretty big one. This usually does not apply for the Karagouniki
2. A single comb that makes them able to survive the Greek weather, and especially the hot Greek summers. In some rare cases, these birds can also have rose combs, and it's not accidental that those specimens are found in the more mountainous parts of Greece, where the summers are more mild
3. A small to medium bird (1.5-2.5 kg for the hens and 2-3,5 for the roosters)
4. The color is quite variable, and is the last thing we look for. The most notable colors are a brown with a little black (photo two and three) and a spotted cream, which is more typical for the Karagouniki (photo one) then we have my "off standard" male (picture four). The typical colors help the birds blend in with their surroundings
5. All egg colors are acceptable, but the most common is cream
The main use for the landrace
This landrace is wanted for their free ranging skills. They are also good egg layers (200-260 eggs a year) and supposedly good broodies, something that mine have set out to disprove. As good free rangers, their flight skills are surprisingly good for a "regular" chicken, and not a gamefowl or jungle fowl
In the photo you can see a Tsouloufati mix hen roosting on a tree branch
Temperament
This landrace is not known for their friendliness towards humans. Considering their use in free range settings, one can presume this is done both intentionally and not. In addition to being wary of humans, they also aren't very easy going with their flockmates, and are not known to back down from a fight. I've had one of my hens beat a broody mom twice, and another one beat two hens while having a gaping wound on her side. All these adaptations have helped them survive in the Greek landscape for decades, so one could say that the land shaped the landrace
How was this landrace created?
No one knows what breeds were used in the making of this landrace. It is very possible that the variability observed in today's specimens is because there was not a single mix that created the landrace, but multiple, which over time took a similar appearance due to the need to survive on a similar terrain. This all becomes clear when we take into consideration the way people used to raise their chickens, which was different depending on where in Greece each person lived. For the fall and winter months, people who lived in the warmer parts of Greece kept their chickens near the house, totally free ranged. This meant that both guard dogs and humans were present and could relatively quickly come to their rescue. For the colder parts of Greece, this model was used year-round. As for the spring and summer, they moved their chickens to bigger pieces of land, outside the villages, where they were left free range all day and night, under the watchful eyes of LGDs. This overlapped with the hatching season, and thus broodies would raise their chicks in these settings. Consequently, the chicks that thrived were the ones that were quick to hide, blended in with their surroundings, could handle the heat, and had relatively good flight skills.
Could this landrace ever become a breed?
This is clearly a personal view I have on the topic, and not a fact nor a prediction for the future of this landrace, but as of now, not many Greeks are interested in breed preservation, and from those who do, most aren't interested in improving this landrace since they view it as an accidental cross and nothing of true value. To an extent, I agree, this isn't a hidden treasure of a bird, but in my opinion it doesn't need to be in order to deserve preservation. With the way things are, I don't see the landrace becoming a breed any time soon, but if the Greek people were to take breeding and breed preservation more seriously, it is my personal belief that recognition for this landrace could be possible.
I hope this article was informative, or at the very least enjoyable.
If you have any more questions, or are interested in learning more about this landrace, I have linked my personal thread, where I can answer any questions, and where I share my experiences with keeping and hopefully breeding this landraceThread 'The Odyssey/Eros flock' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-odyssey-eros-flock.1568137/
Thank you for reading!
External appearance
Before we begin, I would like to mention that there is a second offshoot of the Tsouloufati, which is typically referred to as the Karagouniki. These two landraces are still so closely linked, that for the sake of this article they'll be placed under the same name of Tsouloufati, since the only real difference between them is that the Karagouniki typically don't have a crest.
With that out the way, here are the distinguishing characteristics of the Tsouloufati.
1. A crest, that can vary a lot from tiny to a pretty big one. This usually does not apply for the Karagouniki
2. A single comb that makes them able to survive the Greek weather, and especially the hot Greek summers. In some rare cases, these birds can also have rose combs, and it's not accidental that those specimens are found in the more mountainous parts of Greece, where the summers are more mild
3. A small to medium bird (1.5-2.5 kg for the hens and 2-3,5 for the roosters)
4. The color is quite variable, and is the last thing we look for. The most notable colors are a brown with a little black (photo two and three) and a spotted cream, which is more typical for the Karagouniki (photo one) then we have my "off standard" male (picture four). The typical colors help the birds blend in with their surroundings
5. All egg colors are acceptable, but the most common is cream
The main use for the landrace
This landrace is wanted for their free ranging skills. They are also good egg layers (200-260 eggs a year) and supposedly good broodies, something that mine have set out to disprove. As good free rangers, their flight skills are surprisingly good for a "regular" chicken, and not a gamefowl or jungle fowl
In the photo you can see a Tsouloufati mix hen roosting on a tree branch
Temperament
This landrace is not known for their friendliness towards humans. Considering their use in free range settings, one can presume this is done both intentionally and not. In addition to being wary of humans, they also aren't very easy going with their flockmates, and are not known to back down from a fight. I've had one of my hens beat a broody mom twice, and another one beat two hens while having a gaping wound on her side. All these adaptations have helped them survive in the Greek landscape for decades, so one could say that the land shaped the landrace
How was this landrace created?
No one knows what breeds were used in the making of this landrace. It is very possible that the variability observed in today's specimens is because there was not a single mix that created the landrace, but multiple, which over time took a similar appearance due to the need to survive on a similar terrain. This all becomes clear when we take into consideration the way people used to raise their chickens, which was different depending on where in Greece each person lived. For the fall and winter months, people who lived in the warmer parts of Greece kept their chickens near the house, totally free ranged. This meant that both guard dogs and humans were present and could relatively quickly come to their rescue. For the colder parts of Greece, this model was used year-round. As for the spring and summer, they moved their chickens to bigger pieces of land, outside the villages, where they were left free range all day and night, under the watchful eyes of LGDs. This overlapped with the hatching season, and thus broodies would raise their chicks in these settings. Consequently, the chicks that thrived were the ones that were quick to hide, blended in with their surroundings, could handle the heat, and had relatively good flight skills.
Could this landrace ever become a breed?
This is clearly a personal view I have on the topic, and not a fact nor a prediction for the future of this landrace, but as of now, not many Greeks are interested in breed preservation, and from those who do, most aren't interested in improving this landrace since they view it as an accidental cross and nothing of true value. To an extent, I agree, this isn't a hidden treasure of a bird, but in my opinion it doesn't need to be in order to deserve preservation. With the way things are, I don't see the landrace becoming a breed any time soon, but if the Greek people were to take breeding and breed preservation more seriously, it is my personal belief that recognition for this landrace could be possible.
I hope this article was informative, or at the very least enjoyable.
If you have any more questions, or are interested in learning more about this landrace, I have linked my personal thread, where I can answer any questions, and where I share my experiences with keeping and hopefully breeding this landraceThread 'The Odyssey/Eros flock' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-odyssey-eros-flock.1568137/
Thank you for reading!
