Hypothetical Project - Creating a Dinosaur-like Chicken

[Florida Bullfrog]

Wouldn't it be easier to bring back a terror bird first?

Aseel look very terror-bird like when they’re young.

 

[nicalandia]

Those feet. Where are they now?

They found a new Home.

This is one of the males at 5 month old, 5 pounds

 

[nicalandia]

I don't think they're going to clone anything, just try to switch genes off/on.

True, Chickens are Dinosours already

 

[DobieClose]

This is technically hypothetical, but I’d love to see it happen in reality! (Albeit as long as precautions were taken to prevent insane inbreeding and health issues)

Alright, so the goal would be to emulate the look of theropods as closely as possible through breeding alone, meaning that they would never have teeth or a proper snout. However, the illusion of these features could be done through selecting traits that sorta look like it (notches in the beak that resemble tomial teeth, a broader beak, etc.). As far as overall head shape goes, with almost forward-facing eyes and a narrow, angular head, the Yokohama chicken has the best overall (i might be a little biased lol, I love the way they look!).
View attachment 3199106
For the beak shape itself, the broad and rounded beaks of chantecler and cornish seem to be good candidates to give it more height. I’ve never seen chicken breeds that have a notch in the beak, but assuming the trait is possible through mutations and encouraging that mutation’s development (mild abnormality of the beak that appears like a tomial tooth being bred to where it becomes more prominent, as long as it is specifically monitored to refrain from it becoming a hindrance to the animal itself), it could be introduced over time. If this is not possible, than a rounded and high (height in comparison to the head) beak works well to emulate a snout regardless.

View attachment 3199107
View attachment 3199108
View attachment 3199111 As far as the body itself goes, assuming we are trying to recreate the body plan of a generic dromaeosaur, it needs to be held horizontally to the ground. Most chickens have a body like this, and as far as feathering goes, hard feathering would show more of the form itself, leading to a more dinosaur-like silhouette (found in breeds like Aseel, Malay, Saipan, etc; preferably Saipan because of [from what I remember, correct me if I’m wrong] their genetic diversity due to being highly mixed.) However, the vertical stature of game chickens is also extremely interesting, and would likely mix well with the other features bred for in this project.
View attachment 3199116


As far as wings go, the question comes down to whether or not the breed is intended to be a good flyer; I think having the capability of flight is preferable, with longer legs making terrestrial travel more favorable. Keeping the game chicken legs while introducing breeds like Sumatra for both the coloring and the flight capabilities would likely suit this purpose.

For tails, the Yokohama blood would likely already result in a long tail, especially with the added Sumatra.

Throughout, care would need to be taken in ensuring that, despite the game breeds being present in the heritage, the temperaments of the other parents win out, as these animals would exclusively be pets and show animals (could potentially have higher egg production bred in as well, but that is not a priority). Game chickens can be very sweet with people, but I worry about the potential interactions they might have with other chickens.

What do you all think? Are there better ways to go about the hypothetical project? What breeds would you incorporate into your dream dino-chicken?

If it flies, will it be a dragon?
Also, are there any bald chicken breeds?
Green legs would be cool too.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

There are genetic mutations that cause naked chickens. The Israeli naked chicken is one and I saw a thread a while ago about someone who had an Orpington(?) Flock that threw a few naked chicks.

Look into bantam Cornish. They might fit what you're looking for more than the standards. They have tight feathering, can be rather horizontal and some have skulls that have the eyes a bit more forwards with a shorter beak

 

[JacinLarkwell]

View attachment 3199138
I love the coloring! The head feels a bit too rounded and short for what I’m looking for, but the small size and hard feathering, along with the horizontal stature, would be good to add

They're definitely little goofball heads sometimes. Others look more like regular chicken heads. But some of the golf ball ones have eyes that are a bit more forwards

Brown one has a traditional chicken head, the white laced is the golf ball queen on the golf balls.
Plus they're prone to brood if you wanted the natural breeding as a trait.

These two do act more like dragons in my opinion though when brooding. The brown especially is very protective of her two Littles she hatched.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Interesting project.

Malays would be a good route. Depending on where you are, I have an ad placed for a rooster I'm currently trying to sell.

Their head shape can be very dinosaur like depending on who's breeding them. This girl has yet to lay me a none torpedo shaped egg I can actually hatch.

1st picture is an older one just to show her head shape clearly.

 

[ChicksnMore]

This is technically hypothetical, but I’d love to see it happen in reality! (Albeit as long as precautions were taken to prevent insane inbreeding and health issues)

Alright, so the goal would be to emulate the look of theropods as closely as possible through breeding alone, meaning that they would never have teeth or a proper snout. However, the illusion of these features could be done through selecting traits that sorta look like it (notches in the beak that resemble tomial teeth, a broader beak, etc.). As far as overall head shape goes, with almost forward-facing eyes and a narrow, angular head, the Yokohama chicken has the best overall (i might be a little biased lol, I love the way they look!).
View attachment 3199106
For the beak shape itself, the broad and rounded beaks of chantecler and cornish seem to be good candidates to give it more height. I’ve never seen chicken breeds that have a notch in the beak, but assuming the trait is possible through mutations and encouraging that mutation’s development (mild abnormality of the beak that appears like a tomial tooth being bred to where it becomes more prominent, as long as it is specifically monitored to refrain from it becoming a hindrance to the animal itself), it could be introduced over time. If this is not possible, than a rounded and high (height in comparison to the head) beak works well to emulate a snout regardless.

View attachment 3199107
View attachment 3199108
View attachment 3199111 As far as the body itself goes, assuming we are trying to recreate the body plan of a generic dromaeosaur, it needs to be held horizontally to the ground. Most chickens have a body like this, and as far as feathering goes, hard feathering would show more of the form itself, leading to a more dinosaur-like silhouette (found in breeds like Aseel, Malay, Saipan, etc; preferably Saipan because of [from what I remember, correct me if I’m wrong] their genetic diversity due to being highly mixed.) However, the vertical stature of game chickens is also extremely interesting, and would likely mix well with the other features bred for in this project.
View attachment 3199116


As far as wings go, the question comes down to whether or not the breed is intended to be a good flyer; I think having the capability of flight is preferable, with longer legs making terrestrial travel more favorable. Keeping the game chicken legs while introducing breeds like Sumatra for both the coloring and the flight capabilities would likely suit this purpose.

For tails, the Yokohama blood would likely already result in a long tail, especially with the added Sumatra.

Throughout, care would need to be taken in ensuring that, despite the game breeds being present in the heritage, the temperaments of the other parents win out, as these animals would exclusively be pets and show animals (could potentially have higher egg production bred in as well, but that is not a priority). Game chickens can be very sweet with people, but I worry about the potential interactions they might have with other chickens.

What do you all think? Are there better ways to go about the hypothetical project? What breeds would you incorporate into your dream dino-chicken?

There's actually some scientists that have been working on reverse engineering dinosaurs from chickens. It's fun to read about and would be even more fun to work on!

 

[Egg Snatcher]

@AGeese, I found some Rezal Aseel on eBay, they have the face of what you, I think, are going for.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284593370181?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

 

[RhymeOrReason]

If it flies, will it be a dragon?
Also, are there any bald chicken breeds?
Green legs would be cool too.

Honestly they could pass for dragon chickens too lol! And I have no clue, I’ve never seen any but a bald-head is likely possible, as well as green legs! After the general physical appearance was made, color mutations like that would be easier to focus on