"Superchicken" from about 1970?

[ChelequaRom]

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.

You never saw these birds. The owner I knew said the chicken knocked him to the ground. It hit him from behind just below his knees & spurred him badly enough he needed medical attention. He was a slightly built man ( maybe 5 '7", 145 lbs) but still that is pretty scary. I am not sure about the breed of the dog but it was mid sized. It was black & white & the owner also kept sheep so I suspect border collie or border collie mix.

 

[dheltzel]

You never saw these birds. The owner I knew said the chicken knocked him to the ground. It hit him from behind just below his knees & spurred him badly enough he needed medical attention. He was a slightly built man ( maybe 5 '7", 145 lbs) but still that is pretty scary. I am not sure about the breed of the dog but it was mid sized. It was black & white & the owner also kept sheep so I suspect border collie or border collie mix.

You're right, I never saw them or heard of them, despite growing up with chickens during that time. News, and even rumors, didn't travel as well back then. So the roo used the element of surprise on a man, I'll be the guy didn't turn his back on him again! Roos seldom attack head on, they may challenge, but they are stupid enough to come toward someone whose body language suggests they are aware and prepared, we are too big for them to take in a fair fight, so they resort to guerilla tactics. I used to kick that silkie roo every single day so he'd leave me alone to work in the pen. He's wait until he thought I wasn't looking and them attack, but I'd turn just in time and hit him full on with a steel toed boot. He never learned, we did this dance every day for years, the only time he hurt anyone was when they were not prepared for him. He was only a few pounds and could draw blood, so a large roo could definitely do even more damage, but he could never hurt an adult that was ready for him.

Border collies are great, very smart and obedient. This one was probably trained to tolerate chickens and essentially let the roo hurt him because he was trained to never fight back. If it was a dog with a string prey instinct like a husky or terrier, it would have ended much differently.

I'm just saying that rumors from the 70's can take on a larger than life aspect and get more and more fiction added as they are retold. We all like a story that is big and making it even bigger is nice. I don't doubt the basic facts, I just doubt that a chicken could be bred to be as fearsome as suggested.

 

[ChelequaRom]

You're right, I never saw them or heard of them, despite growing up with chickens during that time. News, and even rumors, didn't travel as well back then. So the roo used the element of surprise on a man, I'll be the guy didn't turn his back on him again! Roos seldom attack head on, they may challenge, but they are stupid enough to come toward someone whose body language suggests they are aware and prepared, we are too big for them to take in a fair fight, so they resort to guerilla tactics. I used to kick that silkie roo every single day so he'd leave me alone to work in the pen. He's wait until he thought I wasn't looking and them attack, but I'd turn just in time and hit him full on with a steel toed boot. He never learned, we did this dance every day for years, the only time he hurt anyone was when they were not prepared for him. He was only a few pounds and could draw blood, so a large roo could definitely do even more damage, but he could never hurt an adult that was ready for him.

Border collies are great, very smart and obedient. This one was probably trained to tolerate chickens and essentially let the roo hurt him because he was trained to never fight back. If it was a dog with a string prey instinct like a husky or terrier, it would have ended much differently.

I'm just saying that rumors from the 70's can take on a larger than life aspect and get more and more fiction added as they are retold. We all like a story that is big and making it even bigger is nice. I don't doubt the basic facts, I just doubt that a chicken could be bred to be as fearsome as suggested.

No rumor-I was there. I saw the bird, saw the dog before and after, and talked to the farmer. He let my dad use a bit of his land for a vegetable garden. After I found out the breed name here I was able to find a newspaper interview of the breed developer. According to this article his prize rooster Weido also crippled a dog, knocked him (Grant Sullen) down, killed 2 cats, bit a hole in a feed bucket, and bit the tip of a visitors' finger off. He also mentioned the HENS killed 2 cats that entered their coop. Think about it-a breed that was a prolific layer as well as a fast growing, meaty bird should not have disappeared unless something was badly wrong with it.

 

[Michael OShay]

No rumor-I was there. I saw the bird, saw the dog before and after, and talked to the farmer. He let my dad use a bit of his land for a vegetable garden. After I found out the breed name here I was able to find a newspaper interview of the breed developer. According to this article his prize rooster Weido also crippled a dog, knocked him (Grant Sullen) down, killed 2 cats, bit a hole in a feed bucket, and bit the tip of a visitors' finger off. He also mentioned the HENS killed 2 cats that entered their coop. Think about it-a breed that was a prolific layer as well as a fast growing, meaty bird should not have disappeared unless something was badly wrong with it.

It's true. I remember it quite well as several articles on the White Sully appeared in respected publications. The breed also made the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest chicken breed.