For starting points sake a near boneless and beakless chicken would never be accomplished. 1) The chicken (any bird as a matter of fact) uses a specail "horn" on the beak when it hatches. The "horn" is really an eggtooth, a small horn shaped bump on the end of a chicks beak. The chick uses both beak and eggtooth to hatch. The chick must break the film that holds air in the eggshell to get it's first breath then use the now hardening beak and horn to break the shell. (see ill.)
A beakless bird would die after a day and a half after the 20th day of incubation.
2) On the list is the fact that such a chicken with so much "genetic tampering" would cost millions to build a lab, several more to secure and hire scientist, genetic engineers, equipment, gene mapping technology, broilers(chicken raised for meat, cronish-rock cross often.See ill.) to extract genetic materail, several millions to figure out how to "incubate" these mutants outside an egg (another impossibility), and then how do you breed a near boneless chicken?
Now here comes a new flaw to the whole legend: How do you breed the near boneless mutant?
For those who don't know about chicken biology should know that A) The shell of an egg is not created by the calcium a hen eats, it's taken from the bones! As weak bone structures as these things are supposed to have an egg would kill the mutant hen thus a waste of millions(by the way the first mutant would cost millions and those following would cost thousands each.).
If a regular barnyard hen were to lay an egg with a low calcium in bones she would lay a yolk with a light film that would crack instantly in the nest or even she might lay a completely shelless egg in both cases the egg is useless for food or breeding purposes.
The final resort is to clone. It would take all the above mentioned machinary minus some and some of the scientists above would still be needed to clone our mutant into several more each at the price of thousands for one bird.
Now after all this expense to create the mutant chicken I give you something else to think over. A cronish rock cross (Don't let the drawing fool you) can weigh anywhere from 15-20 pounds! I owned a Texas A&M broilor hen that hit the scale at 18 pounds! Why spend so much when the "heavy mutant" chicken already exists. It may not be featherless, beakless or have several legs but it is the biggest (weight wise) chicken around.
I wouldn't believe this one at all unless you pop into your local KFC and have to pay $5,000 for a drumstick alone.
Now I don't want anyone jumping to any conclusion on the next part: Is a bald chicken possible? Is a multiple legged chicken possible? Yes. (Here is where I want you to not jump the gun.)
Okay, a multi legged chicken is possible but, and I do mean "but", it would take several! generations that could be well over a thousand years or more! Birds are the decendants of dinosaurs, now some birds "but" very rare have "fingers" on their wings. The haiwatsun (will correct later if spelled wrong) has these primitive fingers as a chick, they help it grip branches and climb back into the nest if knocked out. When it reaches adulthood these "fingers" are just little stubs then they are just claws. Some chickens are born with claws on their wing butts. After selective breeding these claws could be grown into a arm like the first primitive feathered reptiles.
Finally: Is a featherless chicken possible? Yes. "But" it already does exist! I would like you to meet Buzzard my pet Turken (A chicken bred for it's turkrylike qualities).
Buzzard from the photos above may seem like she is featherless just on her neck but, she has less feathers under her wings, legs, and even around her vent (a chicken doesn't have a "butt" the vent is where the eggs and feces are expelled, also the sexaul organs are held in the vent protecting them.) these featherless regions of the body are traits of the Turken breed. A truly bald chicken has been born! In south america a family of chicken farms purchased Turkens as a novelty fowl to help make some extra cash. A few years of breeding and a shock came to them when a chick was hatched completely featherless! The bird is still in the family's possesion and will not be sold. They are now exhibiting the freak Turken. I saw it on Real TV about 3 years ago. It's been done and I'm going to try! With Buzzard's help of course.
Now I apologize for being so long winded on this story but, it was so stupid and people where believing it that I felt I should resolve this matter.-JLB. By the way here's a catalog pic. of Turkens. They have little bald necks from day one!
Back to Urban Legends guide.
Next
