RhymeOrReason
Chirping
- Jul 4, 2022
- 36
- 70
- 52
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!).
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.
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.
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?
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!).
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.
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?
