Chicken x Pigeon Hybrid, Fact or Fiction?

[nuthatched]

And why do you say that? Out of curiosity, do you have proof?

No proof, just a working knowledge of genetics.
Boiled down, Chickens and birds has drastically different structures, Avian birds such as robins, sparrows, parrots, pigeons etc are hatched helpless for the parent pigeons to raise, Fowl such as, turkeys, chickens, quail, emu, ducks etc are hatched ready to go, and we've seen that hybrids among avian birds with avian birds and fowl with fowl. (birds in the same genus)
Even if an egg was 'fertilized' (even in the case of inter genus hybrids, there's very slim chances of viable offspring) it is highly unlikely that the chick would make it to hatch and if it did, would live only briefly.
I think a bantam with a fan tail or has the crown from a Victorian Crowned would be really neat, but unfortunatly it's just not possible.

 

[KingD]

Aren't those just Maltese pigeons?

Well, I'd say Maltese pigeons look more chicken like than a pigeon.
I personally don't think a Hybrid of these species is a possibility.

 

[Kessel23]

I don't believe it would be possible. There have been studies done on crossing chickens with turkeys and it seems near impossible to get any to hatch. These are two birds in the same family. Pigeons and chickens are most likely way to genetically different. Pigeons are from the family Columbidae and chickens from the family Phasianidae. I don't think it's possible for an animal to hybridize with one from an entirely seperate genetic family. It would be like breeding a dog to a cat.

Argh, now you've got me searching the internet too!

I'm finding some "pigeon-chicken hybrids" that are just odd-looking pigeons. (Quite a few are "Maltese Pigeons." I can see why people would think they are crossed with something, because they do look different than most pigeons, but they are really just another breed of pigeon.)

And I found one which was just a chicken (looked rather like a Japanese Bantam, but with a big fantail like some pigeons have. I wonder why we don't already have a bunch of fantail chicken breeds?)

And I found a thread on this forum, with a pigeon that THINKS it is a chicken:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egbert-the-pigeon-chicken.1275116/

But I'm not finding anything that tells for sure whether they can actually cross.

I can find that pigeons have 80 chromosomes and chickens have 78.
But that still doesn't prove anything, because horses have 64 chromosomes and donkeys have 62 chromosomes but they can breed to produce mules.

I guess I'll just keep watching this thread, in case anyone comes in with an actual answer!

Zonkeys (zebra/donkeys) exist. Zebras have between 32 and 46 chromosomes while donkeys have 62, which is no where near close to even 46!

Camas (camel and lama) exist. They have the same number of chromosomes but for thousands of years they were separated by a continent

There are many, many crosses, but I chose to mention those two because they have the biggest geographical and genetic differences, and yet still produce viable offspring.

So many things are possible, and I believe this could be possible, but I also don't believe anyone needs to be experimenting with crossing a Pidgeon and a chicken.

The difference between all these examples and a pigeon chicken cross is that these examples are all between two species of the same genetic family. Even when two species are from the same genetic family it doesn't mean they can cross, for example wood ducks and Mandarin ducks can't cross even though they are from the same genus.

 

[NatJ]

I think a bantam with a fan tail or has the crown from a Victorian Crowned would be really neat, but unfortunatly it's just not possible.

Chicken with a fantail is possible.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-pigeon-hybrid.1011606/
(Has a link to a video: chicken with a fan tail.)

https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/MalayFan/BRKMalayFan.html
These have fantails too, although not as big.

http://brianreederbreeder.blogspot.com/2019/04/fantailed-chickens.html
This article talks about fantail chickens, too.

 

[Kessel23]

I don't believe it would be possible. There have been studies done on crossing chickens with turkeys and it seems near impossible to get any to hatch. These are two birds in the same family. Pigeons and chickens are most likely way to genetically different. Pigeons are from the family Columbidae and chickens from the family Phasianidae. I don't think it's possible for an animal to hybridize with one from an entirely seperate genetic family. It would be like breeding a dog to a cat.


The difference between all these examples and a pigeon chicken cross is that these examples are all between two species of the same genetic family. Even when two species are from the same genetic family it doesn't mean they can cross, for example wood ducks and Mandarin ducks can't cross even though they are from the same genus.

To further emphasize just how different pigeons are genetically from chickens, they arent even in the same Order genetically, the family Columbidae belongs to the order Columbiformes. And the family Phasiandae belongs to the order Galliformes. The genetic gap between a chicken and a pigeon is larger than the genetic gap between a dog and a cat.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

To further emphasize just how different pigeons are genetically from chickens, they arent even in the same Order genetically, the family Columbidae belongs to the order Columbiformes. And the family Phasiandae belongs to the order Galliformes. The genetic gap between a chicken and a pigeon is larger than the genetic gap between a dog and a cat.

Fascinating. Thanks to some new insight, I'm getting closer and closer to thinking it's probably impossible! Or at least, highly improbable.

This has been a cool thread. I've enjoyed the discourse!

 

[ABC456]

I have seen those things, and they are creepy. Don't you think?

 

[Chicken poppy]

Argh, now you've got me searching the internet too!

I'm finding some "pigeon-chicken hybrids" that are just odd-looking pigeons. (Quite a few are "Maltese Pigeons." I can see why people would think they are crossed with something, because they do look different than most pigeons, but they are really just another breed of pigeon.)

And I found one which was just a chicken (looked rather like a Japanese Bantam, but with a big fantail like some pigeons have. I wonder why we don't already have a bunch of fantail chicken breeds?)

And I found a thread on this forum, with a pigeon that THINKS it is a chicken:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egbert-the-pigeon-chicken.1275116/

But I'm not finding anything that tells for sure whether they can actually cross.

I can find that pigeons have 80 chromosomes and chickens have 78.
But that still doesn't prove anything, because horses have 64 chromosomes and donkeys have 62 chromosomes but they can breed to produce mules.

I guess I'll just keep watching this thread, in case anyone comes in with an actual answer!

I have Japanese bantams and i had saw some odd looking pigeons roaming the streets this year. They seemed stockier and longer but i don’t see them very often. I wonder what was up with them.

 

[skeeeter]

If you need a cool trick to fool your friends, try this: put some viable chicken eggs under your broody pigeons and they will hatch them! You will have to remove the chicks after day2 to take care of them yourself and ... careful.. pigeons slap hard