Friday, February 15, 2008

More on what people do with chickens



This is the Denizli Horozu rooster of Turkey, a breed that has been bred for its long crow. I had no idea this sort of bird existed until I saw it on YouTube, and even then I thought at first that it was a joke.

But, as the Turkish Ministry of Culture tells us in this oddly translated page, the roosters of the city of Denizli are a local treasure, providing a sense of place from dawn's first crow.
The sound of Denizli roosters are classified according to the tone and clearness. According to sound tones they are divided into 3 groups: İNCE, DAVUDİ, KALIN SES. Davudi (bass) voice is between high pitched and deep voice and is the only sound close to deep voice. According to clearness, they are divided into 4 groups, namely: SAD VOICE, SHRILL VOICE, WAVY VOICE (FUNNY VOICE).

Crowing of Denizli roosters is performed upon use of all abilities. Crowing is divided into 4 groups depending on body position during crowing, which are LION CROWING, WOLF CROWING, HERO CROWING, PUS CROWING.

A good Denizli Rooster must have: alive apearance, long and strong legs and neck, wide and deep chest, sharp and sloped toward head tail. The same features are true for the chicken. The crowing period of Denizli Roosters in the first year must be 20 to 25 seconds.


The article contains a refutation of rumours that Denizli roosters are a result of crossbreeding with Albanian birds and a local homily,
Each rooster crows at its own place,
But Denizli Rooster crows everywhere.
These people are passionate about their local breed of chicken!

Humans and chickens have evolved together since prehistory, with many interesting local variants. I have felt an urgency about publicizing these variants since I read in 2006 about a plan to fight avian flu by replacing the world's infinite variety of chicken breeds with a new genetically-modified flu resistant strain. The idea starts out innocent enough, but it is the sort of cultural misunderstanding that starts wars.

It seems crazy, but I really think I can promote peace by raising awareness of the world's peoples' chicken practices.......

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