Avian Production Management

NAKED NECK

• Naked neck is relatively larger inbuilt with long cylindrical neck.
• As the name indicates, neck of the birds is fully naked or only a tuft of feathers is seen on the front of the neck above crop. The resulting bare skin becomes reddish particularly in males as they approach sexual maturity. General body feathering is also reduced.
• Various types of combs viz. pea, rose, walnut and single combs are seen.
• The beak is short and well curved. The face is long and not covered with feathers. The eyes are compact and well set. The skin is thin and pinkish in colour.
• The beak and shanks have no correlation with plumage colour. Main plumage colours are brown, black, white and mixture of brown and black.
• Due to the reduced feathering, the birds are capable to tolerate the tropical stress. It lays the biggest size eggs among all the Indian native breeds of chicken.
• Trivandrum region of Kerala is considered to be the homeland of Naked neck but it is available throughout hot and humid coastal area including Andaman and Nicobar island and North-Eastern states of the country in small numbers.
• People of these regions have great affinity for Naked neck birds due to their better adaptability to the hot and humid climatic conditions as well as for better taste and flavour of meat.