Denizli Fowl

A Denizli rooster
Photo courtesy of Mehmet Akdeniz, mehmetakdeniz@msn.com

This is the Turkish long-crowing fowl. The breed was developed in the southwestern part of Turkey, near the town of Denizli. Its crow can last 15-35 seconds. A first year bird has a crow of 20-25 seconds. Length of the crow diminishes after 3 years of age. Three types of crows exist: light, Davudi (medium), and coarse. Davudi is a single and clear voice.

The neck and legs of these birds are long. The breast is deep and wide and a squirrel tail is the norm for the breed. Rose and single combs both occur. Denizli fowl appear in 5 color varieties: Demirkyr (a balanced mixture of black and white); Pamukkyr (more white color than black color); Kinali (red spots on the wings); Al (Red) (a mixture of red and black colors); Black (completely black, no white feathers). Cocks weigh 3-3.5 kg (7-8.5 lb) and hens 2-2.5 kg (5-6 lb). This is not a highly fertile breed, so a male should only be given 3 hens in a breeding pen.

Chicks are black or yellowish black and are slow to feather out, maturing at about 8 months. Around 70 eggs are produced yearly and the hens are nonsitters.