SPECIALIST BREEDING CENTRE FOR NAKED NECK CHICKENS ON ONTONG JAVA ATOLL Ontong Java Atoll is the most northern part of the Solomon Islands located close to the PNG Border. The local name for this atoll is Luaniua. The Naked Neck chickens which are predominant on the atoll were originally brought from Nukumanu Atoll which is 50 km north and on the PNG side of the border. These Naked Neck chickens which are kept on Ontong Java Atoll are a valuable resource. This needs to be built up in both size of the chicken and in numbers so it can be sold across the Solomons as specialist breeding chickens. They can easily be kept just like normal village chickens and the eggs and meat used the same. However if farmers concentrate on just breeding Naked Necks the can make more income from them as a pure breed to be used in the improvement programs across the country. The main organiser of the specialist Naked Neck kokorako breeding program is Ontong Java resident Joel Kiese. The plan is for the Luaniua Farmers Association to conduct workshops to teach other kokorako breeders proper management of their chickens so that the Naked Neck bird is multiplied to a stage where they can be sold to the markets in Honiara as well as to other Breeding Stations across the country. The correct name for this chicken is the “Transylvania Naked Neck” because it is believed to have originally originated from that part of Europe in the1600s. It is also sometimes called a “Turken” because some people think it is a cross between a chicken and a turkey which gave it the un-feathered area on the neck. However this is actually the result of a single gene that affects the arrangement of the feather-growing tracts over the chicken’s body. There are usually no feathers on a broad band between the shoulders and the base of the skull. They also have a reduced number of feathers on their body but this is not really noticed until the kokorako is picked up and handled. The “naked” gene is quite dominant and can be easily crossed into any breed of chicken. The naked neck appears from day of hatching and it is more noticeable in male crossbred chickens Because of this reduced number of feathers the Naked Neck is better suited to the heat of tropical climates than other breeds of chicken. They have a good reputation for their ability to forage freely resulting in plentiful flesh meat. The Naked Neck has been used in France for centuries as a free ranging meat bird and is still used as the basis for their industry. The Naked Neck is classified as a large bird and is a good layer of tinted eggs. As it has been crossed with lots of other different breeds of chickens the size has become a little smaller and work is needed to breed it back to the larger size. The adult males can weigh up to 5kg live weight and hens to 3kg. All these good breeding characteristics make the Naked Neck ideally suited to village chicken keeping in the Solomon Islands and they should be the main breed used in improving the breeding of village chickens. The Naked Neck was first sighted by Russell Parker in a village on Suava Bay in North Malaita in 2004. The local stori told how the Naked Neck was first brought to Malaita from Ontong Java. They were also seen by RP on St Cruz Island in November 2005. view gallery