Naked Neck (Turken): The Bare-Necked Breed That Isn't Part Turkey
The short version
Egg-color genetics
Naked Necks lay an ordinary light-brown to tinted egg — the brown pigment (protoporphyrin) is laid down as a coating over a white shell base, the same way most brown layers work. The featherless neck has nothing to do with egg color; it is a plumage trait, not a shell-pigment trait.
Is the Naked Neck part turkey?
No. The 'Turken' nickname came from the old, mistaken idea that the bird was a chicken-turkey cross, but it is entirely chicken. Chickens and turkeys are different species and do not produce fertile hybrids. The bare neck is simply the visible effect of the Na gene.
Molecular work has traced the trait to a large DNA insertion downstream of the GDF7 gene, which raises the amount of a feather-suppressing signal (BMP12) in the neck skin during development — so the neck never grows its normal feather tracts. It is a homegrown chicken mutation, full stop.
Why the bare neck is actually useful
A bird carrying the Na gene has roughly 20–40% fewer feathers overall (more in homozygous NaNa birds), which makes it noticeably better at shedding heat. That is why Naked Necks are popular in hot climates and are studied as a way to keep poultry productive under heat stress. The reduced feathering also historically made the birds quicker to pluck for the table.
Breeding notes
- The bare neck is controlled by one incompletely dominant gene, Na. Because it is incompletely dominant, you can tell the two genotypes apart by looking: a bird with two copies (NaNa, homozygous) has the cleanest, most fully bare neck, while a bird with one copy (Nana, heterozygous) shows a small tuft or 'bowtie' of feathers at the base of the front of the neck, above the crop.
- Breeding a homozygous NaNa bird to any fully feathered mate (nana) gives 100% naked-neck chicks — but all of them heterozygous, so they will carry the tell-tale bowtie tuft. To fix the cleanest necks in your line, pair NaNa to NaNa.
- Na × Na (both heterozygous, Nana × Nana) segregates roughly 1 NaNa : 2 Nana : 1 nana — meaning about a quarter of the chicks will hatch with a normal, fully feathered neck. If throwbacks to full feathering appear in your naked-neck pen, this is why; select breeders that are homozygous to avoid it.
- Despite the 'Turken' name, this is not and never was a chicken-turkey hybrid — the two species cannot produce fertile hybrids. Breed selection is ordinary chicken breeding; cull to breed type and the recognized color varieties rather than reproducing standard text.
Showing notes
- As a European composite breed, the Naked Neck is exhibited in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class; enter by variety (e.g. 'Black Naked Neck, large fowl').
- For exhibition, judges favor a cleanly bare neck and the characteristic red skin on the exposed neck; a heavily feathered or fully 'bowtied' neck reads as a heterozygous bird and is less typey than a clean, homozygous one.
- Keep the exposed neck skin in condition — it can sunburn or chap, so shade and good feathering elsewhere matter for a bird headed to the show table.
Hatching & incubation
- No special incubation requirements — treat Naked Neck eggs like any chicken egg: 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
- The naked-neck trait is visible from hatch: chicks that carry the gene emerge with obviously bare or sparsely downed necks, so you can rough-sort naked-neck from fully feathered chicks in the hatcher.
Recognized varieties
Frequently asked questions
- What color eggs do Naked Necks lay?
- Light-brown (tinted) eggs. Naked Necks are dependable dual-purpose layers; the featherless neck is a plumage trait and has no effect on egg color.
- Are Naked Necks good for showing?
- Yes. They're recognized by the APA and shown in the All Other Standard Breeds class in four varieties — Black, White, Red, and Buff. Judges look for a cleanly bare neck (a fully homozygous bird) and good breed type; a feathered 'bowtie' tuft marks a heterozygous bird.
- How hard are Naked Necks to hatch?
- No harder than any chicken — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. There are no breed-specific incubation quirks; naked-neck chicks are just recognizable at hatch by their bare necks.
- Is the Naked Neck really part turkey?
- No — it is 100% chicken. The 'Turken' name comes from an old myth about a turkey cross. The bare neck is caused by a single chicken gene (Na), and chickens and turkeys cannot produce fertile hybrids.
- Why do some Naked Necks have a small tuft of feathers on the neck?
- Because the Na gene is incompletely dominant. Birds with two copies (homozygous, NaNa) have the cleanest bare neck; birds with one copy (heterozygous, Nana) show a small 'bowtie' tuft of feathers at the front base of the neck. Breeding two homozygous birds together eliminates the tuft.
- Do Naked Necks handle heat well?
- Yes — that's a signature strength. Carrying the Na gene reduces total feathering by roughly 20–40%, so the birds shed body heat more easily and stay productive in hot weather better than most fully feathered breeds.
Sources
- Naked Neck (Turken) — breed origin, history & description — Oklahoma State University, Dept. of Animal & Food Sciences (Breeds of Livestock) (University extension)
- The Naked Neck Gene in the Domestic Chicken: A Genetic Strategy to Mitigate the Impact of Heat Stress in Poultry Production — A Review — Animals (MDPI), 2023, 13(6):1007 (Reference)
- Turken (Naked Neck) chickens — colors, egg color & care — Cackle Hatchery (Hatchery)
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