Manx Rumpies

A reader from Texas inquired about Manx Rumpies today. Several determined SPPA members raise this very rare and unusual breed. This picture of a pair is from www.feathersite.com, courtesy of Dr. Albert McGraw of Alabama. Also known as Persian Rumpless, they are sufficiently common in the Middle East that observers have reported seeing them in the background in news videos. Three Iranian scientists have examined the "Genetic Diversity in Five Iranian Native Chicken Populations Estimated by Microsatellite Markers" in the journal Biochemical Genetics, http://tinyurl.com/5ugmhe, with the intention of establishing the breed as native Iranian chickens, http://tinyurl.com/63egbm.

Rumplessness is an inherited characteristic, resulting in the absence of some bones at the base of the spine and incomplete preening glands. It occurs naturally in about one in 1,000 chicks, but is an established characteristic of this breed. Aldrovandi mentions it the Rumpless Fowl in his treatise on chickens, http://tinyurl.com/6opssp, the first printed work devoted to the subject in 1600.

This is a historic breed with interesting connections to our modern world. It's one well worth saving.