Guest guest Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 Monday, March 12, 2001 South China Morning Post http://hongkong.scmp.com/ by VICTORIA BUTTON After five years and more than $10 million in research, a " superchicken " developed by the University of Hong Kong is on the verge of hitting the market. From June, consumers will be able to buy the chicken that scientists bred in response to a plea by farmers to put the flavour back into their fowls. The chickens will sell for around $60 to $80 each. Farmers complained that there had been so much cross-breeding between local birds and bland Western breeds that chickens had lost their taste. But superior flavour is not this chicken's only advantage, says its developer, Daniel Chan Kwong-on, the director of the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre and chair professor at the university's zoology department. It is also tender, fast-growing, has big drum-sticks and costs about the same as other premium birds. The exact make-up of the hybrid is secret - but it includes genes from an almost-extinct Chinese breed called the Huizhou, which shares its trademark beard. " You can mix A with B and produce a very nice C, " Professor Chan said of the new chicken variety, which was developed with funding from the Government's Innovation Technology Fund and the Vegetable Marketing Association. Having arrived at a chicken with meat they were happy with, the scientists decided to " dress " the bird to prevent fakes being bred. They gave it a beard, short legs with feathers, a rounded body and a red " rose comb " that splits at the back like a flower. It is expected the chickens will be sold at the rate of about 2,000 a week in June, with sales eventually increasing to about 2,000 a day. The chickens will also be sold with a special leg ring. In searching for raw genetic material, the scientists needed stocks of traditional Chinese chickens but found many breeds had almost disappeared. Professor Chan and his team went to the mainland to buy eggs from farmers. They hatched the birds in Hong Kong to form a living gene bank. " If we hadn't done it, we would have lost some of these breeds by now, " he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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