Berat Chicken

     The Berat or the Bosnian Crower is a breed of Chickens that originated in Albania and Yugoslavia. It got its name from the town of Berat in Albania, where it ‘s thought to be its exact birthplace. The Berat is a long-crower chicken with a bass voice and a crow that may last up to 15 seconds.

     The Berat chicken was introduced into Turkey by Albanian and Bosnian immigrants. It is very rare in its homeland now (former Yugoslavia) because of war, where it is almost extinct. 

     The Berat is a tall chicken with willow-green legs, and comes only the white color-variety. As per the standard, it should have a rose comb, but due to crossbreeding with other local chicken breeds, some offspring show large single combs instead. The Berat has also red earlobes, moderate-sized to large wattles, and is one of the few breeds in which squirrel tail is desired. 

     Berat hens are classified as non-sitters and produce around (80 – 100) white-shelled eggs per year. In Turkey, Berats are being used as breeders for obtaining the white color-variety of the Denizli chicken breed. The white Denizli is mainly different in having a single comb, darker eyes, and a longer crow.

 

Place of originAlbania and Yugoslavia
UseMeat, crowing and preservation
Weight

Male: 3 – 3.5 kg

female: 2 – 2.5 kg

Comb typeRose comb
Egg colorWhite

 

1 6 - Berat Chicken
A Berat hen by Opzwartbeek
2 5 - Berat Chicken
A couple of Berat Chickens by Sanjakcrower
3 - Berat Chicken
A pair of Berat chickens by Sanjakcrower