What a big chook!
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382107)
Rockingham, Australia
March 13, 2017 5:08am CST
I posted about the 'big ram' which has pride of place in the Western Australian town of Wagin. @WorDazza stated in his response that there should be something similar in more UK towns. I was able to tell him that there is a giant statue of a chook (chicken, hen, rooster) in the middle of the Deepdene roundabout which I gather is at one of the entrances to the town of Dorking in Surrey, England.
The statue is of a Dorking cockerel, which is one of the oldest English poultry breeds having been introduced into Britain from Italy at the time of the Roman conquest. Dorkings appeared in the first British poultry show in 1845 when Dorking town was one of the main centres of production.
There are five recognised colour varieties: White, Red, Dark, Cuckoo and Silver-grey. Dorkings have five toes compared to four of most breeds. The legs are very short. They are used for both egg and meat production. Some chicken breeds have white ear-lobes; some have red. The Dorking has red but lays white-shelled eggs which is somewhat unusual.
The photo is from Wikimedia Commons and was taken by Mark Percy [CC BY-SA 2.0 (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)].
23 people like this
23 responses
@WorDazza (15826)
• Manchester, England
13 Mar 17
Now that's what I'm talking about!! We need more of this stuff in the world.
I think I'll do some research. See what else is waiting for me around the UK.
Although, impressive as it is, it's not impressive enough to make me want to go to Dorking!!!
4 people like this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
13 Mar 17
You can get into the Guinness Book of records for your search on notable statues in Western Australia 
4 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
13 Mar 17
I'll take that chicken on the grill!
3 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
13 Mar 17
That would feed my family for a long time if it were real.
3 people like this
@nottoooldtowrite (2715)
• Philippines
13 Mar 17
@JudyEv but how can such a big chook get cooked? 
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
13 Mar 17
I like it! I have been looking for a nice big rooster :-) I would love to have my picture by it. What fun captions that could make for. I'm surprised they come in so many colors. What color is Cuckoo? I would assume yellow?
3 people like this
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Mar 17
@FayeHazel I love anything to do with livestock breeds so it was a pleasure finding out a bit more. Dozens of sites mentioned 'cuckoo' but it took a while to find one that actually said what the colouring was.
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 17
I had difficulty finding anything about cuckoo colour but one site said: The cuckoo has fuzzy bands of grey and dark grey across each feather. It seems there are four official colours in the US with cuckoo and additional one recognised in the UK but when you go searching there are a heap of 'unofficial' colours and patterns as well. So there you have it. 
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
14 Mar 17
@JudyEv Oh that sounds pretty - thanks for researching :-)
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
13 Mar 17
impressive statue - I love it
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
14 Mar 17
@JudyEv never been there sadly
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
13 Mar 17
mmmn, that would make a really large baked chicken! lol
3 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Mar 17
That bird could provide the world's biggest chicken BBQ.
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43596)
• Denver, Colorado
13 Mar 17
Are you aware of an American Public Television show called Sesame Street? They have a character called Big Bird. But THAT'S a Big Bird!
3 people like this
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 17
Has to be a male otherwise they'd be hens and ewes being displayed.
@allen0187 (59761)
• Philippines
14 Mar 17
You know what they say about big chooks... they come from big eggs!
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (59761)
• Philippines
14 Mar 17
@JudyEv big eggs was the trend back in the day!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 17
@allen0187 We can buy big eggs, medium eggs, cage eggs, barn eggs, free-range eggs, then all of the above as organic eggs. The choice is humungous.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Mar 17
It doesn't worry me really although it's a bit of a shame that it looks so tinny.
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 17
@amandajay It is only 10 feet high. It looks more doesn't it?
1 person likes this
@amandajay (23262)
• New Zealand
14 Mar 17
@JudyEv yeah even i was thinking the same... What about its height? More than 20 feets i think
1 person likes this
@Gita17112016 (3611)
• Trinidad And Tobago
13 Mar 17
Very interesting post. i learn something new. But I am curious...five toes? I wonder if this is evolution?
2 people like this
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 17
There are a few chicken breeds with five toes. Some are the Dorking, Faverolle, Houden, Sultan, and Non-bearded Silkie Bantams. I think that is all actually. Maybe these are ancient breeds and all related way back. I really don't know.
@JudyEv (382107)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Mar 17
@TheInvisibleMan It might put you off chicken for life!
1 person likes this
