The Search for the Holy Quail
The green chicken
In the year 2001, my laboratory under the direction of Prof. Mordechai Shemesh developed a method of inserting a gene sequence into sperm cells which could then be used in artificial insemination to create transgenic animals (see
http://aryeh-shore.blogspot.co.il/2012/02/sperm-mediated-transfer-thesis.html for scientific description). We put the gene from a jellyfish (in Hebrew
medusa) into chicken sperm and obtained chickens having the green fluorescent protein expressed in various tissues. The green florescent protein (GFP) sequence is make in a laboratory and never saw a jellyfish. (The discoverers of GFP received a Nobel Prize for it in 2008.). At that time Prof. Mordechai Shemesh wrote an article in Haaretz describing the work. About three weeks after this I received a phone call from Rav Yosef Ephrati (בית מדרש גבוה להלכה בהתיישבות החקלאית) that a certain well known person in Bnei Brak was very ill and not eating any eggs or chicken as he read in the paper that someone had made a cross between and unkosher fish and a chicken (דג טמא עם עוף טהור) His family was very upset. He wanted to know if it would be possible for me to come to Rav Wosner's (
Rabbi Shmuel (HaLevi) Wosner ( הרב שמואל הלוי וואזנר) court for an examination of the topic.
How do you say DNA in Yiddish?
So one night, Rav Rubin and Rav Kook
הרה"ג שמחה הכהן קוק שליט"א והרה"ג אברהם ישראל רובין שליט"א ראשי בד"ץ מהדרין באותו ימים
bundled me into a cab and we drove from Rechovot to Bnei Barak. It was necessary to translate my Hebrew into Yiddish for the persons sitting around the table. I explained that 1. the chicken never saw a jellyfish. Scientists learned from the jellyfish the sequence of DNA (a chemical) to put into the sperm. It is not different from giving any other chemical. 2. The use of transgenic animals for research is severely restricted. You are not allowed to sell them and all of the chickens are destroyed at the end of the experiment. We also discussed how it is not possible to cross a chicken with an eagle or hawk or any other avian species. This was a big concern at the time since people were concerned with chickens that have feet like raptors.
The search for the holy quail
At the end of the meeting, I was approach by a group of individuals who were concerned with the purity of the hybrids like Rhode Island Red in use for growing meat. They were concerned that Malay hen or Guinea fowl which they did not considered chicken had been used in created the cross-breeds. They wanted to find the true chicken. I informed them that as obsessed as the Jews get with something, the non-Jews will always be more obsessed and there was something called the British Poultry Club which maintained pure breeds.
[
The Poultry Club, founded 1877, is a registered charity existing to safeguard the interests of all pure and traditional breeds of poultry including chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys.Guardians of the 'British Poultry Standards', the Club has a crucial role in safeguarding stock bloodlines which have been maintained for generations. The 6th edition of this book was published in July 2008.
From their site:
Malay
At the first poultry show in England in 1845 the Malay had its classification, and in the first British Book of Standards of 1865 descriptions were included of both the black/red and the white Malay. One of the oldest breeds, the Malay reached this country as early as 1830 and our breeders developed it, particularly in Cornwall and Devon. At the turn of the twentieth century the Malay was the first breed to be bantamized, the bantams proving to be more popular than the large fowl. They were large in comparison to other bantams, and it is difficult to reduce size further without losing the typical large fowl characteristics. They should follow the large fowl standard in every respect except weight.
Rhode Island Red
No breed made such a world progress in so short a time as this American breed. It was developed from Asiatic black-red fowls of Shanghai, Malay and Java types, bred on the farms of Rhode Island Province. Red Javas were known there in 1860, and the original Rhode Island Red had a rose comb, although birds with single combs, probably from brown Leghorn crossings, were bred. They were first exhibited as Rhode Island Reds in 1880 in South Massachusetts. In December 1898, the Rhode Island Red Club of America held their first meeting. In 1904, the Single Comb variety was admitted to the American Poultry Association of Perfection, followed in 1906 by the Rose Combs. The formation of the British Rhode Island Red Club took place in August 1909 and the breed has been one of the most popular in this country for all purposes. Being a gold, males of the breed are utilized extensively in gold-silver sex linked matings.]
Do you know who Rembrandt was?
After a year or so, I was again contacted by the group. They were very disappointed with the British Poultry Club. They wanted something older. I told them, I realize you may not know who Rembrandt was, but in Rembrandt's time there was a painter name Melchior who was absolutely bonkers about painting birds. I inform them that as obsessed as the Jews are with something, the non-Jews are even more obsessed and there is a Dutch Group which still maintains the pure breed, the Brabanter shown in Melchior's painting. (Actually bird has been resurrected by cross breeding with a Polish hen. As can been seen in Melchior's paintings the Babrant is very close to Polish.)
Off they went to seek the holy quail.....
[Melchior d'Hondecoeter (c. 1636 – April 3, 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscapes. Hondecoeter’s paintings featured geese (brent goose, Egyptian brent and red-breasted brent), fieldfares, partridges, pigeons, ducks, magpies and peacocks, but also African grey crowned cranes, Asian sarus cranes, Indonesian Yellow-crested Cockatoos, an Indonesian Purple-naped Lory and Grey-headed Lovebirds from Madagascar
.
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| Poultry yard c/ 1660-1665 Riksmuseum |
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Birds in a park Riksmuseum 1686
The Brabanter is a Dutch breed of chicken originating in the historic region of Brabant which straddles Belgium and the Netherlands. The original form of the Brabanter went extinct in the early 20th century, but was re-created by 1920. Today, it is a rare breed which is practically non-existent outside Continental Europe. The distinguishing characteristic of the Brabanter is its feather crest and beard (or muff). Its crest is unlike that of most other crested breeds, such as the Polish, in that it stands straight up. It has a V-shaped comb. Colors appear in many varieties, it is a layer and table bird. Hens lay a moderate number of white eggs and do not go broody, but are not good winter layers. The Brabanter is a calm breed that is intelligent. It will get along completely fine in a small pen. This breed can get fat. The Brabanter is suitable for cold areas because its small comb and wattle help protect it from frostbite.
http://breedsavers.blogspot.co.il/2011/04/brabanters-reinventing-history.html
Poultry - Irish Museum Early paintings by done by famous Dutch animal painter Melchior d’Hondecoeter (1636-1695) portrays the Brabanter in many of its original colours.
Hens and Ducks Photo Source: Dr. Maarten Th. Frankenhuis, Variaties in voortplanting. Paren en baren in Artis, [Oss]: Organon, [Amsterdam]: Artis
A cock,, hens and chicks Photo Source: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, U.K.
Polish white hen |
Popular at one time and appearing in many aristocratic animal holdings, the Brabanter was declared extinct by the early 20th century. It is one of the “re-created” historical breeds having disappeared for a period of time. The Brabanter received its second chance with its recreation by dedicated Dutch poultrymen by 1920. ]
The Polish (Also called the Poland) is a European breed of chicken known for its crest of feathers. In addition to combs, their heads are adorned with large crests due to a cone (called a protuberance) on the top of their skull. The crests cover almost their entire heads. They are normally tame chickens, but can act out because the crests on their heads limits their vision. This limited vision can impact their temperament. Polish chickens are bred primarily as a show bird, but were originally egg layers. Accordingly, Polish do not go broody and are noted for their white eggs. They may be bearded or non-bearded. Hens weigh around 4.5 pounds, and roosters 6 pounds.
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| Polish hen having bad hair day (Frizzled) |
Suddenly one Friday morning there appeared .....
About two years ago after praying the Maariv service in the synagogue courtyard, I was approach by a group of very upset Cheredim. They had taken my advice and gone to Holland. They then smuggled the eggs into Israel and started raising the birds. They had just reach market size with a hundred thousand birds when last Friday morning the Pezach (Israel's agricultural police) came and destroyed the whole flock. They ask me to find out what happened. I thought it obvious that you can't smuggle unregistered species into Israel and certainly not at the height of the Avian Flu epidemic. Furthermore if you want to keep it secret, you shouldn't take out ads in the Cheredi press announcing that you have the only true chicken. I wrote the veterinarian in charge of the operation and asked what happen. He promptly set the Pezach on me to determine my role in this vast criminal conspiracy. The officer showed me the pictures of the birds which were Braekel which meant I had nothing to do with it. Apparently they asked some pre-WWII shochtim in Belgium which were the birds they slaughtered.]\
[History of the Braekel
Contributed by the Speciaalclub voor het Brakelhoen
With pride we can say that the "Brakel Hen" is the oldest Flemish, largest layer that still exists today. The "Ardennes Hen" has the honour to be the oldest Belgian (Walloon) breed.
One hundred years ago you could find the Brakel on every smallholding. This is why the breed was also known as the "Farmyard Hen." Other names for the breed were "The Everyday Layer," "The Grey White Neck" and "The Nuns Hen." They were admired by the people who kept them because they laid well and provided a good table bird, the meat having a slight game flavour. It is around the yard and fields, looking for worms, insects, seed and greens. In this way the breed became hardy and only the strongest, the quickest and the healthiest ones survived. A basic natural selection took place, creating a strong breed resistant to all climates.
In 1898, in the village of Nederbrakel, the first Society for Brakels was formed. The name "Brakel" is without any doubt, derived of the name of the villages Op- and Nederbrakel. Within the triangle area of Ninove, Geraadsbergen and Oudenaarde, the Brakel was bred intensely and the birds and eggs were sold at the local markets. Because there were so many birds being bred, the looks of them varied greatly. Some had a horseshoe sign in the feathers while others had a straight band sign, which is still demanded in today's standard. Due to the breed having so many looks, the different areas which bred them, also gave different names to the breed. For example: "La Poule dױHernies," "Het Hoen van Ronse". . . . In the village of Chaam, in the Netherlands, another variety of the Brakel -- one with orange eyes -- was found. In other parts of the country people tried to change the typical layer, which the Brakel is, into a meat producing chicken. In the end there were so many varieties called "Brakel" that none of them met the Standard, which was created in 1899.
The first World War caused the population of Brakels to reduce by a large amount, due to the breed ending up as Sunday Roast . . .
The small rebirth of the breed after the war was swept away by The Second World War. A new fact was also the introduction of new varieties of layers coming from abroad. After the war the success of the breed was limited and infrequent.
In 1968, the Brakel was scarce and time was running out for the breed. An old Flemish breed was at the point of extinction.
In 1971, the club was formed to save the breed.
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| Brakels |
We will never give up our quest
So after I explain that the State of Israel takes a dim view of imported unauthorized animals into the country, they got a inkling of what they did incorrectly. They then told me that they intend to start again with a legal import licence. This would be difficult as their poultryman could not import as he was disqualified as he was listed as a smuggler. I advised them to get the advice of a poultry expert for which they would have to pay money. As of 2012, I have not heard of what they have done since then.
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