Dragon Chicken: Rare Vietnamese Dong Tao Chicken Can Cost As Much as $2,000

The Dong Tao chicken, also known as the Dragon Chicken, is an unusual Vietnamese chicken breed with swollen feet that originated in the village of Dong Tao in the Khoái Châu District near Hanoi.

In Vietnam, Dong Tao chickens are coveted delicacies, and they were once bred solely for the royal family and mandarins.

Hulking Chicken

The Dong Tao chicken has an imposing presence, a robust body, and stout, reddish-scaled wings. A male adult Dong Tao chicken can grow to be 6 kilograms in weight and have legs as thick as a human wrist. The hens have all white feathers, while the cocks have a variety of colors. Females can weigh up to 4.5 kilograms, with both male and female leg weights contributing to their enormous size.

Hard to Breed

Each one will take years to raise and requires special attention, and the best are also entered into beauty contests in Vietnam.

It's difficult to breed them because their big legs make hatching difficult, and they're often vulnerable to temperature changes. The hens' bulky legs often split the eggs, so they're usually locked in an incubator.

The chickens are very vulnerable to variations in the weather and lay fewer eggs than regular chickens. Since the hens' unhelpfully large feet make the hatching process much more complicated, breeders may assist them in producing chicks. It takes an eight-month to one year for a newborn chick to develop into a three- to five-kilogram sellable egg.

Market Value

The chickens are ready for slaughter when they weigh five to six kilograms, which takes eight to one year. Its meat could cost between 350,000 ($15.20) and 400,000 VND per kilogram. While this seems to be a reasonable price in some parts of the world, it is far more costly in Vietnam, where the average daily wage is 142,915 VND ($6.51). Only the Vietnamese upper class can afford to consume this unusual chicken meat grown for personal or pricey consumption.

Outside the Vietnamese borders, these chickens are even priced at a higher cost. These long-legged birds will reach a hefty price of more than $2,000 on the market.

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Dong Tao Village 

Đông Tảo Village continues to grow the vast majority of these chickens. Although the breed's exact origins are unknown, it has been around for hundreds of years and is believed to have been bred for cockfighting due to its large and sturdy legs. Nowadays, the birds are something of a decorative breed that is often consumed for their distinctive meat.

Grooming

It takes a lot of effort to care for the chicken while being prepared for sale or competition. They've been on a special high-protein diet for around a month, and their legs have been carefully washed in a combination of tea and salt. It's still not just about the foot when it comes to physical appearance.

Beauty Competition

When it comes to grading, anything from symmetrical wattles and earlobes to uniformly coated glossy black feathers is significant. While many birds are sold for their meat around the holidays, the precious chickens are frequently held by the farmers and entered into beauty contests.

Taking care of the chickens as they are being trained for sale or competition takes a lot of time and effort. They've been on a high-protein diet for about a month, and their legs have been meticulously washed in a tea and salt solution. When it comes to body presentation, it's always not just about the foot.

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