Have you ever thought about the world’s largest chicken breed? Gigante Indio chicken, known as Índio Gigante, is the tallest chicken in the world.
It is also perfect for producing enough eggs and meat, and they have a docile and friendly personality, making them ideal for anyone.
This article will introduce you to these rare and unique Gigante Indio chicken breeds and answer all your questions about them.
Let’s Start.
Quick Overview
Origin | Brazil |
Standard | ABRACIG (in Portuguese) |
Type | Standard Large Fowl |
Real Name | Índio Gigante |
Other Name | Indian Giant |
Uniqueness | Tallest chicken in the world |
Rarity | Extremely Rare |
Indio Gigante Size | X-Large |
Male Weight | Around 12 lbs |
Female Weight | Around 6 lbs |
Eggs Per Year | Up To 250 |
Eggs Per Week | 4 to 5 |
Eggs Size | Large |
Eggs Color | White, Beige, Red, Blue, Green, Cream, Tan |
Skin Color | Yellow |
Comb Type | Pea (high or low) or Ball |
Hardiness | Tolerate Heat and Cold Well |
Temperament | Docile and Human Friendly |
Broodiness | Not Often |
History of Indio Gigante
Indio Gigante or Índio Gigante or Indian Giant is a domestic chicken breed that originated in Brazil in the late 1980s or early 1990s, specifically in Minas Gerais and Goiás.
They are considered a purebred chicken in Brazil and are recognized by the Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Índio Gigante (ABRACIG). The word Índio refers to native Brazilians and their culture.
Breeders selected the largest birds over time to develop Indio Gigante chickens, which were created by crossing large gamecocks, like Shamo and Malay breeds. Plymouth Rocks may have contributed to their development.
Although Indio Gigante is not globally recognized, the Brazilian Association of Giant Chicken Breeders is working to standardize the Índio Gigante breed. It aims to be officially recognized as Brazil’s first pure breed of chicken by the 2020s.
Gigante Indio Chicken Characteristics
What is the tallest rooster in the world?
The Indio Gigante chicken breed is famous for being the largest and tallest. The tallest roosters have been recorded standing up to 4 feet tall (48 inches or 122 centimeters).
Indio gigante height (hens) is 90 cm or 35.5 inches, while roosters start at around 1 meter or 40 inches tall.
The indio gigante chicken weighs around 6 lbs hen and is around 10 lbs roosters.
Indio gigante size can be measured from the tip of their middle toenail to the tip of their beak while gently holding them stretched out, usually sideways, because they’re generally calmer and more accessible to measure that way.
They have medium or large heads that sit on highly long necks. Their chests and thighs are broad and well-defined, with short, tough feathers sticking close to their bodies. Their skin is yellow or orange, and their legs are clean from feathers.
This big chicken’s plumage is white, black, golden red, and gray-blue. Its sturdy wings are folded tightly against its body.
These tall chickens have small or sometimes non-existent red wattles and a single small red pea comb. They have brown eyes, and depending on the color of their feathers, their beaks could be either black or light yellow.
How Big Do Indio Gigante Chickens Get?
The indio gigante breed can grow very tall.
Roosters usually reach heights of about 36 inches or 3 feet, and hens typically reach 30 inches or 2.5 feet. These values can also vary.
A fun fact is that a 3-foot-tall Indio gigante chicken is typical in this breed.
Likewise, an Indio gigante rooster reaches around 12 to 15 pounds or 5.5 to 7 kg of weight. In contrast, a hen reaches about 8 to 10 pounds or 3.5 to 4.5 kg. These values can also vary.
Indio Gigante Chicken Temperament
Indio Gigante chickens are hardy birds that handle almost any climate and environment. They’re good foragers and find food quickly, which helps them live well in the wild.
Hens can be pretty picky about their nest boxes; even if you give them multiple nesting boxes, they usually choose one or two they prefer. Sometimes, you might even find a bunch of hens squished together in just one box!
Even though these chickens are large, they’re also usually chill and friendly. You will not face any issues with the roosters or your children.
Most people raise them because they’re great for the backyard and great pet chickens. They usually keep quiet unless something’s bothering them.
Gigante Indio is not too aggressive, but because of its large size, it can live with aggressive birds, and most predatory birds, like hawks and owls, usually can’t mess with it.
But like roosters of other breeds, Indio Gigante roosters can sometimes become noisy and aggressive as they protect the flock and their friends.
Indio Gigante chickens are often considered good mothers. However, they aren’t great at brooding and sometimes accidentally crack eggshells.
If you want to hatch Indio Gigante chicks, you can put the eggs under a different kind of hen for them to sit on. So yeah, if you get Gigante Indio chickens, they’ll definitely keep things interesting!
Gigante Indio Chicken Eggs
Indio Gigante chickens are bred for meat and eggs, producing many colorful eggs and large amounts of meat. Hens usually produce up to 250 large colorful eggs yearly, or 4 to 5 per week, and keep laying pretty good eggs yearly.
Indio gigante chicken eggs come in colors like White, Beige, Red, Blue, Green, Cream, and Tan, which color your egg basket weekly. Indio gigante egg size is large, and their eggs get bigger as the hen ages.
A comfortable environment, balanced diet, and veterinary care will boost their egg-laying and meat-production capability.
Índio Gigante Lifespan
The life expectancy of chickens varies depending on several factors, such as breed, environment, and care. Índio Gigante chickens grow up pretty quickly, hitting full maturity at around 20 months old, which is when they’re prime for showing off.
The life span of Índio Gigante chickens is pretty long; with proper care and a safe environment, they can live for 15 years (it can be less or more).
Varieties of Gigante Indio Chickens
The Gigante Indio chicken breed has other varieties of chicken breeds that developed alongside the main one.
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Índio Gigante Urubu
These birds, also known as Giant Indian Vultures, might look different from the usual ones because they have black feathers, faces, legs, comb, skin, and wattles.
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Polaca Gigante
Another name for these chickens is Giant Polish, and they stand out from the regular breed because they have bare necks.
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Raçudo Gigante
These chickens differ from the standard due to their short beaks, which makes their heads look more rounded.
Care for Gigante Indio chicken
Gigante Indio chickens are the tallest chicken breed, requiring special care. Here are some essential things you should know to care for your Gigante Indio properly:
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Managing Coop
Ensure that a comfortable, well-built, ventilated, and safe-from-predators chicken coop is provided to live safely and comfortably.
Make sure each chicken has enough space in the coop to move around comfortably based on their size and some necessary accessories like coop heaters. Outside, they need space to roam and forage for food.
Try to clean and dry the coop at least twice or thrice a week and dry it after wetting it.
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Veterinary Care
Regularly checking for signs of illness and injuries and seeking advice from a veterinarian will help maintain their health and well-being.
Provide needed vaccinations and deworming as the veterinarian recommends, and keep their surroundings and coop clean to prevent microorganisms and infections.
Make sure to give your Gigante Indio a chicken friend so they don’t feel lonely and to prevent any mental issues.
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Nutrition
Provide your Gigante Indio chickens with a balanced diet, including commercial feed, to meet all their nutritional requirements.
A balanced protein-rich diet and access to clean water are needed to support their growth and vitality. Adding fruits, vegetables, and occasional treats to their diet will keep them happy and active.
Avoid harmful food like chocolate, avocado skin or pit, coffee or tea, apple seeds, raw potatoes, green potatoes, onions, garlic, or raw eggs.
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Daily Management
Regular maintenance is essential to keeping your Gigante Indio chickens healthy, happy, and gorgeous.
Trim any stray and unnecessary feathers and nails to prevent them from becoming overgrown, which could cause mobility and vision problems.
Provide clean and dry soil in their surroundings for dust baths. Dust baths help regulate oil production and keep their feathers healthy.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Gigante Indio chickens are famous for their large size and are the world’s largest chickens. These chickens have calm, friendly, and docile personalities and can produce enough colorful eggs yearly.
So what are Indio Gigante chickens good for?
The indio gigante chicken breed is good for eggs laying up to 250 eggs a year and ornamental or show purpose as their towering height. However, this breed is also good for meat, crossbreeding for hybrids, and as a guard in the flock.
Whether you raise them for meat, eggs, shows, or as pets in your backyard or home, these unique chickens will bring you great joy and won’t disappoint you.
They are a rare chicken breed so you can get them from hatcheries such as Greenfirefarms and Featherloverfarms.
Have you ever seen and raised Gigante Indio chicken? Feel free to share your thoughts with us. We love to hear from you.
FAQs
What is the tallest chicken in the Indio gigante breed?
The tallest is recorded as 4-foot Indio Gigante chicken.
How does the indio gigante chicken egg size compare to other breeds?
Surprisingly, the Indio gigante chicken egg size is average. Like other breeds, they lay regular-sized eggs. Their eggs are usually 50 to 60 grams in weight, five centimeters in diameter, and ten centimeters long.
What is the world’s tallest chicken?
Indio Gigante Chicken breed is the tallest chicken in the world; Indio Gigante Chicken height has been recorded as standing up to 4 feet tall (48 inches or 122 centimeters).
How many eggs do Indio Gigantes lay?
These chickens can lay up to 250 large colorful eggs per year, 4 to 5 eggs per week.
How big are indio gigante eggs?
Indio gigante hens lay medium to large eggs, and their eggs get bigger as the hen gets older.
How tall is indio gigante Chicken?
The tallest Indio gigante rooster has been recorded standing up to 4 feet tall (48 inches or 122 centimeters). Indian Giant hens are 90 cm or 35.5 inches tall and weigh at least 6 lbs, while roosters have to start at around 1 meter or 40 inches tall and weigh around 10 lbs.
Are indio gigante chickens aggressive?
No Indio gigantes are calm, docile, and friendly chickens who love being around humans and are not aggressive birds. However, all roosters have some aggression because they are male and the protector of the flock.
How much do indio gigantes cost?
They are a unique and rare breed, so they can be expensive. For Indio gigante chicken cost go to the hatcheries we mentioned above.
Hello! I’m Ibrahim, the owner and writer of this blog. I run a chicken farm with 160 chickens, and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about raising and caring for them. Now, I want to share my insights and experiences with you to help you in chicken keeping.
I have 6 of these… how do I tell if they are male of female? They are about 3 months old now.
At 3 months old, it can be challenging to tell if your Gigante Indio chickens are male or female, but here are some things to look for:
1. Males are usually bigger, with thicker legs and a stronger build.
2. Males tend to grow larger combs and wattles earlier, while females have smaller ones.
3. Roosters may start to show pointy neck feathers and longer, curved tail feathers.
4. Males might also act more dominant or even try to crow.
5. You can also check for small bumps on their legs where spurs will eventually grow, which is a sign of a male.