Transcription
We just love a crazy animal story!
We've covered some interesting animals that have gotten themselves on the wrong side of the law before, and we've had a look at the furry creatures that have had the biggest impact on science.
Today, we look at some insane record holders in the livestock world.
But we'll be taking this on in two ways: first, the breeds that top out in weight and biggest delivery of product, and then we'll look at some of the individual animals that blew them all out of the water with their gallons upon gallons of milk, monster eggs, and the highest weights recorded in the history of our farm animals.
Let's get into it! Here are the best producing breeds and the most insane record-breaking individuals.
Chickens! You know how we do it on this channel; we start at the smallest and work our way up to the biggest farm animals, beginning with the chickens.
Get ready for more eggs than you'll ever know what to do with!
There's some disagreement about who lays the most eggs of all the breeds, but the reason for this is mostly due to climate and feed.
Rhode Island Reds, for instance, see a significant drop in production when the climate is too hot.
But when the breeds are in their preferred climates and they're healthy and at optimal age, and when only focusing on the Heritage breeds, the White Leghorns, Ostrich Orps, and Rhode Island Reds stand at the very top.
The White Leghorns can lay 350 eggs a year, the Ostrich Orps 300, and the Reds fluctuate somewhere in the 250 to 300 range.
The breed that lays the biggest eggs is the Barnvelder and the Jersey Giants, which lay jumbo-sized eggs consistently, both around 180 eggs a year.
But the chicken who laid the biggest record-breaking egg of all was Harriet the Hen, who laid a 9.1-inch, 16-ounce egg back in June of 2010.
Astoundingly, the six-month-old hen only limped for a day or two before she went back to laying regular-sized eggs.
Tony Barbouti isn't even sure what breed Harriet is, and she and her flock are just regular old backyard chickens that probably have various genetic backgrounds.
To Tony, we say congratulations on making the Guinness World Records, and to Harriet, our deepest condolences to a back end that must have been in absolute agony.
Ducks! The duck breed with the biggest carcass weight is the Muscovy duck, and they clock in at approximately 7 lbs.
The best egg layers are the Khaki Campbell, with 300 eggs a year—that's more than most Heritage chicken breeds lay.
The most profitable duck is by far the Pekin duck; they grow fast, have great quality meat that never has any trouble finding a buyer, and they lay a good 200 eggs a year, sometimes even more than that.
Even better, they're probably the cheapest and most low-maintenance duck to keep because they aren't as reliant on having a water source for bathing, and they do a very fine job of controlling pests without damaging foliage.
The heaviest duck egg ever laid was from a White Pekin duck in Ireland, who laid an 8-ounce, 8-inch egg.
When the egg was cracked open, there was another fully formed egg inside of the outer egg, and according to the owners, the egg tasted just like any other duck egg.
Goats! The best milk-producing goats are definitely the Saanens, with three gallons of milk a day under optimal conditions.
They're also some of the easier goat breeds to keep.
The biggest carcass-bearing goat is listed as the Boer goat from Southern Africa, but we'd contest this.
However, the Boer and the Kalahari goats, also from Southern Africa, are so comparable to each other that they were considered as one and the same by a lot of people for most of their existence until DNA proved that they were indeed separate species.
The Kalahari slaughters at a few pounds more every time, averaging 300 lbs of flesh, and often you'll get an unusually large ram that goes even higher than that.
The record holder for the biggest goat is a British Saanen royally named Monon Morock from the UK, with a shoulder height of 44 inches and an overall length of 66 inches.
The biggest litter delivered at a single birth was from a tiny Nigerian Dwarf goat named Angelica, who gave birth to seven healthy kids.
We have to ask, where on Earth did she store all of those babies in that tiny little body?
For the sheep, we'll separate this into three categories: fleece, meat, and milk.
The breed with the longest fleece is the Lincoln, with fleece measuring anywhere between 8 to 18 inches of the heaviest, longest, and most lustrous wool in the world.
The Suffolk has the heaviest body, with mature rams weighing around 400 lbs a piece, and the best milk producer is the East Friesian sheep, which can give 1 to 2 gallons of milk a day in peak season.
Unsurprisingly, they are the most popular breed in Europe to keep for milk and wool production.
But we need to mention the French Romanov sheep before we move on to the next category.
They are the most prolific breed of sheep, with sextuplets being a common occurrence.
They have meat and wool, and with all of those lambs you'll have on your hands, you'd better find a market for all of the products you'll be getting from them sooner rather than later.
The heaviest fleece ever shorn from a single sheep was an astounding 90 lb fleece that was removed from a rescue sheep named Chris.
Chris was a Merino sheep that had wandered off from his flock in Canberra, Australia.
When the RSPCA found him and relieved him of the massive weight, he was malnourished, and his legs had become permanently bowed from carrying the colossal weight for who knows how many years.
Poor Chris wasn't even able to attempt to run away from his rescuers because he was unable to move by that point, and it's thought that the only reason he survived the predators is because they physically couldn't bite through 18 inches of wool.
Chris doubled the previous record holder's fleece, and his huge fleece is currently on display at the Museum of Australia.
Okay, so technically the largest breed of pig in the world is the giant forest hog of Sub-Saharan Africa, but since we're talking farm animals here, we'll stick to the domesticated breeds for now.
That title goes to the fluffy Mangalica pigs that originate from Hungary.
They are also the only swine to have hair, and from a distance, they resemble fuzzy teddy bears more than they do pigs.
Bores weigh 300 lbs on average, but larger specimens aren't uncommon.
Mangalicas have recently become very popular among homesteaders in the US.
It's not just about the size or how dang cute they are; they're pretty chill in comparison to other hogs, and they don't have enormous litters—six to eight is the average, and that's a much more manageable number for small holdings to juggle.
They also grow out slower than most breeds, so there's more time available for people to plan accordingly.
The biggest pig ever recorded was Big Bill, who weighed a mind-blowing 2,552 lbs.
But since then, we've been more careful about breeding for showroom size; those bodies just aren't made to hold up that colossal amount of weight.
No animal should suffer knee and back issues before it's even 2 years old.
But the most profitable pig breed of the lot, in our opinion, is the Duroc.
They put weight on fast, they are prolific breeders, and they're the most economical hogs to keep as far as veterinary and feed costs go.
And we can't move on to the next animal before mentioning the most followed pig on social media.
Priscilla the miniature pig has over 700,000 followers on Instagram, and she and her three pork pals wear costumes and getups for the entertainment of their scores of fans.
The biggest breed of cattle is the Chianina from Italy.
This pure white giant was originally used as a draft animal but has since been farmed for high-quality meat in recent times.
On average, a bull can stand at close to 7 ft in height and weigh well over a ton.
And we're just talking about averages here!
Can you imagine standing next to a bull that reaches nearly 2 tons?
The best milkers are the Holsteins, producing nine gallons of milk every day.
It's also the Holstein that holds the record for producing the most milk in a single lifetime.
Unfortunately, the record holder didn't even have a name; she was only given a number at the farm she worked at.
Number 289 lived three times longer than Holsteins do on average, to the ripe old age of 19, and in her lifetime, she gave 54,070 gallons of milk, delivered 13 calves, and her record still stands more than 40 years later.
Number 289 was given a funeral, and her grave is marked by her production number.
Number 289 has not been used as an identification number on that farm since, out of respect for their most prolific worker.
The tallest cow on record was Blossom from the USA, who measured 74 inches from hoof to withers, and the smallest bull is Humphrey, who weighs only 85 lbs as an adult.
He's from the USA too, and he's the only bull in the world that'll enter a fine china shop and leave every plate and cup unscathed.
And there's our list!
Unless you disagree.
If that's the case, you know how much we love hearing our viewers' stories and experiences.
Please share with us from the wealth of information that you have, and as you leave that comment, don't forget to like and subscribe.
Until next time, cheers!