How giant roosters became 'golden-egg laying geese' for Brazilian farmer Rubens Braz

Some twenty years later, Rubens Braz now raises giant roosters for small-scale farming and hobby purposes in central Brazil

Web Desk

Reuters

September 13, 2023

Agronomist Rubens Braz poses with his Giant Indian Urubu rooster named Galalau at the Avicultura Gigante, which breeds giant roosters for small-scale meat production and ornamental purposes, in Formosa, Goias State, Brazil September 1, 2023.—Reuters

When poultry farmer Rubens Braz was gushing over the first batch of newly hatched chicks, little did he know that his hobby of breeding Brazilian chickens would become a business venture of 'giant' proportions.

Some twenty years later, he now raises giant roosters for small-scale farming and hobby purposes in central Brazil and is making a living from surging sales across the country.

A Giant Indian Urubu rooster named Raimundo stands at the Avicultura Gigante.—Reuters

His birds, called "Giant Indian Roosters," can grow over 120 centimetres (47 inches) tall.

The gargantuan fowl, which are awaiting formal recognition as a new breed, can fetch as much as 20,000 reais ($4,000) each, Braz said, from some of the thousands of interested breeders in the country.

Agronomist Rubens Braz holds chicks of Giant Indian Urubu.—Reuters

"It was a hobby at first," he said in an interview at one of his nurseries in the state of Goias. "Then other breeders got interested and today we have a commercial operation."

His firm, called Avicultura Gigante, is still a niche player in Brazil, the world's largest poultry exporter and home to major meatpackers including BRF (BRFS3.SA) and JBS (JBSS3.SA).

Agronomist Rubens Braz measures the legs of his Giant Indian Urubu Canela Amarela named Chapeu de Couro.—Reuters

As the global avian flu crisis has put a damper on business this year, limiting the transport of live animals in Brazil, Braz said he has focused on supplying fertilized eggs to nearby farmers. His own farms house some 300 birds.

A Giant Indian Urubu rooster named Galalau is seen near a wooden bench.— Reuters

While that is not enough to serve the meat industry, he said there is plenty of demand from collectors and farmers looking to bolster their flocks of "caipira" chickens, or cage-free animals raised on small properties mainly for subsistence purposes.