The İspenç (Hopa İspenç): Turkey's Native Bantam, Its Dozens of Colours and Care

In every chicken article on this site we asked the same two questions: how many eggs, how much meat? Our guide to choosing a laying or meat breed is built from end to end on those two columns. The İspenç is the breed that makes the question meaningless: you keep it for neither its eggs nor its meat.

The İspenç is Turkey's native bantam breed — shaped over centuries along the eastern Black Sea coast, especially around Hopa (Artvin) and Rize, which is why it is often called the "Hopa İspenç." Together with the Denizli rooster it is one of Turkey's two best-known native chickens. Neither is kept for production, but for a single quality: the Denizli for its long, melodious crow; the İspenç for its upright carriage, fiery temper and astonishing wealth of colour.

Denizli or İspenç? Two Natives, Two Worlds

Turkey's two native breeds are often named together, yet almost nothing about them overlaps:

	Denizli Rooster	İspenç
Famous for	A long, melodious crow	Carriage, temper, colour range
Body	Large (3–3.5 kg)	Bantam (0.9–1.2 kg)
Origin	Denizli / the Aegean	Hopa–Artvin / eastern Black Sea
Carriage	Normal, showy	Upright, "S"-necked, athletic
Temperament	Grand but manageable	Very aggressive (cocks)
Kept for	Ornament + crow contests	Ornament + exhibition + conservation

In short, the Denizli speaks to the ear and the İspenç to the eye. One is a "soloist" known for its song; the other is a "collection" breed that gathers dozens of colour patterns under a single roof.

Origin: The Black Sea Game Bantam

The İspenç was selected over centuries as a game (fighting) breed in a region centred on Hopa, on the eastern Black Sea coast. Its body type recalls the Asian game group (the Aseel and Shamo): an upright stance, hard tight feather, broad shoulders and strong, wide-set legs. The short, hard plumage gives it a "carved" look — the exact opposite of the fluffy, soft-feathered Orpington or Cochin.

• Cock: 0.9 – 1.2 kg
• Hen: 0.7 – 0.9 kg
• Carriage: upright, athletic; the neck is carried in an "S"
• Feather: short, hard, tight to the body (hard feather)
• Comb: usually pea/walnut type and small — the comb form that resists frost and injury in game breeds
• Legs: strong and wide-set, giving a solid stance

Don't let the small body fool you: the İspenç is muscular, agile and full of energy. It is the exact counterpoint to a Brahma's giant calm — a palm-sized bird that is alert from head to toe.

The İspenç's Signature: Dozens of Colour Varieties

Here is what really makes it special: although it is a single breed, it comes in dozens of distinct colour patterns, each with its own Turkish name. Most breeds have a handful of varieties (black, white, blue); İspenç enthusiasts distinguish more than thirty named patterns.

A few variety names: al (red), sarı (yellow), siyah (black), beyaz (white), gerdaniye, demirkır, sütlükır, pamuk, çil, menekşe, kınalı… These names vary by region and sustain a serious culture of expertise among breeders. In a sense the İspenç carries a whole catalogue of patterns within one breed — and that richness is exactly why it is kept as a "non-productive" ornamental bird.

Why It Isn't Kept for Eggs or Meat

On the numbers, the İspenç sits at the very bottom of this site's output tables — and that is not a flaw but the breed's purpose:

Breed	Eggs per year	Kept for
Leghorn	280–320	Eggs
RIR	250–300	Eggs + meat
Silkie	100–120	Broody + ornament
İspenç	60–100 (small)	Carriage, colour, heritage

The İspenç lays about 60–100 small eggs a year (35–40 g, cream/pale) and, being a bantam, is of no real value for the table. Whoever keeps it wants the bird itself, not eggs or meat: its carriage, its colour pattern, a native heritage. In that sense the İspenç is the exception to the whole output-driven logic of breeds.

A Fighting Past, the Law, and the İspenç Today

The İspenç was historically selected as a fighting cock; its name and temperament come from that past. But today cockfighting is illegal in Turkey — Animal Protection Law No. 5199 expressly bans the fighting of animals. So the İspenç is now kept not for fighting but for ornament, exhibition, and the conservation of a native genetic resource.

This article treats the breed as a matter of culture and conservation; it contains no guidance on fighting whatsoever. The İspenç's value today lies not in any contest but in passing a uniquely Turkish breed, and its dozens of colour patterns, on to future generations. Enthusiast associations and exhibitions keep that genetic diversity on record.

Temperament: The Fieriest in the Flock

İspenç cocks are extremely aggressive and territorial. This is the inherited legacy of a game line, and it sets the single most critical rule of keeping them: two İspenç cocks can never be housed together — they will fight relentlessly, sometimes until one is dead. Even some hens are more short-tempered than those of other breeds.

This is one end of the temperament axis we return to across the site. At one end are lap-tame, gentle breeds like the Faverolles and the Orpington; at the other, the İspenç. That is why it is wrong to add an İspenç to a mixed garden flock where children wander.

The housing rule is simple: each cock is kept in a separate pen or with hens only. Crowding triggers pecking and cannibalism in any breed; in an aggressive one the risk multiplies. For pen dimensions see our guide on how to build a chicken coop.

Broodiness and Incubation

Like most game breeds, İspenç hens go broody readily and make excellent mothers — they sit tight and defend their chicks with determination. So anyone wanting to breed the İspenç often needs no incubator at all; natural incubation with a broody hen works very well in this breed.

Being small, she only needs 7–9 eggs under her (a few more than her own small ones will fit). In an incubator the time is the standard chicken figure: 21 days, 37.5–37.8 °C, 45–55% humidity, stop turning and lock down on day 18. We cover the process in our 21-day incubation guide; to keep the days straight, the Kuluçka Takip app sets up the calendar and reminds you of turning and hatch days. You can take a look at the app here.

Care and Housing

• Room to move: a muscular, athletic bird; it does best not in a cramped cage but in a run where it can walk and range.
• Flight: light and agile, it flies well — the garden fence must be high (at least 1.8 m) or covered.
• Climate: shaped in the damp, cool Black Sea climate, it is hardy; its tight feather and small comb protect it in the cold.
• Separate the cocks: a pen each; never place males side by side.
• Feeding: quality grain plus protein; the goal is health and feather quality, not output.

Breeding and Conservation

The İspenç is a pure native breed; there is no point crossing it with a commercial hybrid like the Lohmann — it won't produce, and its pattern is spoiled. The right approach is to keep a given colour variety pure and preserve the traits of that pattern. That is the heart of İspenç fancying: a breeder usually specialises in a single colour line and keeps it pure over generations.

Seen this way, the İspenç is more than a personal hobby — it is a native genetic resource. Every pure line is a guarantee that a uniquely Turkish breed will still exist in the future.

Pros and Cons

• + A historic, uniquely Turkish native breed — of high cultural value
• + Dozens of colour patterns: a collection's worth of variety in one breed
• + A striking ornamental/exhibition bird with its upright, athletic carriage
• + Hardy; suited to the Black Sea climate and to cold
• + Hens are good broody mothers → the flock renews itself
• − No production: few, small eggs; unsuitable for meat
• − Cocks are very aggressive; each male needs its own pen
• − Not suited to a mixed, gentle family flock
• − Flies well; needs a high or covered fence

Who Is It For?

The İspenç suits you if: you want to keep and preserve a native breed; you are an ornamental/exhibition fancier interested in colour patterns; you have the space and setup to give each male its own pen; you care about the bird itself more than about output.

The İspenç is not for you if: you want eggs or meat → the Leghorn, RIR or New Hampshire; you want a lap-tame family bird → the Faverolles or Orpington; you must keep several cocks in one coop, in which case the İspenç is unsuitable.

To compare all the breeds side by side, see our guide to choosing a laying or meat breed; for Turkey's other native, see our Denizli rooster article.