Creeper chickens are characterised by abnormally short legs, so short that the body is carried a few centimetres from the ground. This chondrodystrophy (dwarfism) is caused by a recessive lethal allele, Cp. A number of breeds display the characteristic, among them the Chabo and breeds of Japan, the of France, the Krüper of Germany, the of Denmark, and the Scots Dumpy.