Cool Chicken!

Comments

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, the price of these birds are very high. I would kind of like to try them but not at that price.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    They are very expensive but kinda creepy too. Somehow I picture this beautiful golden breading, then you go to bite or cut into a piece and it's all black..... seems like it would look like it was rotted meat that had been breaded and fried. Though I guess at those prices you probably are not expected to eat them.

    I guess my mind is on butchering the meat birds we have tomorrow. LOL

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited September 2021

    I could have got some of the Ayam Cemani, but this would have been from folks down the line and the quality would not be the same...but the general look might be.

    As the quality drops and the numbers increase, so do the prices and sometimes quite drastically. There are also folks who do not know the worth of a breed if it is worked with to keep it in line with the trait of the breed, and some just have birds & don't care about breed traits nor quality.

    I have been told that it is not a hardy bird. Winter heat or a warmer climate is important. Considering that I don't heat my coops (most here don't), it is not an option for me. But...there is a "knockoff" (a poor choice of word, but I can't think of the right one), & I'm not sure, but I think something was bred with an AC to make a slightly less fibromelanistic bird that is hardier & more affordable. It shows just a bit more pink in the comb, wattles & I am not sure about the skin. The name of the breed escapes me now, but it is still a sharp looking bird.** If you are interested in the AC and need a hardier bird, I'd be looking for that one.

    The AC is a smaller bird, lays white eggs and has regular colored blood, just in case anyone is wondering.

    Greenfire farms was the importer of this breed into North America, and with this comes high costs. So, not only is everyone paying to cover the costs associated with the hatchery acquiring them, they are also considered rare (especially straight from there as inbreeding will be non-existent & quality should be top). This will be why the price is so high. Many of their rare breeds are imported with more than one bloodline, thus increased costs.

    As far as the "magic" of the black skinned bird, my understanding is that black skinned birds are highly sought after by the Asian communities for their healing powers. But, there is some truth to it. It packs a higher amount of goods (vitamins, etc...again, I can't recall what I read on this in the past) into that black skin per pound, however, there is very little meat on any of these types of birds.

    Still, a very cool bird as far as I am concerned!

    **Update: It is called a Svart Höna

    https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/svart-hona.11678/reviews

  • MaryRowe
    MaryRowe Posts: 736 ✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning Thanks for all that good information. I was wondering whether the author of the article actually knows much about chickens....it's great to have someone who really does know chickens here! The Svart Hona is a super cool bird too, and sounds like a great one to raise. I will definitely have to look into this.

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    They are pretty crazy looking -- I agree! I'm also not sure I could eat black chicken meat with gusto -- and the price of those is a good excuse not to start trying.... :D

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    Wow, beautiful. I would be so afraid to have one and have the coyotes or something else kill it. Maybe it would have to be a house chicken.

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    Umm... Nope.

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Beautiful, but kind of creepy, too.

  • gardneto76
    gardneto76 Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭

    Interesting read, but I will stick with my cheaper chickens. I have 4 black Astrolops & a Black Cochran, to go with my 1 remaining Easter egger. I have not heard of people using the blood of chickens for anything other than in the garden, but I am guessing it could be using in blood sausage as well. Does anyone here use the blood, if so what for? I love being able to use all of items and animals.

  • MaryRowe
    MaryRowe Posts: 736 ✭✭✭✭

    If not the Ayam Cemani, how about a cassowary? I just came across this article about people raising cassowary chicks in New Guinea 18.000 years ago! Long before chickens were domesticated......Hmmm.....a five-foot-tall bird with 4" claws on its toes and a bad disposition....what could go wrong with that? (And I thought I had problems with my Rhode Island Red rooster!) I guess raising cassowaries didn't really catch on outside New Guinea, though apparently villagers there still raise them today.....


  • COWLOVINGIRL
    COWLOVINGIRL Posts: 954 ✭✭✭✭

    Wow! I have never heard of this!

    Ya, that would be kinda weird!

  • karenjanicki
    karenjanicki Posts: 996 ✭✭✭✭

    That price point is insane but that's a lovely bird.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    I just saw a pair of A. Cemani for sale last week. It would have been $40. Nice birds, in my opinion, but I don't have the space and no heat, so they will be someone else's prize.

  • VermontCathy
    VermontCathy Posts: 1,987 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If they actually sell at that price, even in small quantities, raising them could be a very profitable business even allowing for losses and expenses.