Ayam Cemani's: Advice Wanted

[massoumicyrus]

Hello,

I'm considering buying some Ayam Cemani's. Originally I thought to buy less "exotic" chicken just for a DIY thing to do around the ranch, but since I came across these I'm left with quite a few questions and I was hoping for answers from the -experts-?

Greenfire Farms is the only place I have found that sells Ayam's and they are $2,500 each.

I'm curious of a few things here:
1. Is there a place to buy Ayam's cheaper (Being a normal U.S. resident without any special certifications)
2. How quickly can the Ayam's breed, let's say I buy 3 hens and 1 rooster, how quickly could I theoretically make an "Ayam Farm" of sorts
3. Do you foresee the price of these dropping vastly now that they are in the states and breeding will happen, or will the price remain relatively stable? (Not dropping below $500 a bird)
4. Could you cross-breed the Ayam Cemani with the Swedish Flower Hen to create a new breed of all black chicken?

Thanks,
CM

 

[Michael OShay]

You are asking about a breed so rare in the US, that not many BYC members (including myself) are going to be able to answer many of your questions. There are very few US breeders and likely the Ayam Cemani are very expensive, but some US breeders who do carry them are Toni-Marie Astin (http://countrywhatnotgardens.com/bantamlongtails/cemani/index.html), Greenfire Farms (http://greenfirefarms.com/store/category/chickens/ayam-cemani/), and Watson Ridge Ranch (http://watsonridgeranch.webs.com/ayamcemani.htm) Hopefully you can get all your questions answered through one or more of these. Good luck in your search.

 

[massoumicyrus]

Toni-Marie Astin had already sold out, does anyone have contact info to reach out?


EDIT: Revised question list based on thread response:
1. Is there a place to buy Ayam's cheaper (Being a normal U.S. resident without any special certifications)
2. How quickly can the Ayam's breed, let's say I buy 3 hens and 1 rooster, how quickly could I theoretically make an "Ayam Farm" of sorts
3. Do you foresee the price of these dropping vastly now that they are in the states and breeding will happen, or will the price remain relatively stable? (Not dropping below $500 a bird)
4. Could you cross-breed the Ayam Cemani with the Swedish Flower Hen to create a new breed of all black chicken?
***5. I was under the impression that this breed was only recently imported to the United States for the first time. Is this inaccurate? The above reply suggests that there are a variety of breeders, if there are, why is the price still so high?

Best,
CM

 

[moneymoneyric]

Hi
I will have AC available in spring
http://sustainablechicken.blogspot.com/

 

[Cemani Farm]

here is some picture of our ayam cemani,...

 

[Randy2010]

There are a few breeders out there with them, but not many are selling any yet, or if they do it will probably be in the fall. Do you homework on the breeders that you are thinking about buying from, before you jump in and buy the first ones offered. Ask plenty of questions and also ask for plenty of pictures of their birds. I would ask at least for one picture of them holding one of their birds. Some people are using pictures that are not theirs or have been darken slightly so that the red does not show up in their combs or waddles.

 

[DCchicken]

Hello,

I'm considering buying some Ayam Cemani's. Originally I thought to buy less "exotic" chicken just for a DIY thing to do around the ranch, but since I came across these I'm left with quite a few questions and I was hoping for answers from the -experts-?

Greenfire Farms is the only place I have found that sells Ayam's and they are $2,500 each.

I'm curious of a few things here:
1. Is there a place to buy Ayam's cheaper (Being a normal U.S. resident without any special certifications)
2. How quickly can the Ayam's breed, let's say I buy 3 hens and 1 rooster, how quickly could I theoretically make an "Ayam Farm" of sorts
3. Do you foresee the price of these dropping vastly now that they are in the states and breeding will happen, or will the price remain relatively stable? (Not dropping below $500 a bird)
4. Could you cross-breed the Ayam Cemani with the Swedish Flower Hen to create a new breed of all black chicken?

Thanks,
CM

1. There are several Ayam Cemani breeders in the U.S. Most of us know each other. So if one of us does not have any pairs for sale, they may be able to put you in touch with some breeder that does have them available at the moment.
2. The pullets will start laying in about 5 months. However, it is not that easy. This is not like any other breed. You should be prepared to breed for several generations with culling sometimes all but a few of each batch. People will only buy the perfect ones. They must have black mouths, black combs, black tongues, black skin, black vent, black under the wing, black feet, black toenails. That is difficult to do. You will need to build lots of pens and grow out lots of birds to have even just a few perfect ones. So don't expect to make money selling this breed. Most people will not.
3. No for reasons above. They don't lay like Leghorns. I think Greenfire said they get between 60-90 eggs for their lines.
4. It does not work that way. If you cross out, the skin will not be black. There is a lot of genetics involved. It is what makes them so expensive and difficult to breed.

 

[moneymoneyric]

It's hard.

 

[maranfarmer563]

Joined thread