O Shamo

these guys are total mutts and should not be kept with any other poultry exept other game breeds.
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cheers

I have a beautiful pair, of a wheaten hen and Dom roo. They are very friendly and social.

new to them so don't know much so far except the babies are nibbling on those who have white in their beaks, going so far as to pull off their egg teeth and cause bleeding on the notril area. had to isolate and wash off the blood. not sure if this is normal. my purchase was for 5 SR blacks and 3 black pullets , photo is of them.

There are 3 types of Shamo: O-Shamo (largest), Chu-Shamo (medium), and Ko-Shamo (smallest). I have O-Shamo hens and an O-Shamo rooster. They are a lot of work because of their special housing needs, and because they are aggressive. I had one very aggressive hen that would attack me and other hens as soon as I stepped into the coup - I fixed that within a few months by picking her up every time she attacked, and holding her beak and body while I cleaned/fed the other chickens. I even had to put her in a separate enclosure at one point because she didn't get along with another hen. Roosters are often very aggressive and can be worked with the same way, but may take more time. Shamo roosters cannot be with other roosters because he'll try to kill any males around him - that's what they were bred for.

Shamos also have special housing needs because they are so lanky and have a fragile breast bone - the breast bone can easily be bent with a narrow perch. For this reason, they cannot perch like other poultry breeds. It is recommended that you house them separately so that they don't have the option to perch. By housing separate from other poultry, you are not only preventing bent breast bones from perching, but you are also preventing broken/hurt legs from jumping down from the perch (I've had that happen before), and aggressive behavior toward smaller chicken breeds. Shamos also need plenty of space to run around because they do not tolerate confinement well, and because they need lots of exercise while growing.

O-Shamos have special diets since they don't mature until they are 2 years old. Because of their large size, they must be fed a low-protein diet, so that their weight doesn't out-grow their slow bone development. If they get too heavy too quick, they won't be able to support their bodies since their bones are not made to carry that much weight until fully developed (around age 2). They should look skinny their first year.

With that being said, I love having O-Shamos around. Their personalities are very diverse and they strike me as one of the smartest breeds. They are also one of the most magnificent breeds. The males can stand over 2 feet tall (in the case of O-Shamos) and have a bird-of-prey look to them. If you decide to get one, make sure you find a legitimate and reputable breeder - there are a lot of mixed breeds that are claimed to be O-Shamo but are not.

I received a free Shamo from another BYCer who got her from a neighbor and could not keep her due to her aggressiveness with his egg layers. "Sophie" as she has been named is very good with people, not aggressive at all with anyone in our household. She LOVES to be petted and held and is a daily egglayer for my husband and I. She can take care of herself and have not had to worry about hawks or anything like that because of her size and aggressiveness towards other birds.

In fact, that would also be the only downside. Shamos tend to be bird aggressive and will do well with those who are used to keeping game varieties and know you can't just toss everyone in a pen together.

Very flighty good for breeding though

My grandfather and uncle have both had these but I never would - the cockerels and hens with eggs or chicks can be very aggressive and because of their size can do real damage if they want to - my uncle would bring a dustbin lid or a broom handle whenever he went to collect eggs, always wore boots after one pecked a puncture wound into his leg and no longer keeps any since having a child last year.
My grandfather's one scared me so much as a child I wouldn't walk past his cage on my own and he used to feed and water it by hooking the containers with a broom! Even then it would sometimes attack the broom handle!

EDIT:For some reason I couldn't comment or reply but I wanted to add, these were years apart, from different auctions, eggs, and breeders. My grandfather's one shamo was when I was just beyond toddling and I'm 18 now. My uncle has kept them for a few years (he loves them for some reason) but like I said, they scared him too and he wasn't going to risk having them going after his daughter when she started walking, given what they did to him as a fully grown adult!