A Walk On the Cemani Side

[AustralorpsAU]

Glad you like it! I haven't gotten any close ups lately because they haven't changed much. Titus is a trip with them sometimes it's soft bird talk to them and he'll even climb down like that so he can see them, or he'll go on with his "hi, hello, hi, pretty bird, hi." if they are peeping really loud on their own he'll tell them "no, stop it, quiet" but if I'm the one messing with them he climbs down to get eye level with me to tell me no and stop it lol

In that picture you can even see the feeder and the quail off to the side in his cage. She was very mean and would keep all the others all crammed in the nesting box and wouldn't let them out. She even killed one of our males so she is in a forever time out in his pen and he likes to feed her. I have sat back and watch him pick out seeds from his bowl to drop for her, then he'll eat one then drop one for her.

He sounds adorable!

 

[AmayaOkami]

Well it is time to start playing musical coops, so I figured now was as good a time as any to start posting more updated pictures. Two disclaimers though, at the moment we are using pine pellets as their bedding, buuuuuuuuut sometimes it likes to stick to their toes and gets hard to remove >< I have two chicks that this happened to so it'll be in the pics since I didn't have the time to remove it just then. I'm Going to switch these guys into a bigger grow out coop on the porch, so our baby quail can be moved to this one. Once again each chick will get their own post since I like to go picture crazy lol

My second disclaimer is that while, for the most part, these chicks are still nice and black, I finally got the chance to look into their mouths, and it appears as if every one of them have white tongues -_- I'm not sure if these will darken, but it is looking like I might have to buy a few more eggs/chicks to get darker genes for my flock. I'll have to ask around in a few of the other breed threads.





This is one of the oldest chicks. I'm pretty sure this one is a hen since her comb isn't as pronounced. Her skin and ears are still nice and black, as is her beak as you can see.




As you can see, her legs and feet are starting to turn green :/ At first I thought it was use to the pine, but the older she gets the more it appears to be the actually color leaking. You can also see a bit of the pine pellets on her toes I was talking about. When I move everyone and clean the coops up I'll probably post better pictures. I was kind of rushed this morning before work.




This picture you can see the green through her toes and a bit on the tops of her feet.

 

[AmayaOkami]

This is the other oldest chick, and as you can see, this one definitely looks more male than the first one. He's even starting to strut around the others and I've noticed him trying to pick a fight during feeding time, so I like to grab him and handle him for punishment lol His beak, comb, and ears are blacker than the first chick, so there is a plus hopefully. And yes that is Sammy the cat wondering why this chick is cursing me out and where all the noise is coming from.




His feet are obviously darker than hers, which is why I am leaning more to her color actually changing to green over it being colored by the bedding. Again, sorry about the messy feet ><

 

[AmayaOkami]

This is the baby of the baby chicks. I'm pretty sure this one is a female even with her being young since her comb is still looking more like the first chick's than the second. This would be good since her beak, ears, and skin are a darker black than the first chick.



Sadly it looks like the one tow is still white, and looking like a few might be during a bit green... Granted this one is still about a month old, and I'm trying not to get too discouraged, so we'll see how she turns out.

 

[AmayaOkami]

This is another one of the baby chicks. They've grown so much it is starting to get harder to tell them apart. This one I'm not too sure if male or female just yet, so I'm going to give it a few more weeks to see. So far this one has a nice black beak, comb, and ears. This is one of the darker ones I think.





This one I can't tell if it's starting to turn a bit green or if it is just the bedding. Again I am sorry about the messy feet... I'll have to get new ones this weekend once everyone is all moved and cleaned up I promise!

 

[AmayaOkami]

Aaaaaaand last but not least. The last of the baby chicks. I guess I really can't keep calling them that now huh? All three have now started to feather up and are all almost the same size, especially when they decide they want to stretch out or stand up straight. This one I think is one of the darkest ones I have, especially in the beak. It doesn't even sport a light/white tip. I'm not exactly sure if it is male or female yet though.





Even its legs so far are the darkest, or at least they seem that way to me. The soles almost look like they are turning green, but I think this time it is actually the bedding that is making them look lighter. They just don't have the same "green tone" the others are getting. I'll have a better idea once I've got everyone all cleaned up.



Well, for my first batch of chicks I'm not sure how they rank quality wise, but I'm still pleased with them. I know they still have more time for color leakage and all that jazz. I'm on the fence about getting more chicks or eggs now, or waiting until these guys are grown and I have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I'll be asking others who have them for their opinions as well. I know the new FLF line is supposed to be really nice and dark, but I don't think I am ready on dropping $650 on half a dozen chicks. I know there was a seller on ebay that I had gotten eggs from before at a decent price. I had them develop and almost hatch, but died before they got out of the eggs. I have a picture I can upload of the chick because it was insanely black. They have another dozen eggs for 50$ so I can always try but ebay sales always make me nervous.... Hmm I'll think on it at least. I mean 50$ isn't too much of a gamble, but I just don't want to dilute the line unknowingly with chicks who aren't exactly pure....

 

[AmayaOkami]

This was the quality of chicks we had gotten from the ebay sale. As you can see it would be pretty hard to fake that color, so they could very well be legit, but I'm not sure if they are pure. I know I know I'm such a pessimist, but still...

I might try to get a few more eggs since they have them up and just try them out. Worse case they can be more fancy pet chickens. Any input from anyone who has these guys would be much appreciated. I want to ask if anyone knows about the seller on ebay, but I'm worried about posting their name and it coming off as I'm attacking them, so I might be stuck there.


ANYWAY! More updates to come of course

 

[AmayaOkami]

Well it's not much, but it's something. I've moved my chicks over to the larger grow out coop we've been using for some quail. Since I've been having issues with the pine pellets, I've decided to go out on a limb and switch over to sand. I've seen quite a few people on here saying it was great, so here's to hoping. I didn't realize how small they still were. They had already outgrown the smaller grow out coop (I'm so used to quail I forgot how big chickens get and how much quicker they grow lol), but in this new one they all look so small again.

 

[itspebbl]

They are really pretty! Ayam Cemanis are really neat.

 

[AmayaOkami]

Well the chicks seem to be having a blast in the new coop. They like to stand at the top of the ramp and try to fly down. They are running every which way also their little hearts content. It's a lot of fun to watch them. It's like kids at a playground.

I ended up having to put up some wired shelving in the front of the coop since every time I open it to feed they just stroll right on out like they own the place. I'm soooooo glad they have gotten use to me handling them or else chasing them every day would be a huge pain! They just explore for a bit, then when they hear me filling up the food they will run right back in.


I will be honest and say I was bad >< I've already bought a dozen more eggs to try to hatch from Cj here. I like my guys, but I just feel I should get a different line in with them while they are all still nice and small. I'm noticing some flaws in mine and would like to have a chance to pick from a wider net of breed worthy birds. The eggs should be coming Thursday, and I'll make sure to keep this up to date with everything