Creating the Corvalla! A chicken that looks like a crow

[Fae Forest Farm]

Those who free range their chickens have had problems or fears with regards raptors preying on the flock, whether they are hawks, eagles or owls. There are a number of deterrent ideas to utilize, one of which being to put crow decoys around which need to be consistently moved around and cannot follow the flock, another being to own black chickens. The idea behind owning black chickens is that hawks might think they’re intimidating crows that are known for bullying predators to stay out of their territory. Some hawks however are smart enough to learn that a big red comb, heavy body and upright tail posture does not a crow make, and so will prey upon black chickens the same as any other color.

My goal is to make a chicken that looks enough like a crow or raven to make hawks wary if not fearful to make a dive for the flock. Ideal features for the project:

• Black feathers
• Black skin and beak
• Black or dark brown eyes
• No comb or wattles if possible
• Compact body mass
• Slanted body carriage
• Short, downward pointing tail
• Good forager
• Body length head to tail between 17-25” (crow body length is 17-19” and raven body length is 22-27”)
• Weight between 1lb-2.5lbs

The breeds I’m thinking of that could help me with these traits and what they bring to this project are:
Black Bantam Sumatra (fibromelanistic, small size, lean to medium build, pea comb, minimal wattles, horizontal tail carriage, “wild game-bird” personality, alert, hardy, good foragers)
Black Bantam Cubalaya (black feathers, small size, pea comb, minimal wattles, lean build, downward tail cartiage, alert, good foragers, hardy, smart, friendly
My own mix (black skin, black feathers, pea or no comb, smallish size, small to no wattles, wary/alert, good foragers, smart)

And maybe:
Svart Hona (fibromelanistic, smallish size, shorter tail, alert, good foragers, calm, hardy)

The overall length of the hen would be more important than the weight, as we are going for visual trickery. Roosters would not be as visually deceiving as hens with the long curled tails, larger combs (in comparison to hens) and crowing so the standard would focus more on the hen matching these ideals. Egg color, toe number, spurs and other features will not be focused on for this project since those do not factor into the trickery. Because this will be a breed meant to keep free ranging chickens safe, the personality will lean towards good foraging and alertness.

I was told that @nicalandia could offer some advice?

[Disclaimer: I did not take all of these pictures and do not seek compensation for these photos. They are only meant to better convey the subject matter to the reader]

 

[nicalandia]

A Dubbed Ayam Cemani Flock would pass a Crows to anyone not just Hawks

 

[dheltzel]

While I applaud your efforts to make a crow-like breed, I am skeptical of the ability of a lookalike chicken to fool a hawk. They have excellent eyesight and will perch far off and watch. Crow have distinctive mannerism that no chicken can match.
OTOH, if you keep some geese around your flock, the hawk will recognize them for what they are and be extra cautious because a goose is more than they want to fight with. Plus the geese can see farther than the chickens and will alert the chickens that a hawk is out and about. Turkeys and guineas have great long distance vision also and alarm well (in the case of guineas, some might say "too well").
I only ever see young, nearly starving, hawks around the farm because even a small flock of guineas make such a ruckus over a hawk that they realize they are spotted and go hunt someplace more hawk-friendly.

 

[nicalandia]

Regular Cemani

Dubbed Cemani

 

[MysteryChicken]

Also, if you want more of a crow look, breed towards what's called crow face, it's typically seen as a flaw in other breeds though. It makes tha face long, & slender. I saw it mentioned in my Book of SOP.

Here's an example of crow face. She's a Malay with poor face quality.

The Modern Games also is a good example of crow face. Since their standard calls for a very slender, sleek bird.

 

[AGeese]

This is a interesting idea. I wonder if crow face has any actual negatives other than just not being a recognizable standard characteristic? I'm going for the chicken that looks like a hawk, but I'll be following this.

 

[MysteryChicken]

They are still considered gamefowl, but so are OEGB. Asils will fight to the death from a week old (so I've heard, my asil thia mixes fought that young but they would still run) Maylay males can be housed together permanently. As you do with yours.

Well, their original purpose, before a slight change doesn't necessarily remove it from a certain category/Classification really.

Malays original purpose: Cockfight, Meat, & Racing(Just discovered the racing history on another livestock conservancy page) they're a multi purpose breed.

I'm planning on helping with raising the US population of Malays, which is falling.

I'm learning as much as I can about this breed, including from those in India on YouTube.

 

[troyer]

Very interested in this project!
I think your biggest problem is going to be to get and keep the tail below horizontal. Free ranging various black breeds together will get you there the fastest. Get the lowest tailed ones you can find. Hens are pretty easy to get solid black, it's the roosters that show the brilliant color. For instance here is a cockerel I thought was going to be great with a low tail. The older he gets the higher his tail goes. I'm keeping him, but I was hoping his tail would stay down.

 

[Capricoco]

So with all the hawk issues chicken owners have and with all of the deterrents we go through (I’ve tried many, some with success and others spotty), I’ve found that crow decoys and especially crow sounds will scare hawks away every time. Some people swear that hawks hate black chickens and others shake their heads and tell instances of a hawk taking a black chicken.

I think that is because hawks are smart with great eyes and things like a big red comb, the size, and the body posture give it away to be a chicken and yet faux crows still work if you move them around so we know that it’s not down to minute details. So I am embarking on a breeding project to create a chicken breed that looks like a crow or raven, and calling it the “Corvalla Chicken” after the Corvid/Corvus/Carvalid family of song birds (yes, crows and ravens are classified as song birds!).

The traits I’m going for are hypermelanism (black skin, black feathers, black beak - they don’t need black bones), the smallest pea comb I can get and minimal wattles, a sporty body (not a heavy chicken body), and a downward tilted tail where the whole body is at a slant. Bonuses would be foraging skills and predator wary disposition as these will be most likely put in free ranging flocks. Egg color is not currently important.

The breeds I’m currently thinking of putting into this project:
Black Bantam Sumatran (Fibro melanism, pea comb, tiny/no wattles, small size, horizontal/downward tail position, vigilant, hardy)
Black Cubalaya (pea comb, small wattles, downward tail position, lean body, alert and bold, good forager, friendly, hardy)
Plus a mix of my own that have a small size, black feathers and skin, no comb or wattles in the hen, shortish tail but I need to change the body and tail posture. The picture of the frizzled hen is the inspiration for this project as she looks like a frizzled crow!
Maybe added with:
Svart Hona (Fibro melanism, small size, vigilant, good forager, shorter tail)

Can anyone suggest a chicken with a short stubby tail to counter the gorgeously flowing tails of Sumatran and Cubalaya without going too upright and preferably small and black?

Didn’t know bantam Sumatra’s existed, I know that already they’re a pretty small breed but not considered a bantam. Honestly, you could probably just use the Sumatras , they already accomplish everything you want in a chicken, albeit the roosters can get a little aggressive, but the hens are just fine.

 

[Capricoco]

I’ve thought about that as they are close, but I’d like to take a step closer to a crow personally and by mixing them with friendlier breeds it might help the bird aggression that Sumatras have. Plus the Bantam varieties are pretty close to a crow size (crows are not as big as chickens), although a small Standard Sumatran *might* get mistaken for a raven. Thanks for the input!

My Sumatra hens