Creating the Corvalla! A chicken that looks like a crow

[Fae Forest Farm]

Dubbing as in Cutting the comb and wattle of the roosters, like the Fighting game fowl

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...arge-comb-of-rooster-life-saving-guide.74418/

Yikes! No I wouldn’t want to have to need surgery on an entire breed or flock, I’d rather start with something small like a pea comb and see if we can go from there.

 

[ButtonHoarder]

I think this is a really cool project!

 

[MysteryChicken]

All my Sumatras look like fancy crows.

Old picture of my hen when she was young. Might get an updated picture today after coop cleaning.

Demon(He hates me)

This is an older picture from last year.

 

[Canina]

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]

I love this idea

It’s creating a breed that has a purpose and will look really cool without being a massive detriment to the bird, rather, the appearance will be a benefit to the bird itself as well as those in their flock.

I’ve looked at quite a few black breeds with nearly non existed combs and wondered just how far you could push ‘the look’.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

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.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I agree with everything you have said about their history, but what I am talking about is currant Malays. They are not game, despite their being classified as gamefowl. Malays were at some point asils (as were all oriental gamefowl.) But like dogs are to wolves they are far removed from that now. A large German shepherd or husky looks a lot like a wolf, but they are not wolves even though they were thousands of years ago. A Malay has the looks, just like my German shepherd example. But they are not game.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I agree with everything you have said about their history, but what I am talking about is currant Malays. They are not game, despite their being classified as gamefowl. Malays were at some point asils (as were all oriental gamefowl.) But like dogs are to wolves they are far removed from that now. A large German shepherd or husky looks a lot like a wolf, but they are not wolves even though they were thousands of years ago. A Malay has the looks, just like my German shepherd example. But they are not game.

I found a breeder of Asils, that keeps 3 cocks to multiple hens(Only one I found so far), so it doesn't really matter. Planning on getting some to cross to the Malays to help with genetic diversity.

Apparently my Malays do come from fighting lines, since the breeder told me the males would start fighting between 6, & 9 months, & would need to be separated. But mine hasn't thankfully, which helps with my set up. They're quite the bossy type though.

 

[AGeese]

I'll just note that yes, we talked about the Malays in your Malay thread. I'll keep on subject here. But back to crow-face. I think the Sumatra is too small of a beak. There are many types of crow, but when I think of Crow I think big, coal black, with a big beak am I wrong?

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I think the same. But is there a chicken that has a beak that big? We might need to cross in ducks.

 

[dekel18042]

While trying to develop a chicken that looks like a crow is interesting one thought stuck out. Why people keep chickens. Usually eggs /and or meat is the answer. For me, it is eggs and tick control.
The size of the birds being bred seems smaller than a meat bird, and from what I know none of the parent breeds are good egg layers.
My thought would be in addition to looking like a crow the chicken should be a half decent egg layer.
We have hawks in abundance but thanks to lots of cover and hiding places and dogs that are very protective of the chickens, hawks aren't a big deal.
They also leave the bigger birds alone.