Creating the Corvalla! A chicken that looks like a crow

[Fae Forest Farm]

So who's starting this project?

Me, the poster.

 

[AGeese]

You’d be surprised how well BLRWs and Dark Brahmas can camouflage!! Or really anything with brown/red/buff/gold base and lacing or penciling. But the tricolors are still pretty!

Yeah I was just mainly remarking that I think it might be more about blending than looks. But looks can't hurt.

 

[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.

 

[samanthaoverton]

This seems like an interesting project..a chicken that looks like a crow Eagerly waiting for future pictures

 

[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.

 

[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’.

 

[Canina]

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

View attachment 3028883

That is such an incredibly gorgeous 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]

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.

No negatives with the trait. Just just not really acceptable for showing for most breeds.

You want parrot beak for that for the curved beak, right? I think Malays are the right way to go, I've been looking into them more, & they look like mutant Malays. I'll be breeding mine, since they're finally laying, so I can probably test for the traits.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

No negatives with the trait. Just just not really acceptable for showing for most breeds.

You want parrot beak for that for the curved beak, right? I think Malays are the right way to go, I've been looking into them more, & they look like mutant Malays. I'll be breeding mine, since they're finally laying, so I can probably test for the traits.

Asils have parrot beak too.