Creating the Corvalla! A chicken that looks like a crow

[troyer]

View attachment 3169158
what is this breed?

It looks like it is mostly Sumatra with a bit of something else mixed in.

 

[AGeese]

View attachment 3169158
what is this breed?

If that's a Sumatra, it's a good looking one.

 

[TwistedTayy]

If that's a Sumatra, it's a good looking one.

Looks like a Svarthona hen to me

 

[AGeese]

It seems like a very young looking pullet to me, no comb like Svarthona or Cemani at all. It does look fuller with a very cool sheen.

But on pintrest which I have next to no faith in they're saying it's a Sumatra. I don't know.

 

[TwistedTayy]

It seems like a very young looking pullet to me, no comb like Svarthona or Cemani at all. It does look fuller with a very cool sheen.

But on pintrest which I have next to no faith in they're saying it's a Sumatra. I don't know.

you're right I didn't notice the comb. The feathers look a little too thick for a Sumatra.

 

[troyer]

It seems like a very young looking pullet to me, no comb like Svarthona or Cemani at all. It does look fuller with a very cool sheen.

But on pintrest which I have next to no faith in they're saying it's a Sumatra. I don't know.

It really looks like a pullet that I raised. The second pictured cockerel is one that I hatched and raised.

 

[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.

 

[Cat Ballou]

I hope the project is successful. But there are animals including chickens that see more colors than humans. I imagine hawks as well certainly having keener vision than humans. The iridescent factor on chickens may be more vibrant than we realize.

As a veteran and first responder, behavior is paramount in assessing risky situations. Animals know this. Chickens won’t behave like any crow much less an aggressive one and this will probably lead a hawk to think there’s something wrong with it.

Making a chicken look like a crow to a human may end up making it easy prey. In my flock I find certain colors (my solid lav) to be more of a target to predators than the others, but my more iridescent BCM EE had been attacked once. I plan on bringing in and breeding more camouflaged EE this spring.

Chickens have the instincts of prey animals and behave according. IMO breeding for camouflage and color breaks may be more effective that trying to create a Corvalla, but I hope it works out and wish you luck.

 

[troyer]

I hope the project is successful. But there are animals including chickens that see more colors than humans. I imagine hawks as well certainly having keener vision than humans. The iridescent factor on chickens may be more vibrant than we realize.

As a veteran and first responder, behavior is paramount in assessing risky situations. Animals know this. Chickens won’t behave like any crow much less an aggressive one and this will probably lead a hawk to think there’s something wrong with it.

Making a chicken look like a crow to a human may end up making it easy prey. In my flock I find certain colors (my solid lav) to be more of a target to predators than the others, but my more iridescent BCM EE had been attacked once. I plan on bringing in and breeding more camouflaged EE this spring.

Chickens have the instincts of prey animals and behave according. IMO breeding for camouflage and color breaks may be more effective that trying to create a Corvalla, but I hope it works out and wish you luck.

@Cat Ballou
Something more like this?

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have Ayam cemani chicks this one looks like a crow, her name is Raven.