Java Thread

[suncatcher]

So, not much action on this thread, eh.................

 

[BlackPanther]

No, not really, unfortunately. Maybe most backyard-chickens people just aren't interested in Javas?

 

[MagicChicken]

No, not really, unfortunately. Maybe most backyard-chickens people just aren't interested in Javas?

Some of us are very interested in Javas but we get frustrated by the "let's make a rainbow-colored java" approach when the Black and Mottled Javas still need a lot of work. So we don't post here as often as perhaps we should.

I have 22 Black Java chicks from Duane Urch that are a little over 12 weeks old. He's had that line of birds for a long time. I want to continue the line, improving them in terms of size and conformity with the Standard of Perfection. Turns out I got 5 pullets, 15 cockerels, and a couple I'm not sure about yet. I wasn't planning to cull anything for at least a year, but a 3:1 ratio of cockerels to pullets may require some creative culling as they mature. I have a lot of questions. I've been asking those questions on the Heritage Large Fowl thread instead of here, because those folks have been raising chickens for a long time, breed them to standard, and many of my questions are not necessarily java-specific.

 

[BlackPanther]

Rainbow-colored Java!

Well, maybe some people are willing to do the work to get a specific color and aren't so interested in black and white...?

I can't do the full-black because there's a separate (close!) flock on the property with a different owner ((don't ask, it's confusing

)) but I would love to get some of the whites -- I just can't find anywhere but Garfield Farm to get them ...and then they raised their prices this year.
I understand why, and I accept it, but it is a bit frustrating.

I guess I'll just hang out with my backyard-quality flock a little longer to raise some money for the Java Fund.

In the meanwhile, I hope people who already have the Javas will share some more information in this thread!

 

[MagicChicken]

Rainbow-colored Java!

Well, maybe some people are willing to do the work to get a specific color and aren't so interested in black and white...?

That's the thing - people are focused on the color. What about the underlying CHICKEN? Body and head and wing carriage and tail angle and all that stuff that, in the long run, make it a Java and not a Rock or a Minorca or a mutt. Regardless of what color it is.

 

[BlackPanther]

Well, it is Backyard Chickens. Some people don't care what the chicken's body looks like as long as the bird looks nice in their yard. Or lays eggs. I live here in the South and there are people near me who could have a perfect Frankenchicken and they wouldn't care as long as laid eggs, crowed, or brooded chicks.
As long as they don't sell such a chicken as a Java to another, unsuspecting, person, I suppose that is their right...

 

[Life is Good!]

Some of us are very interested in Javas but we get frustrated by the "let's make a rainbow-colored java" approach when the Black and Mottled Javas still need a lot of work. So we don't post here as often as perhaps we should.

Or we've who owned Java's for a while, come on here and are disappointed to see the 'I want 'em but won't go do my own research to find them, tell me where to go' approach. Or questions about Auburns and Mottled and variations that don't interest me.

Java's ARE a wonderful breed...as I watch mine free-range in the rain (!) outside my window...but I'm improving my flock as best as possible to SOP - not much to say or note until someone starts hatching chicks again! C'mon spring!

 

[BlackPanther]

:O But I love the auburn Javas!

However, as the White are an established variety, that is what I am going for.

 

[bnjrob]

:O But I love the auburn Javas!

However, as the White are an established variety, that is what I am going for.

Not sure what you mean by "established variety". White Javas are no longer accepted into the SOP by the APA. They were only accepted for a short time and were removed from the SOP approx. 100 yrs ago. A White Java would be considered a "sport" color like the Auburn. (And there are some people that do not believe these other colors are even Javas, but I don't feel like getting into that can of worm at the moment.) This is the reason why there are so few people that have White Javas, much less standard-bred Javas.

There are some serious breeders that have made their own color standard for Whites and Auburns (all Javas should have the same body type), but there is no long term consistency yet in White Javas or Auburns as far as color variation because there is no SOP that people have been breeding to meet for the last 100+ years. Until more recent times, serious breeders culled birds that showed colors other than Black or Mottled because those were the only two colors to remain accepted by the APA. Black and Mottled Javas did manage to survive extinction by the skin of their teeth because a few people did continue to breed them to standard after the commercialization of the poultry industry. But even Blacks and Mottleds are comparatively rare and are not out of the woods to maintain good genetics for standard-bred birds to continue to reproduce for the future.

You are correct that many people don't care what their chicken looks like, as long as the chicken's feather color appeals to them. Which is perfectly fine. Serious chicken keeping and breeding is not for everyone.

 

[BlackPanther]

Oh, well then, I stand corrected!