Mottled Java!!

[Wolf-Kim]

How many people here have them? Did you buy them as chicks, eggs, or adults? How many ya got and how long have you been breeding them?

I need someone more experienced with the breed to talk to. LOL So few people have them, and it's my first time having them, most people I talk to are just looking for some of their own. LOL

Do the chicks first feather out white, like their fluff? Does this change over a molt?

I just hatched out a few Mottled Java chicks, but the majority of their new wing feathers are white, all white feathers. Are they going to stay like this or change? How long til their change?

I would love to have a list of the more experienced breeders of Java, especially Mottled Java, just people I can talk to and have close personal experience with this breed.

Thanks,
-Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Aww... Does nobody else here deal with the Mottled Java? I know they are rare, but we have over 10,000 members. LOL

-Kim

 

[Buster]

I have been looking at this breed too. It would be great if someone out there knows more. They look beautiful in the pictures.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I don't have the mottled Javas, but I do have the exchequer leghorns and the chicks pretty much feather out the same. They will be heavily pied(white head, chest, wings) as chicks but with their next molt they should get their typical colour.

 

[jimnjay]

There was a very good article about Javas in the September 07 edition of Backyard Poultry Magazine.

Javas are critically endangered and are difficult to find. They are thought to be the oldest, possibly the second oldest American chicken breed, dating back to the mid 19th century. It once was a popular breed for homesteaders as it is a wonderful forager. People report that feed bills can be cut by 50% when Javas are give the opportunity to have free range. Many of today’s most popular breeds are derived at least in part from Javas.

By around 1990, there were fewer that 200 Javas known to exist. Today there are between 1,000 to 2,000 and the fate of the breed remains uncertain.

They lay large light brown eggs. They come in White, Black which is stunning and the Mottled variety. They are a gentle dual purpose breed with the roosters tipping the scales at around 10 pounds.

It is so sad to see the wonderful work horse breed on the brink of extinction. They have been so influential in providing the rich genetic diversity we now know.

There was a Yahoo group dedicated to Java Chickens, I am not sure how active they are.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Thank you Fancyfowl4ever, for the exchequer comparison, I hope this is the case. Many of the chicks I have hatched so far this season have almost completely white wings, heads and tails. I only have one breeding pair so far, so if they are going to steadily throw birds with white wings, I cannot use them. I guess I can only wait and see.

Fancyfowl4ever, so how long before their next molt? How long(age wise) does it take your leghorns to get their pattern? Doesn't need to be exact, I just need a round-about time frame to work with.

I am an active member of the Java Yahoo Group(see in my signature). I have been meaning to call Tommy(the group creator) and see if I cannot become a moderator of the group. The group is fairly active, but the creator has recently become very inactive, I think this is due to a very busy life with his hatchery. Most people who are a member of our group are looking for Java and not breeders of Java(yet). This truly is an endangered breed.

I have read all of the online information I could find on them, sadly this isn't much at all. Just 4 or 5 articles, even then the articles repeat themselves. Just a general description, basic history, and how endangered they are. I'm 'hoping' to get more firsthand, more detailed information from people who deal with them.

I was just hoping to find someone with more experience than I in this breed.

I appreciate the help everyone. If you know of anyone who has/had this breed or have/had them yourself, please speak up!

-Kim

 

[Tuffoldhen]

A few months ago there was a gentleman on here by the nic of ratdog2001 that had java eggs for sell...might check out his nic and postings....hope this helps...

 

[amyquilt]

The Java is on my list of "must have" breeds. We plan to focus our breeding flock on critically endangered American breeds, and Java is one.

I'd love to find some Java eggs! I'd prefer black or white over the Mottled, but any would be fine.

Anyone know where to find eggs or day olds??

TIA

 

[Chickndaddy]

I used to have a small flock of Mottled Javas. I also had the Black and White Javas. I don't currently have any but what kind of things were you wanting to know? With the feathering on the mottled chicks you will notice that the white will dominate most of their plumage when they first start to feather, and then rather quickly you will start to see a lot of black. If I remember right (and I might not, but I'm pretty sure I do) their heads stayed fuzzy chick yellow for several weeks before feathering out white and then black a little later than the rest of the body. They were a beautiful bird. I really loved the whites. I wish I still had them and the blacks. Now I know how I could have improved the bloodlines on the white birds. They were so puny as chicks. And then they would lay great for 6 or 8 months and then the hens would just kill over, just in time for their first pullets to start laying. I had the original rooster the whole time.

 

[lyric]

Just starting our flock and we fortuned up on ONE. Learning they are endangered we want to join the effort in revitalizing the breed but as has been stated here, where do we find them? We got our hen via Craigs List.