Mottled Java's - reflections on the breed

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

This morning we processed the last of our Mottled roo's. We have had them for about 3 years now and our stock came from 3 different sources none of them hacthery stock. Overall we found them to be very flighty, poor layers, small eggs, very slow to mature and grow out. On the other side they were good foragers and would make a good "barnyard" type chicken.

For anybody else that has them what is your opinion?

Steve

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I've never owned mottled javas but have them on my "want list" for next year. Maybe I need to re-think getting those. I love the coloration and from all I'd read they were large birds that were good layers of large eggs. I know they are rare, I haven't seen any in our area since I was just a sprout. Are they just inbreed because of the rareity or is it just the breed itself?
I had a few black javas years ago, they were great barnyard birds. Wish I still had them.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Ours came from 3 different sources so I wouldn't think inbreeding. I think that when the breed fell out of favor they weren't kept up and bred to standard. If the originals were as slow to mature I can see why they fell out of favor. We sold the hens that we had and they were 7 months old and just starting to lay. I don't think the breed is a lost cause but they need alot of work.

Steve

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Our black javas were slow to mature also (About like our standard cochins & the black giants), but they were pretty good layers. We only got about 3 eggs per week the pullet year per hen but the second season they were laying around 5 a week per hen, so I thought that was great for an old heritage breed. I bought these from an elderly lady in Missouri who was going into an old folks home and her family didn't want to keep them. She said her family had "Always" raised them, so I guess they had been a closed flock for many years and I never could find any others at the time to add any bloodlines to them. I had a heart attack in 2000 and moved back to Mississippi and we sold all of them at that time. I contacted the gentleman I had sold them to a few years ago to see if I could buy a few back to start our new flock and he said they decided they didn't like them and had butchered the entire flock. oh well.
I really do want some mottled javas, do you have any pictures of yours? I'm sorta picking your brain because you have hands-on experiance with them. What weight did yours top out at? About how many eggs per hen per week? Any other info you can think of would be appreciated also.
Sorry to be a pain.

 

[snowbird]

I have both Mottled and Black Java and have found mine to be real docile fowl. My only complaint is the fact that the Mottled have too much white in the wing. I only ended up with three young males after culling everything with the white wing feathers

 

[Katy]

I only had mine a few months after I hatched them out. They were just starting to lay so I can't really comment on what their eggs size would have ended up being, but I will agree on the flighty statement. They were hatched and raised with some of my other breeds...wyandottes and orpingtons mainly but were very flighty in comparison to those breeds.

 

[HHandbasket]

We just got our first mottled java this week, a young rooster, to be our flock protector since we've moved up into the foothills. He's very sweet and docile but is showing protective instincts over one of our young hens who is injured. He's about 6 months old. He hasn't crowed yet since he came to live here. I never thought twice about this breed before, but now I am learning about them and looking into this gorgeous breed.

This is our mottled java, whom we have named Rico Suave.

 

[Engteacher]

Ive had black Javas from Urch for a year now. They started laying at 20 weeks and continued all winter, although it definitely tapered off in February. They have been friendly and not at all flighty, although our cocks have been a bit aggressive with the hens lately. We need to do something to protect our hens' backs. Broody, certainly, but devoted to the chicks. In a mixed flock, they get along well with everyone.

I know Urch has both black and mottled, and I can only speak to my experience with the breed from his stock. Too bad yours didn't work out, Steve.

 

[Katy]

I didn't have mine for very long either....they had just started laying when I sold them, but they were too flighty for me.....much more spazzy that a couple of other breeds that had been hatched out and raised with them. Very pretty birds and I think if I could have let them free-range it would have been a lot better.

 

[Chickndaddy]

I had Black, White, and Mottled Javas. All of the hens were large, healthy, fluffy girls that layed well. I bred Blacks and Whites and would have separated my Mottled hens off "the yard" flock but every time I got a rooster he died of some freak accident. The first two drowned and I don't remember on the third one. Same thing with my little Russian Orloff boys. I finally decided they just weren't meant to be.

The blacks were the most stand-offish but not flighty. My biggest complaint was the longevity on the whites. They hens layed well for about 6-10 months and then I'd find them dead on the nest. The White birds matured much slower than the other two colors as well. I usually raised their chicks with bantams and my Barnvelders (another slow maturing breed that stayed puny forever). I think that's because people were scared to breed them back to Blacks to increase vigor and vitality. If I had them now I would set up breed pens with White roos and Black hens and vice versa. If the white gene behaves like all other recessive genes the first generation should be split to white. Crossing the F1 generation back to White birds would throw 50% split and 50% White (if I did the math right in my head). That should widen the gene pool and help with the issues I experienced.