Olive eggers? Ayam Cemani?

[MuddyBootsDMB]

At the expense of sounding dull, is there any attractiveness to owning olive egg layers (or other interesting colors) or Ayam Cemani besides their novelty? Do people just buy the eggs/birds to have laying hens and special eggs of their own to sell, or are they purchased often for food or showing? I have the opportunity to get some for a decent price but besides selling the eggs to other chicken owners looking for rare eggs, is there a purpose or a market?

 

[Pyxis]

People like the olive eggers for olive colored eggs, and really there's no 'point' to them aside from the eggs. People like to have variety in their egg baskets, and that's it really. They're mutts, mixed breeds made to lay those eggs, so you can't show them. You can, or course, eat them, since you can eat any chicken if you want to.

ACs, I breed. Really, people own them because they love the breed. That's why I have them - I love the breed and want to improve it. You can sell the eggs, or eat the eggs, or hatch them to grow out new breeders for your flock. Some people use them as meat birds for the fibro meat, which is considered a delicacy in some cultures.

But aside from their beauty, no, they're really not kept for anything else. They're not an accepted breed yet (there's a breed club working on that) so they can't really be shown and win anything major.

 

[Broodygranny]

I bought a ayam cemani rooster, just because I like them. I also have some blue egg layer pullets. I eat my eggs, and I hatch out chicks occasionally. My chickens are mostly just for fun. They also eat bugs in the yard!

 

[MuddyBootsDMB]

Thanks so much! We have a bunch of random breeds—all fairly mixed, I’m sure. They are wonderful for the bugs and, of course, the eggs! I don’t mind my tan-colored eggs as far as taste goes, and my less expensive chicks. Maybe I’ll skip on those other majestic fowl, then unless we have time, space, and funds to admire them

 

[Blue Eager]

It’s the purple, pink & turquoise iridescent feathers against an ink black background that attracted me to AC’s. You can look at photos all day long but there is nothing like seeing them in person. I have tried & tried to get just the right light when photographing these gorgeous birds but photos do not do them justice. This alone is enough to satisfy most folks but the allure is much more than that. I have quite a few breeds; EE’s, Lavender & Blue Ameraucanas, Australorps, Leghorns & others & my Cemanis are by far the most confident, intelligent, & alert breed I have. The icing on the cake is they are also the friendliest people breed I have. I say people because they are very aggressive when it comes to establishing themselves as the kings & queens of their shared pens. They are without question a complete package.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'd say 90%+ of the people that bought Ayam Cemani in their first few years got them with one intent.
To get rich.

 

[Blue Eager]

I'd say 90%+ of the people that bought Ayam Cemani in their first few years got them with one intent.
To get rich.

Then I must be in the 10% bracket. I have yet to purchase any chickens I can break even on let alone get rich with. My Cemanis are no different. I purchase all my birds for the sheer pleasure.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Then I must be in the 10% bracket. I have yet to purchase any chickens I can break even on let alone get rich with. My Cemanis are no different. I purchase all my birds for the sheer pleasure.

I don't know you so this isn't directed towards you.
I don't know anyone who got rich from the ACs and I know very few that come right out and say it but lets be real when they first came out with those crazy high price tags most that got them were attracted to the idea of selling their own for the same high prices over any attraction to the breed.

 

[Pyxis]

I don't know you so this isn't directed towards you.
I don't know anyone who got rich from the ACs and I know very few that come right out and say it but lets be real when they first came out with those crazy high price tags most that got them were attracted to the idea of selling their own for the same high prices over any attraction to the breed.

Yep, and it led to a ton of scamming, mass producing of the breed creating a ton of sub-par birds, and just bad things for the breed in general. It wasn't good.

I've had mine since 2013 and have yet to make a dime on them. But that was never my intention so that's fine. But I do know a lot of breeders that got into them in the early years and then ditched out as soon as the price started to fall.

People are still trying to capitalize on them at the expense of the breed. Someone has now on purpose bred the ones with color leakage together to create very leaky birds that they are calling 'birchen' ayam cemanis.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yep, and it led to a ton of scamming, mass producing of the breed creating a ton of sub-par birds, and just bad things for the breed in general. It wasn't good.

I've had mine since 2013 and have yet to make a dime on them. But that was never my intention so that's fine. But I do know a lot of breeders that got into them in the early years and then ditched out as soon as the price started to fall.

People are still trying to capitalize on them at the expense of the breed. Someone has now on purpose bred the ones with color leakage together to create very leaky birds that they are calling 'birchen' ayam cemanis.

Sometimes the worst thing for a breed is popularity.
Every time the worse thing for a breed is huge popularity and assumed value.