Problem with Ayam Cemani rooster.

[DuckyGaze]

Hey everyone. I am really freaking out. I have lots of chickens and other fowls but am allergic to the ducks and chickens so I need to sell them. This past summer my pure Ayam Cemani rooster had a beautiful black comb and beard, but ,now my Ayam Cemani rooster has a bright red comb and beard! It seemingly changed over a short period of time. He is 18 months old. A few months ago he was pure black. He is quite old now to be changing colors. I now see he is not a pure Ayam Cemani and am very upset. Is it normal for roosters to change at this age?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sorry to hear about the allergy, that has to be upsetting.

I've never owned Ayam Cemani so I have no direct experience with them. Fairly recently, Cemani became very trendy so people were hatching and selling as many as they could for pretty good prices. That could lead to questionable breeding practices. Even breeders breeding other breeds for show hatch a lot that have flaws and they are very carful with their breeding. I don't know how "purebred" yours is.

I have noticed that chickens can change colors and patterns when they molt. That's primarily feather colors and patterns, I don't know if that carries over to a Cemani comb and wattles or not. I wonder if it is molt related.

 

[DuckyGaze]

I am very upset about the allergy. I have beautiful chickens that I used to pet each day but now I can only be around my Chinese geese without having problems breathing. Had to sell my cockatiels also. Not fun. I am keeping the geese and will look for other kinds of birds that don't cause me problems. Happy New Year.