QUECHUA /Tojuda/ Ameraucana/ Easter Eggers{ In vino veritas

[MA Mama]

Yashar told me about you, and I am so glad to be able to follow these South American threads - so much for me to learn still... Have some Huastec, Collonca and Sweet Pototato Quechua so far. Thanks for all this info and real-life info on where they come from! It is much appreciated.

 

[alibra]

Oh my goodness this thread is fascinating!!! I'm obsessed with the Quechua de Aretes, are there any breeders in the USA?

 

[Penny Hen]

.Once a strain was established that could breed they were maintained in large bamboo baskets hence their name. They were considered more valuable than jade to seafarers because they could be crowded, roosters together with hens, and provide food for long sea journeys.Their vocalizations on long sea journeys may have been considered good omens as well as helped keep sailboats in an armada within hearing range all hours of the day and night.

The male Green Junglefowl was likewise a primary founder of the Ayam Bekisar. Only the males of this strange hybrid were transported by seafarers as the females are sterile.The bekisars were integral components of sea travel as the crowing of the males kept the boats in hearing distance from one another .
The combination of the different hybrid "singing" roosters' crowing was likely of high spiritual-religious significance in the belief systems of the seafarers.

The birds were also capable of detecting land long before their human captors. As these birds were of such spirituo-religious significance to the Micronesians they were often turned free upon reaching the islands.
Because each boat might carry five or more bekisar the hybrid males made up a large percentage of breeding males on each island where the Micronesians settled.

The female Green Junglefowl trait of densely feathered throat - the curious velveteen patch below her eye that insulates the ear and face-these traits would become dominant in subsequent progeny of bekisars. As mentioned earlier, females descended of Bekisars are invariably sterile when bred back to either parental species ( Red JF or Green JF), curiously, the females of the Basket Bantam produce fertile daughters when bred to male Bekisar. Consequently, Bekisar Basket Bantam composite populations would become the dominant genotype on Marquesas from which they were carried to other islands, including small islands in the Koro Sea where their flocks were joined by Austronesian Fowl- those strange ancestors of the enormous game chickens.

Like the Green Junglefowl, the Malagasy Fowl carried by Austronesians throughout South East Asia, Oceania and the Pacific, also exhibits a single gular lappet versus two well defined wattles. Females exhibit a similar subauricular ruff that is even more extensive than that of the female Green Junglefowl.
Eastern Austronesian Hen exhibiting triangular velvet patch of filoplumes "sub auricular ruff" protecting ears and face against moisture, wind and temperature.

We can imagine that Austronesian fowl had a rougher time than the smaller more gracile junglefowl hybrids but their genes are nonetheless well-represented. It would appear that female Austronesians were the ancestors of many an island population. This may be because they were already an admixture between Red JF and Austronesian Fowl before they arrived. Regardless, they become important founders on many of these remote islands. However, on the most isolated least hospitable islands, the surviving populations of fowl tended to be highly miniaturized composites. Their ancestors were largely those strange archaic hybrids because the wet forest adapted Red Junglefowl just didn't survive well in these environments. This is obviously not the case in Hawaii and other lush environments where the Red JF thrived.

I wanted to ask about the relationship between these birds and the Russian Orloff. The Orloff seems to have the winterized face of the Queche and the tall long necked body and the beetling brows of the Malay ancestor. How did this come about?

 

[alibra]

Where does one find these
Quechua de Aretes?

 

[Penny Hen]

Where does one find these
Quechua de Aretes?

I don't know but if anyone ever answers that question let me know. That picture of it is facinating!

 

[enola]

Deleted

 

[austintxchick]

Thanks to Penny Hen, I just found out what I thought was an Ameracuana, is actually looking like it's a Quechua. First I had this chick who turned out to be a cockerel so I had to trade him for a pullet. He was so pretty and I bet he's going to be gorgeous!



I just traded for her, yesterday. Probably his sister.....

 

[knjinnm]

Who did you get the birds from? The bird in the top picture has a beard, do Quechua's have beards?
jac

 

[draye]

To bring forward.
Couldn't find in my posted thread so did search and posted something to bring it to the front.

 

[JanetMarie]

Reading through this thread. I would love to have a Quechua flock.