Rapanui Fowl: Raraku Thread

JacinLarkwell · Jan 3, 2023

sjango said:
Yes, that is a cockerel. He was hatched in June.

He's cute, I like his look

sjango · Jan 3, 2023

JacinLarkwell said:
He's cute, I like his look

Me too, I'll be using him next year in the breeding pens.

MysteryChicken · Jan 3, 2023

sjango said:
Raraku are a type of Rapanui Fowl from Easter Island. The native name for the island is Rapa Nui and is the namesake for the classification of these and several other island landrace fowl because this island offered a critical landing site for the genetics that would radiate to other islands. The ancestral forbearers of Raraku arrived to Rapa Nui with Austronesian seafarers. Birds collected from Easter Island by European colonialists and tradespeople were brought back to Europe as early as the 1500s and traces of Rapanui Fowl blood are found in several European breeds today.

Modern Raraku offer a glimpse into the cultural preferences of Easter Islanders. There seems to be several morphs that were favored. Selective breeding produced spectacular traits but also maintained genetic diversity. Raraku today bantam in size and can display a small crest of feathers on their heads. They are clean-legged and usually have slate, blue, or pearl shanks. The faces of males are ideally a vivid pinkish-red. Feathers can be brilliantly iridescent and are often in the purple range attributed to their Violaceous Junglefowl ancestry. Raraku lay eggs in a rainbow of colors including blue, green, and tinted. Some Raraku today display polydactyly which can be traced back to crossing with Kiri Kiri fowl to introduce genetic diversity to a dwindling reservoir.

Raraku are incredibly hardy birds and are adept free rangers. They are independent and roosters are diligent lookouts while hens maintain an instinct for broodiness and make great mothers. In many ways they resemble their wild Red and Green Junglefowl ancestors in their behavior and resilience. They are also seasonal layers much like their wild cousins.

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Red Duckwing Hen

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Red Male Displaying Polydactyly

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Silver Male

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Black Crested Hen and Silver Male

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Raraku Eggs

Why haven't I heard of these birds till now? They're neat.

sjango · Jan 3, 2023

MysteryChicken said:
Why haven't I heard of these birds till now? They're neat.

I am absolutely fascinated with Rapanui landraces. They have a relatively small presence outside of their home ranges, to my knowledge there are only a handful of breeders in the United States. And even where they are from many populations have suffered from reduced population size and/or intermixing with introduced domestic breeds.

sjango · Jan 18, 2023

Because roosters have gotten most of the spotlight, here are some photos of Raraku hens. I've mostly been getting a lot of Extended Black and Birchen and not many wildtype pattern.

Pardon the one blurry photo, that girl is a bullet and I can never get a photo of her sitting still!