The American Cemani Breeders Club...open forum

[birdman55]

Feather leakage as well as mulberry in the comb can show at any age. An all black feathered bird at six weeks may still turn out to be a cull at five months due to feather leakage, mulberry comb, or other reasons. Culling is an ongoing continuous process throughout the life of the bird. I have a mature rooster that will be "culled" this fall because his legs are shorter than I like. I may have a potential buyer for him already, but if that doesn't work out, he will be put on the market for $1,000.

very nice bird for sure...out of all of the cemani i have got...i culled them all...they were from gff...and now i got four more...hope those are better...they seem to be weaker compared to other chickens....most chickens will pick on them to the point you have to go and save them and separate them...the females are so much smaller in all of the fibro breeds i have acquired...i do have a great all black svart hona which i will use in the breeding program...all the others had leakage in some way....silver feathers by the comb or in the back...or purple comb/wattles...its either yes breeder or no...about that simple...until i can get that breeder male looks like i wont be breeding this bird.

 

[MisfitMarie]

I'm vacationing this month but can post any pictures I have on this laptop and then more ASAP once I am back home.

Granted, I am not a breeder. Most of my chickens have names (unless I plan on eating them), and I raise them because I simply enjoy it. I do not have the resources (or the time, money, knowledge, and energy LOL) to do anything full-scale... so I only have one Cemani hen laying and under a specific Ameraucana rooster. I also enjoy collecting breeds that I find especially appealing. Eventually, I'd like to separate my Cemani hen and black Silkies and start making some fun crosses (Silkie X Cemani would be cool, I think)... but that's been on the back burner for awhile, and I'm in no hurry.

So here's pictures of my small flock...

My rooster... Blue Wheaten Ameraucana and his two Wheaten Ameraucana ladies.




My hen... Ayam Cemani. Very tame, will perch on your arm or lap. I once made the mistake of letting her get too close to my face after she wanted my chewing gum. I ended up with a bloody lip!



At first glance, after a few hatches, it appears that about half of the chicks come out blue and the other half come out black. The blues stay blue with purplish legs... and the black birds show eventual leakage (mostly in the males) while maintaining a purple sheen and purplish legs. All have black skin, black toenails, and gray mouths. Some hatched with clear toenails that grew in black. I find them to be very interesting.

Old pics of the babies of my first hatched group... I'll take more ASAP of the older birds!

















I'll share pics of the adults and eggs when I can!

 

[playrough87]

I see quite a few flocks that are integrated with different colors and/or breeds. My Cemani will ATTACK any other birds that I try to introduce.

I set up close quarters so they can get to see/smell eachother. This has always worked with other Cemani. However, the other breed is not all black, and that's my only variance.

I know that chickens sometimes "pick on" the different types. How have ya'll integrated various birds into the flock?

For the record, the birds that I was trying to introduce were juvies, and not at POL. I needed time to build a separate enclosure, but the death of a bird made us build a temporary structure STAT

 

[MisfitMarie]

I see quite a few flocks that are integrated with different colors and/or breeds. My Cemani will ATTACK any other birds that I try to introduce.

...

For the record, the birds that I was trying to introduce were juvies, and not at POL. I needed time to build a separate enclosure, but the death of a bird made us build a temporary structure STAT

That's interesting, because my Cemani pullet is a total boss. She is my most aggressive bird, borderline bully, but not too bad. She keeps the younger/smaller birds in their places. More aggressive around treats. And I wasn't kidding about the bloody lip, she sliced it open. Outgoing, will jump up onto you, doesn't seem to mind being held and will follow me around the yard, though.

I use the playpen method, too. I begin slow integration at eight weeks at the earliest, maybe longer for bantams. The only problems I have had in my collection are with my tiny d'uccle. Poor thing gets pushed around a lot. Extremely docile.

 

[playrough87]

That's interesting, because my Cemani pullet is a total boss. She is my most aggressive bird, borderline bully, but not too bad. She keeps the younger/smaller birds in their places. More aggressive around treats. And I wasn't kidding about the bloody lip, she sliced it open. Outgoing, will jump up onto you, doesn't seem to mind being held and will follow me around the yard, though.  

I have a hen like this... She pecks my head when I'm bent down, taking care of the bunnies. However, while the hens "pick" at the youngins, this is the only time the Roo intervened.

 

[kllyjansen]

Hello All,

I hope you don't mind my reaching out to you for some advise I have a couple ayam cemanis that I hatched and now have a pullet and a cockerel from two separate GFF lines. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to keep a cockerel as I still live in a neighborhood and I am making the decision between rehoming/selling just the cockerel or selling them as a breeding pair. My only hesitation in this decision is that, as this is my first experience with the breed, I don't know if they are breeding quality and I would hate to screw someone over by selling them as a breeding stock if they do not pass muster. Further, I really love these chicks... I have raised many chickens and these two stand out as the best. That said, if they aren't a breeding pair, I'd rehome the male and keep the female as a pet.

The chicks are 8 weeks old, completely black with no white whatsoever, but they do have grey tongues/mouths. Their adult feathers are coming in with a nice sheen and their overall conformation is just very pleasing to the eye. They are pretty birds. The male's mouth is more pink-grey now that he is older and the female's mouth is more black-grey. I feel like the mouths are the 'weak link' in their breedability. I've attached some pics of the pair below.

What are your thoughts? Are they worthy as being sold as a breeding stock? If not, what would you sell them for as a pair OR just the cockerel alone? That little boy is simply fantastic personality-wise and I am loathe to part with him... when I open his pen each day and call to him he flies onto my arm and lets me love on him. I can't tell you how much I hate that he must go :-(

I will note on the following photos that the mouths were extremely difficult to photograph and that, somehow, the color is exaggerated in opposite directions: the female's mouth is not quite that dark and the male's mouth is not quite that light.

Female:









Male:









What should I do?

Thanks!

 

[sweetsam]

Hi! They will fetch more as a pair. they are beautiful! You could get a no crow collar which I read muffles the crow a bit

If the hen will be the only hen who looks diff in your flock she might get picked on

I think anyone buying would appreciate your honesty in describing them.

Best wishes!

 

[kllyjansen]

Hi! They will fetch more as a pair. they are beautiful! You could get a no crow collar which I read muffles the crow a bit

If the hen will be the only hen who looks diff in your flock she might get picked on

I think anyone buying would appreciate your honesty in describing them.

Best wishes!

 

[birdman55]

day olds will go for 200 as for older birds expect between that and 1000. that being said you will have some produce good stock from that bird...i just have no patience when it comes to something like that. thats y i killed all eight of the birds i got from gff....and now i have 4 two week olds...will post pics soon...hoping for the best but who knows..getting to know these birds as well as other fibro birds. its like this....hatch many , keep few, breed even fewer. now that i know that i should have kept some of the other birds.

 

[kllyjansen]

Seems like from talking to local breeders I can expect maybe $75 for the pair. Yikes! I paid more for the eggs! This No Crow Collar is looking better and better.