If you are an exotic animal lover and would like to have such in your household, then Ayam Tsemani chickens are exactly what you need. These birds are a rare breed of chickens bred in Middle Java, located in Indonesia. If we translate the name of this breed (Ayam cemani) from a local dialect, it sounds like this: "black chicken from Tsemani" (the name of a small town). Let's look at the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of keeping these birds, as well as what can be prepared from their meat.
Breed characteristics
Today there is no single recognized standard of the Ayam Tsemani breed, but it is possible to especially note some peculiarities.
Did you know? In Indonesia, people believe that the black hens Ayam Tsemani are endowed with miraculous power, so they use them in pagan rituals. Residents sacrificed them to increase fertility. Also, the local population is confident that the crowing of roosters will give them prosperity, and the dishes from their meat can ease remorse of conscience.
Appearance
Birds of this breed have the following parameters:
- crest completely black, plumage, skin, beak, eyes and claws;
- body trapezoid, small, slim and compact;
- head small, topped with a straight, leaf-like ridge with distinct teeth;
- short beak, at the end has a thickening;
- round or oval earrings;
- neck is average;
- chest slightly forward;
- legs are long, the legs are well developed, which contributes to the rapid movement and high jumps;
- paws have 4 fingers;
- wings fit snugly to the body;
- Roosters have a large and fluffy tail, which has elongated braids.
Features
Roosters weigh up to 2 kilograms, and chicken - no more than 1.5 kg. When breeding, there is a high survival rate for chickens - up to 95 percent.
We recommend to get acquainted with the breeds of chickens: Hisex, Hubbard, Maran, Amroks, Master Gray.
Character
Like all Indonesian species of chickens, the Ayams have a fighting spirit and some aggressiveness., because their ancestors are wild chickens, which thanks to these qualities successfully survived in the jungle. These birds are active, showing curiosity to all strangers. They also differ in courage and caution, so they are poorly tamed and do not like to have close contact with people. If you take such a hen on your hands, she will experience a lot of stress. Males have increased vociferousness.
Maturation rate
The black breed hen needs to reach 8 months of age to start riding, and with better feeding and care, six months.
Egg production
Egg activity is low - egg production is about 100 eggs per year, while the eggs are light brown, strong, weighing from 50 grams, the taste is no different from the eggs of ordinary layers.
Advantages and disadvantages
If we talk about the merits of this strange bird, then apart from the impressive appearance, these domestic birds have high-quality meat. But the drawbacks - many. Let us dwell on them in more detail:
- these chickens are rare in our open spaces, so hatching eggs cost fabulous money and are available only to collectors and rich poultry farmers;
- low egg production rate;
- the chickens do not have a high maternal instinct, therefore, for breeding offspring, eggs are subjected to maturation in an incubator;
- birds "remember" their wild roots, therefore, are very suspicious and non-contact;
- Exotic hens need special housing conditions: an insulated house and a sheltered walk with a shed so that these pets cannot fly away.
Growing black chickens
If you are a happy owner of this rare type of poultry, then you need to know some of the subtleties of their cultivation.
What to eat
In order for the black chickens to look good, be active and healthy, they need to be fully fed from an early age. First, let's talk about the nutrition of young animals.
We recommend to learn how to make feed for laying hens.
Chickens
For the first weeks, Ayams chicks are fed the same way as regular chickens. Their diet consists of these ingredients:
- boiled chicken eggs, pounded with corn grits and chopped greens;
- low-fat cottage cheese;
- vitamins that are instilled in every chicken's beak;
- maggots;
- warm boiled water;
- weakly brewed warm tea;
- warm glucose solution.
Did you know? Scientists have proved the fact that a chicken who has lived only for 1 day has the same reflexes and skills as a child of three years, therefore the statement "chicken brains" is very controversial.
Adult Chicken
Adult chickens need combined feed with vitamin supplements. This will allow them to have strong immunity, and to tolerate the harsh winters inherent in our latitudes.
If you prefer natural cooked food, then the diet of the Indonesian chicken should consist of the following feed:
- legumes and cereals;
- chopped herbs and vegetables;
- bran;
- yeast;
- meat and bone meal;
- fish broth with the addition of pulp, silage, pine and grass meal (in winter).
- fish oil;
- meat waste;
- insects: worms, larvae of flies.
We advise you to read about the breeds of chickens: Loman Brown, Cochinhin, Sussex, Orpington, Minorca, Dominant, Black Bearded, Russian White, Faverol, Andalusian, Wyandot.
Ayam Tsemani breeding
For the purity of the breed, the black family must be kept separately from other hens.
Mating subtleties
The optimal sexual ratio of ayams is 1 cock and 5 chickens. Fertilization of eggs is almost 100 percent.
Incubation period
As already mentioned, hens do not tend to incubate and care for their offspring. Therefore, the incubation process is carried out artificially. The incubation period lasts 20-21 days, and healthy chickens are born.
Care for young offspring
Newborn chicks are kept at a temperature of 28-30 degrees, which is kept constant for 2 weeks. Then the temperature can be gradually reduced.
Important! So that the chickens are not supercooled once more, it is better for them to pour water for drinking in special poilochki - thanks to this, the young will be dry and clean.
Herd replacement
When purchasing black chickens, it is important to remember that you do not have to hurry with growing herd replacement, because exotic pets can serve you as an interior decoration for a long time. Only in the second year of keeping, it is possible to plant hens, after which, from 2 months of age, young individuals can safely coexist with adult birds.
If you want to breed this breed not only for a home zoo, but also for eating, it is important to remember that after 3 years of age, the taste of meat deteriorates.
Chicken coop
In order for these overseas chickens in our open spaces to feel good and long lived, they need to be maintained according to all the rules required for heat-loving breeds. Therefore, it is of great importance to have an acceptable and warm chicken coop located in a suitable place.
Choosing a chicken coop location
Before you start building a room for keeping ayams, it is important to consider some factors:
- Place for the chicken coop should be located on a hill so that there is no threat of flooding during high water.
- The occupied area should be sufficient to support a family of one rooster and nineteen females - not less than 20 square meters.
- Should not be near the room for poultry sources of intense noise, as this breed is very shy.
- Be sure to take into account the placement of the chicken coop in relation to the cardinal points: the windows should face south to increase the daylight and increase egg production, and the doors to the west or east, as this will protect your pets from the cold northern winds.
Important! It is impossible to keep black Indonesian chickens at low temperatures and let them out outside during frosts: when cold air temperature their egg production stops, and frostbite of their beautiful scallops and earrings is possible.
Arrangement of the hen house
A coop suitable for ayams should have an adjacent summer paddock, comfortable nests and perches, as well as feeders, drinkers, good lighting and ventilation. Let us dwell on each of these devices.
Learn how to choose a chicken coop, make it yourself, equip a comfortable nest and roost for a laying hen.
Summer corral
The fences of the summer pens should be installed close to the chicken coop so that the birds themselves can go out to the paddock. Since Ayam Tsemani chickens can fly well and bounce high, the height of the fence should be set at 2 meters, making the paddock closed at the top of the grid or canopy. Such a canopy will also serve as a shelter from rain, solar radiation, as well as from birds of prey and other animals.
Comfortable nests and perches
Nests and perches should be comfortable and properly equipped.
Nests are needed so that birds can lay eggs in the same place. To do this, you can use as finished containers in the form of wicker baskets, cardboard boxes, plastic or wooden boxes, and make them yourself from wooden boards. Inside the nest is lined with sawdust or shavings, as well as hay.
Perches can be in the form of wooden beams around the perimeter of the chicken coop. They can be mounted at different levels, with a distance of at least 30 centimeters from each other.
Feeders and drinkers
It will not be difficult to make feeders and drinkers for your pets. For dry fodders, wooden boxes with approximate dimensions of 20 x 20 x 80 centimeters will be suitable feeders.
For drinking bowls, you can use various ready-made plastic containers or adapted for this plastic pipes.
Bright light
Be sure to be provided in the coop bright lighting. This is necessary in order to increase the length of daylight hours in winter in order to increase the egg production of chickens.
The maximum should be lit trough, drinkers and perches, and preferably nest pritenyat.
Ventilation
In the chicken coop for good ventilation you need to install ventilation ducts. They are made of two wooden boxes and fixed on opposite walls of the chicken coop against each other.
Find out why ventilation is needed in the hen house
To regulate the force of the air flow, ventilation channels must be equipped with doors.
Diseases
Infectious diseases of hens Ayam Tsemani do not suffer, as they have high immunity. But they can threaten other diseases. Among them - inflammation of the oviducts and ovaries due to injuries, inadequate and poor-quality feed, unsanitary conditions of detention.
Also, Ayah’s enemies, like other chickens, are parasites, which can also lead to serious problems. For example, parasitic disease Eimeriosis, which chickens suffer in the autumn-spring period. The causative agents of this disease are Eimeria, of which there are 9 species. They can affect chicks from birth.
The incubation period lasts up to 15 days. The source of infection is sick and ill individuals. The disease occurs in several variants: acute, subacute, asymptomatic, and also chronic. In the acute course of eymerioza the bird dies. In other cases, there is a lack of appetite and desire to drink, weight loss and diarrhea with streaks of blood. Appearance becomes disheveled and ruffled.
Learn more about chickens' disease, why chickens rush poorly, peck eggs, how to treat non-infectious and infectious diseases of broiler chickens, and how to cure coccidiosis in poultry
The treatment is prescribed by a veterinary specialist. Commonly used coccidiostats (substances for treating eimeriosis), which are powerful antibiotics. Therefore, during and after treatment with such preparations, chickens should be given probiotic agents. After 2 months, the disease recedes, and chickens become immune to it.
Another disease that affects Ayam Tsemani chickens is Marek's disease. With this disease, the bird has paralysis of the limbs. The incubation period lasts from 2 to 15 weeks. At the onset of the disease in poultry there is anxiety and an unnatural gait: one paw can be pulled forward. In the acute form of the disease, the eyes may be affected, causing the birds to become blind. It has been observed that older individuals are more susceptible to Marek's disease.
Layers have tumor formations in the ovaries. The disease cannot be cured, therefore it is necessary to vaccinate day-old chicks with Nobilis and Rismavak. Then the vaccination is repeated according to the system recommended for this disease.
So that your black pets do not suffer from the above diseases, they should be kept in clean, dry and warm conditions, clean water in time and clean the litter.
Read also about the rocks Brahma, Leggorn, Poltava, Kuchinsky Jubilee, Adler silver, Zagorsk salmon, Rhode Island, Redbro.
Meat Dishes
Ayam Tsemani is considered a delicious chicken meat because of its rarity and exoticism. From black poultry meat you can cook any dish that is prepared from an ordinary homemade hen. The only difference is the color of the meat, which during the heat treatment does not change. Otherwise, the taste quality does not depend on the color of the chicken, although the meat of black chickens contains elevated levels of iron and is quite tasty.
The following dishes can be made from the meat of black chickens:
- broths and soups;
- roast;
- baked chicken in the oven;
- pilaf;
- BBQ chicken
Soup ingredients:
- black chicken carcass - 500-600 mg;
- broth in which the chicken was cooked - 600 ml;
- celery root - 200 grams;
- 40 percent cream - 150 ml;
- stale bun - 1 pc .;
- onion - 1 pc .;
- butter - 1 tbsp. spoon;
- oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper - to taste.
Read what properties guinea fowl has
Step by step description of the soup with black chicken:
- Boil the chicken carcass in the broth until tender and cool.
- Melt the butter in a separate saucepan.
- Fry chopped celery root and chopped finely onion until soft on a low heat on it for 15 minutes, covering the saucepan with a lid.
- Roasted root vegetables salt and pepper.
- Put the crumbled loaf into the pan and pour out the broth. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes over low heat.
- Add cream, mix gently, boil for another 3 minutes and turn off the heat.
- Serve the soup, spilling it into plates and dividing the chicken carcass a la carte.
- Top with oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Where can one buy
You can buy Ayam Tsemani chickens in specialized nurseries or online stores. Here are a few of these stores:
- Poultry farming "Golden Scallop", Moscow.
- Nursery for breeding and growing decorative birds "Bird's Village", a suburb of Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl region.
- Online store zookharkov.info, Kharkov.
