Strange Breed: The Ayam Cemani chicken

The beginnings of the Ayam Cemani chicken are vague, to say the least. It possibly originated in Sumatra, where the original breed is now extinct. The Ayam Cemani is often associated with a group of breeds known as Kedu from the central plains of Java.

It is believed to be an offshoot of the Ayam Bekisar chicken, which lives on a small island in Indonesia.

The Ayam Bekisar originated from matching the green jungle fowl with some domesticated red jungle fowl. This was a tricky process as certain crosses will be infertile. Interestingly, this group of fowl has a very distinct crow and was used by seafarers as foghorns on the boats – a practice still used today.

Even the name has confused meanings: Ayam means chicken in the Indonesian language, but Cemani can either mean the ‘village of Cemani’ in local dialect or ‘solid black’ in Sanskrit. You can take your pick. It is said by some folks to be a landrace bird, but there is evidence that it was a developed breed at some point. It is not a chicken of the ‘common’ people.

People of wealth and community standing have these birds as status symbols and take great care of them. They are thought of as good luck charms, with the blood and other parts of the bird being used in traditional medicine preparations.

They were first imported to Europe in 1998 by a Dutchman named Jan Steverink.

Ayam Cemanis is a striking sight. Their allblack feathers have a beetle-green iridescence in sunlight that is stunning.

They are not an overly large fowl. In appearance, they are strong and muscular with close-fitting feathers, not unlike a game bird. They strike a confident pose and are always alert.

It will have a fairly broad breast and a medium back, which slopes from the neck. The wings are long and strong, arising from wide shoulders.

The tail is held moderately high. Thighs are powerful and muscular. The bird should have four toes to each foot.

Feathers are all black and are close-fitting to the body. Skin, eyes, wattles, and comb should all be black. You should see no other colour.

The feathers may show a beetle-green to purple iridescence in sunlight.