# Ayam Cemani



## Sheepshape (Aug 18, 2019)

I have kept chickens for years....Brahmas and Naked Necks. 

Yesterday on a whim I ordered 6 fertile Ayam Cemani eggs from eBay. For those unfamiliar with the breed  they are the completely black birds.....comb, wattles, everything. 

So why? No answer really apart from I love their looks. Knowing my luck the eggs will be scrambled in the post and won't hatch, but they are look amazing, so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. Now where is that incubator??????


----------



## promiseacres (Aug 19, 2019)

Sheepshape said:


> I have kept chickens for years....Brahmas and Naked Necks.
> 
> Yesterday on a whim I ordered 6 fertile Ayam Cemani eggs from eBay. For those unfamiliar with the breed  they are the completely black birds.....comb, wattles, everything.
> 
> So why? No answer really apart from I love their looks. Knowing my luck the eggs will be scrambled in the post and won't hatch, but they are look amazing, so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. Now where is that incubator??????


 those are very interesting birds. Hopefully you get some chicks!


----------



## Sheepshape (Aug 19, 2019)

promiseacres said:


> those are very interesting birds


Just been reading up on them and they really are the "All Blacks" of the chicken world......nothing racist here, I'm thinking the NZ rugby team who have my deepest admiration (but not quite as deep an admiration as for the Welsh boys who have just taken the no 1 spot in the world after beating England at the weekend...... rugby another of my passions). These lovely chickens apparently have black mouths/tongues/meat and even bones....wow....what odd creatures. Does any other animal have black meat and bones??? Now I am determined to have some........just think of what a cross between Ayam Cemani and Naked Neck would look like if it inherited the dark skin/meat/bone genes instead of the standard pigment genes of the NN. Now I really am counting chickens before they have hatched!


----------



## RollingAcres (Aug 19, 2019)

Sheepshape said:


> For those unfamiliar with the breed they are the completely black birds.....comb, wattles, everything.


Yes they are, even down to the bones. Very interesting indeed!


----------



## Baymule (Aug 19, 2019)

Silkies come in many colors, but their skin, meat and bones are black.


----------



## AmberLops (Aug 19, 2019)

I always wanted Ayam Cemanis! There's a breeder close to me but they advertise theirs as a certain gene...and apparently genetics are super important when it comes to the breed....i'm not familiar with chicken genetics though!
Can't wait to see your chicks


----------



## Sheepshape (Aug 19, 2019)

AmberLops said:


> Can't wait to see your chicks


 Knowing my luck, Amber, I'm likely to have a bit of scrambled egg that I've incubated for 3 weeks (actually no, I do have an egg candler!). If not, I have been known to hatch 11 cockerels from 12 eggs.........now, as a vegetarian, that isn't good. They were big Brahmas, too. I ended up giving the majority away as they were good quality birds, whilst my dog did very nicely from the couple who were not good examples of the breed.


----------



## AmberLops (Aug 20, 2019)

Sheepshape said:


> Knowing my luck, Amber, I'm likely to have a bit of scrambled egg that I've incubated for 3 weeks (actually no, I do have an egg candler!). If not, I have been known to hatch 11 cockerels from 12 eggs.........now, as a vegetarian, that isn't good. They were big Brahmas, too. I ended up giving the majority away as they were good quality birds, whilst my dog did very nicely from the couple who were not good examples of the breed.


I think everything will work out well this time for you and your chicks...


----------



## RollingAcres (Aug 20, 2019)

for you!


----------



## Sheepshape (Sep 6, 2019)

Well my eggs finally arrived (days late) in the post.Box a bit crumpled, so I'm not too hopeful.

I thought I'd persuaded the broody hen which I've identified to sit in the corner of the sheep shed (she chose outside by the side of the hen coop, as they do!). Having moved her from her chosen brood spot outside to the shed after dark, she finally stayed there all day yesterday and overnight. Today, however, she has got herself up and gone back to the side of the chicken coop. I have once more moved her back to the sheep shed during daylight hours and she immediately sat down on the one fake egg and the potato(!) which she has been sitting on. I've left her in the shed and the Ayam Cermani eggs in the incubator.

Somehow my plan doesn't really seem to be coming together too well....


----------



## Baymule (Sep 6, 2019)

I hope you can hatch out the eggs, those are some very interesting chickens.


----------



## AmberLops (Sep 6, 2019)

I sure hope they hatch for you


----------



## Sheepshape (Sep 7, 2019)

Thanks for the good wishes....I have the incubator, I have the eggs, I have the hen,,,,,,,,,but they don't really seem to be 'joined up'. That's usual in my world.


----------

