If there is an exotic chicken that will cost you more than $2,000 each, it
is Cemani Chicken (or Ayam Cemani)—originated from Java Island in Indonesia—making it the most
expensive chicken legally available in markets. The price is considerably high due
to the rare availability outside of its native Indonesia and their being
completely black: extraordinary ink-black feathers with a greenish shine, black legs, claws and toe nails, black beak and tongue,
black comb and wattles; even their meat, bones and organs appear totally
black except
for their blood which is still red albeit extremely darker than a normal
chicken’s blood.
The raven-black colour of the chicken
occurs as a result of hyperpigmentation or excessive pigmentation of the tissues, caused by a mutated genetic condition known as fibromelanosis. This genetic condition is also found in some similar black chicken breeds such as Silkie (of China), Swedish Black (of Swedia) and Kadaknath (of India) although Cemani Chicken
is considered the darkest of them all. “It is clearly the chicken of Our Dark
Lord and Savior Satan!” said someone. Well, of course it was just an unusual expression of praise on the celebrated breed albeit Cemani Chicken being the “Lamborghini of poultry” as well.
As traditional Javanese people are very fond of chickens, Cemani Chicken holds a special place in the culture for centuries and such breed receives special treatment. In some, if not many, cases, the pure black chicken are considered status symbols, good luck charms and are
used in traditional medicine preparations to cure a variety of ailments. The chickens are even believed to have supernatural power and often used as offerings in a shamanic ritual. The
black meat and its dark red blood—the darker the better—are favoured by unearthly
forces they are trying to connect to, they said. Well, these occult practices can
be rooted from the glorious days of the Majapahit Empire in the 15th century. But of course you do
not have to be an occult practitioner to be able to enjoy the innocent and wonderful
view of these majestic chickens on your own backyard. Cemani
Chickens are robust, low cost, and by nature easy to handle, just like any other chickens.
Based on the comb type, Cemani Chickens fall into several categories as follow:
- Ayam Cemani Wilah: single-combed
- Ayam Cemani Sumpel: pea-combed
- Ayam Cemani Telon: pea-combed; splitting into three sections on top
- Ayam Cemani Mahkota: rose-combed
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| Ayam Cemani Telon |
Based on the feather, Cemani Chickens fall into several sub-breeds as follow:
- Ayam Cemani: with all its common characteristics
- Ayam Cemani Walik: with frizzled feathers
- Ayam Cemani Rajeg Wesi (the Iron Feathers): with needle-like feathers
- Ayam Cemani Putih: white-feathered Cemani Chicken
 |
| Ayam Cemani Walik |
Based on the skin and
tongue, Cemani Chickens fall into several categories as follow:
1. Ayam Cemani (the common breed of Cemani Chicken). As we may have acknowledged,
the
word “ayam” means “chicken” in
Indonesian, while the word “cemani” means “completely black” in
Javanese. The chickens that falls into this category
have normal feathers, just like any ordinary chicken breeds, but with black
feathers—all black. However, the colour of its tongue is rather grey, and not
pure black.
2. Ayam Cemani Asli (the purest breed of Cemani Chicken). It
has exactly the same characteristics as the common breed except for its tongue
and blood which is black, or extremely dark (as the colour of its blood is
still red in fact). Due to its being extremely small in number, the breed, if available,
is usually sold at very fantastic prices, much higher than that of the common breed.
However, several sources claimed that such breed with a pure black tongue and
blood does not really exist.
3. Ayam Kedu (Kedunese Chicken).
Being the ancestor of Cemani Chicken, it has the same physical appearance
as Cemani Chicken except for the red colour on some parts of the body,
including the comb, neck and buttock. Kedu is a region in Central Java where
Cemani Chicken originated from centuries ago.
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| Ayam Cemani Rajeg Wesi |
How to Breed Ayam Cemani
Instead of
black eggs, Cemani Chicken lays
normal cream-colored 45-gram eggs and it becomes the only part of the friendly
bird that is not black. The hen lays up to 100 eggs on the first year. A typical laying cycle lasts for about 20 to 30 eggs, and then she will stop laying the eggs for 3 to 6 months. However, the distribution of
black pigment in the offspring may
vary. If
you want to breed the bird, be aware that the hens are poor
setters, and they rarely hatch their
own brood so you may want to consider using
incubators.
So, what do you think about Ayam Cemani as the most expensive chicken you'll ever see? They do deserve a special spot among your lovely pets.
A drunken man was dreaming that he died and reincarnated on earth as a chicken. He became heavy and tried to lay an egg! He pushed and pushed and laid the 1st egg, then the 2nd. He was pushing to lay a 3rd egg when his wife screamed ''James! You're shitting on the bed!" ~ Anonymous
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Ayam Cemani, The Unholy Yet The Most Expensive Chicken in The World
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