Hailing from Java, Indonesia, it’s believed that the Ayam Cemani is a cousin of the Kadaknath chicken. In its home country, the all-black Ayam Cemani is thought to bring healing and magic properties.
The breed is rare in that it is one of a few breeds that have dermal hyperpigmentation, also referred to as fibromelanosis. Owning my own flock of this magical breed, I have found that they retain many undomesticated features while also allowing people to take part in their lives.
Genetic Mutants
The Ayam Cemani results from a genetic mutation that comes from an Ayam Kedu, a black chicken with red comb and wattles. The Kedu was established in 1924 in Indonesia, and the Cemani is a subspecies.
In Indonesian, Ayam means “chicken” and Cemani means “black.” Only recently have they been considered a separate breed. (The distinction was introduced by more modern civilizations.)
Without proper and strict culling practices, the Ayam Cemani can very easily genetically revert back to the Kedu coloring and type. No matter what line you purchase, this breed will always need work and heavy culling and are difficult to keep pure black.
To keep them this way, they have to always have two of the fibro genes present from the parents to remain all black.
To replicate this, breeders always use the blackest birds. Many grandparent genes do make an appearance in chicks, every now and again.
Many breeders see any white upon hatch as a bad sign. These chicks aren’t kept for future breeding. White is referred to in the breeder world as “leakage.” Some breeders cull upon hatch, while some retain them for meat sales later on in life.
Other breeders keep the chicks with leakage to introduce the fibromelanistic gene into another breed.
Mind the Tongue
In order to preserve this rare occurrence and not lose the genetic print to extinction, breeders must remain resilient. This fibromelanistic gene also has flaws.
Not all pure Ayam Cemanis have black tongues. The exceptionally rare of this rare breed carries these genetics. Most Ayam Cemanis have white to gray tongues with some black on them. Others possess a smoke-gray tongue.
Any type of red or pink present usually means that the birds have been bred to something beside an Ayam Cemani somewhere in the bloodline. Or it can mean that the breeder hasn’t practiced strict culling techniques and the bird is reverting back to an ancestor.
Ayam Cemanis also grow into their fibromelanosis. This means that when they hatch, the darker they are, the darker their “peak” will be. This peak essentially means that it’s the darkest that the bird will get also. It can happen with any color and any breed of chicken and happens with waterfowl.
It’s a normal process of aging but more noticeable on the Cemani because of how dark they are. A discolored toe or feather easily stands out. This can happen anywhere from 1 to 3 years.
With my rooster, I got four good years out of him but only three seasons. He peaked last year. After this last molt, his fibro is dwindling and will get worse as he ages further.
I like to use the example of when human hair starts turning gray. That is exactly what happens to older birds that carry this gene.
Read more: Here are 4 ornamental chicken breeds that look great in the backyard.
All About These All-Blacks
Ayam Cemanis are poor layers and don’t grow into very large birds. Contrary to popular belief, this breed doesn’t lay black eggs. Instead, it lays a white to cream colored egg. And the medium-sized fowl lays medium-size eggs.
The hens seem to lay well for about a month, then go on a break for about a month. Hens go broody about once to twice a year and make excellent mothers.
For hens, I keep a mix of Greenfire Farms (the original importer farm) and Raven (a straight Indonesian import) bloodlines. Last year, I let two hens sit, and they each hatched chicks. The rooster also seemed a little more involved than with some of the other breeds that I have.
Each hen that hatched chicks was a great mother—very attentive to the chicks while also wary of their surroundings. They did become distant and shy while they had their chicks but took excellent care of them.
I did separate one hen because she hatched Sebright chicks, a conservative bantam breed. The other Ayam Cemanis in the pen tried to kill the Sebrights. Any chick that was black, they raised.
My top hen was one who had chicks, and every other hen seemed to take a role in caring for the chicks. They herded them around as a group when they were free-ranging. The rooster was very wary of predators. He paid more attention than if it were just the hens out free-ranging.
Cemani Behaviors
The Ayam Cemanis in my flock have kept much of their ancestors’ wild habits and can be really flighty when it comes to trusting humans and predators. Ayam Cemani chicks certainly need more handling than more domesticated breeds in order to trust people.
Ayam Cemani also tend to get bored easily if they remain penned up for an extended period of time. Their first pen was about 3 foot tall, and this wasn’t sufficient for them. They love to fly and perch.
To combat this, their new pen is 6 foot tall. Lots of perches also helps.
Making “boredom busters” activities helps with bullying. In their new pen, I plan on installing a chicken swing and a mirror to help combat boredom on the days that they can’t free-range.
In our area, we have hawks and aerial predators. With the Ayam Cemanis, the hawks fly over them and don’t attempt to make an attack. It could be their dark coloring. With our other breeds, we have to let our livestock guardian dog out with them.
Personal Experience
On our farm, we sell grow-out birds and full-grown birds. This helps us guarantee our fibromelanosis. Our chicks get separated and banded at hatch with different colored leg bands that identify each. We use these to identify their parents and bloodlines.
Every chick hatched receives a number. If they have any amount of white at hatch, they’re put into a cull group, which is grown out for meat use.
Many breeders breed for certain characteristics that they like. Because there is no SOP at the time of this article, breeders typically breed for as black as possible. Some breeders also breed for a wild-type feather, which is drastically different from a smooth-feather look.
Read more: Learn more about the all-black Ayam Cemani breed of chicken!
Keep ‘Em Separated
We separate our birds into groups for sales, breeding purposes and for chicks we’ll keep for future breeding. We use the following groups for our chicks.
- all black with oyster tongue
- all black with smoky tongue
- all black with foot, pad or nail leakage
- culls
The “all black” with oyster and smoky tongues I keep as breeders for following seasons unless there is a genetic need to breed them back to a mother or father. This isn’t ideal. But some situations call for an offspring to be bred back to the mother or father.
Many breeders use this technique for certain genetic expressions that can include comb type, feather type and egg laying.
Selling the Rest
Standard ones that have something that I don’t personally breed for—such as a wild feather type or a comb sprig—we sell to clients. (Same if I just have too many of them.)
In the wild feather type, the vane of the feather doesn’t lay together. It’s rather spread out and resembles a bristle brush texture.
A comb sprig is a protruding piece of comb that isn’t in line with their comb.
The birds that we don’t plan on keeping or selling (culls) stay onsite until they’re ready for processing. We sell our culls as farm-fresh chicken to restaurants or clients looking for something a little different. We never sell live culls, nor should any breeder of this rare gem. Some people could continue breeding them with faults that we do not want in the gene pool.
The rare breed Ayam Cemani needs conservation efforts. They’re great foragers and are exceptionally disease-resistant. The genetic mutation that they carry, along with their adaptability to heat and cold, are great characteristics to keep alive.
More Information
Big Bucks
The price tag on a true Ayam Cemani is a steep one. It can range from $250 up to $2,500! Many breeders rarely sell because the breed is very difficult to get perfect.
If you’re looking at purchasing one, do so from a breeder established with the Ayam Cemani Breeders Association. This group is dedicated to keeping the line genetically preserved and isn’t in this breed for a quick buck.
It’s working toward getting this breed accepted by the American Poultry Association and has developed a strong Standard of Perfection, a written description of the ideal bird. The SOP for the Ayam Cemani hasn’t been released yet but has been submitted to the APA for approval.
All Weather
The Ayam Cemani has proven to be exceptional against weather. Where I live in Tennessee, we have mild winters. This past year, we did dip down into negative numbers for a bit, and the Ayam Cemani pen did the best out of all of our hen pens. They even laid when no other pens were laying, and we had a successful hatch on Christmas Day.
Our summers are hot and humid. Because these birds are all black, we give them extra shade to keep them cooler. Black is notorious for absorbing heat from the sun. Even in temperatures higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, they were praiseworthy at how well they handled it. We didn’t even catch one panting.
They do like their dust baths. We filled an empty tire with wood ash, sand and diatomaceous earth to help. But they preferred to make their own holes in the ground.
Extremely Exotic
The exotic look of this fowl makes it stand out amongst any other breed that you’ll find. When their feathers hit the sun, they have an iridescent green tint to them. They can look quite overwhelming with their black toes, black legs, black skin, black comb and wattles, and their black feathering. Even on a gorgeous sunny day, it looks as though you have a chicken shadow following you around.
They also stand very tall and have a game-type stance about them. No other color except black is an Ayam Cemani. Don’t get swept into claims that this breed is any color but black.
With the price tag that Ayam Cemanis have, many people want to cash in on the hype of this poultry. Research and know the breed and breeder before you buy.
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2021 issue of Chickens magazine.
