Breeding the Henny Mutation Gallus gallus

Henny mutation in Red Jungle Fowl (RJF) is not uncommon. It is characterised by female coloured feathering in the male. What is uncommon is probably breeding the original (untainted) henny feathered RJF.

This is a good specimen of a very original looking female RJF (so I have been told). Notice the orderly fan like tail feathers and almost non-existent comb on the head:


She came from a brood of eggs found in the jungle and was artificially hatched. Funny things was, my friends and I expected her to disappear into the jungle when kept as a free roaming chicken. She did disappear for an entire day initially, flying over my neighbour's two storey house and disappear from sight. She came back and now behaves like a normal village chicken, weary of humans but not frightened. When friends drop by, she rarely wanders near. But when I am alone, she can come right to my feet.

Her favourite night roosting spot is right on top of my main door (shucks!)



They are getting too bold for my liking hehehe! climbing all over and recently breaking my mortar grinder I left on the garden table.





And finally a brood of 4 chicks as a result. Do not know how the chicks will turn out, but there is high chance of getting henny feathered cocks as the cock that I have also comes from a sire with henny feathering. It appears to be a passable genetic mutation.



[Apart from the hen-like feathers, males with this trait have a substantially reduced reproductive ability, probably because the increased levels of plasma oestrogen inhibit spermatogenesis (George et al., 1990)]
The above in italics is taken from an article. Just so lucky that my male is did not lose his reproductive ability. A first clutch for cock and hen that has been successfully hatched. Although the initial eggs laid are 7, I can only find 4 live chickens. Maybe I can blame the neighbourhood cats :(

Note: It is illegal to keep the RJF in Malaysia (although it is quite difficult to prove which is the RJF and which has been cross bred with the local chicken). However, if they are not tied or caged, then it is perfectly alright ;)

Red Jungle Fowl

I have often heard of the wild nature of the original Red Jungle Fowl. About how despite caring for them from day 1, they still retain their wild nature. Yesterday, I had a first hand experience witnessing how wild they are. I kept 2 females from young (from eggs actually - taken probably at day 2). These 2 young chickens are kept initially with a lighted bulb in an acrylic aquarium in my living room. That is to show how much exposure they have to humans.

When they are bigger, they were moved into a cage outdoor and subsequently, 1 was given away to a friend who says he wanted to breed these RJFs. I retained 1 and eventually kept for some time with my male Green Jungle Fowl. After getting my female feathered RJF cock (not ori) and seeing him come of age, I decided to release the ori female RJF to roam free with the RJF cock.

It happened yesterday, I opened the door of the aviary and the female came reluctantly out, took about 1 second to assimilate herself and took flying off. She flew above my neighbours' roof (2 storeys) until she disappeared out of sight. Didn't see hwr for the entire day after that. Thought she was gone forever.

Then this evening, saw her foraging for food near my house. A friend told me she would probably loiter around for a week or so before disappearing for good. Well, it would be interesting to see if the prediction is accurate.

Female RJF foraging on the ground:



The feature is more pheasant like with small drooping tail. If she can mate with the female feathered RJF, then their chicks could be something worth raising ;)

RJF chick

Today 5th August 2008, the first RJF chick hatched.
Placed him in a 1.5 ft acrylic aquarium with candle light as a source of heat. Later in the evening, the candle was replaced with a 5W bulb.

Appreciating the Red Jungle Fowl

Well, I do not know how to appreciate the beauty of the Red Jungle Fowl. The feathers, colouration, voice etc. etc., but I am learning and in due time when I get to compare more specimens, probably I could get better at it. Anyway, as a start, the fluffy soft feathers (bulu kapas) at the rump is a desirable trait ;)

Making of a Chicken Coop 2

These Red Jungle Fowl roosts on tree tops in the wild. So I have decided to add in a perch for them to feel more at home. They took to it immediately. Perch was given by Lawrence, a 7.5 feet long stick with nice texture. Planned to use it for the breeding pair of Shamas but decided against it as I do not want to disturb them. What with good signs that they have been paired nicely.

Finally decided to have a temporary roof of a simple plywood. Of course it wouldn't last in our weather, but it should serve its purpose for the time being.

Making of a Chicken Coop 1

Well, chickens are not meant to be kept in rabbit cages. So, with that in mind, I began a quest to build a larger cage (should call it chicken coop). Took me a couple of weeks to get it all together. From visioning in mind where on earth to put it down to getting to the hardware store to buy the materials and then finally to stitch the pieces together. Hope it can last for a couple of years.

The above pic is of the pair of Red Jungle Fowl testing out their new house this morning. No roof yet. Haven't figure out how I want it done ;)

The Red Jungle Fowl

New addition to the family for the past week. A gift from a friend. The Red Jungle Fowl. Its a protected species, cannot keep in captivity but can shoot and eat ;) ..... ??? what logic? if its a protected species then, it should be treated like a protected species. Anyway the pair I have has been crossed with our local chicken and thus, it is not considered the Red Jungle Fowl..... so can keep ;)

Been reading a bit on it and will continue to research on these wonderful chicken. So far, there are indications that the real Red Jungle Fowl in Malaysia has been long extinct. The authorities should let us just keep and breed the pure true Red Jungle Fowl to stop the genetic watering down with our domestic chicken. Hmmmm.......

The pair is a juvenile. The cock has just started to crow and the back toe nails is just about to grow (just a pimple size as shown on photo).