Talk:Sri Lanka Junglefowl

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I have bred exotic chickens as well as many types of pheasant all my life. Jungle fowl are the basis of the breeds: Partridge coloration is what we call the basic feather design. The chicks of breeds that are close to the original look like little striped chipmunks...intensely cute little fluff balls!

Several breeds from Asia are interesting in this regard such as the <A HREF="http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product/sumatras.html">Sumatra blacks</A> or the lovely roayal birds from Edo, Japan, once called "Yokahamas" but now called <A HREF="http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product/phoenix.html">Phoenix birds</A>.

The Yokahamas grow huge spurs and the males tend to be very forceful fighters and you can't keep a pair near each other or they will fight through the fence literally to death. The females are shy and retiring but also easily tamed.

Chickens have been domesticated for many thousands of years and quickly spread across the planet because of easy portability and retention and breeding, if you take care of your hens, they can produce clutches of huge size! Interest in the plumage which can be sold for decorative purposes also caused many cultures to experiment with breeding the birds so they could get many types of feathers.

With modern farming, many breeds have become quite endangered and only the efforts of hobbyists and bird lovers like myself keep various breeds alive. The McMurray family has been huge in this effort, I first bought bronze turkeys and Yokohamas from them when I was only 11 years old. They sent me a pair of geese, too, which became my devoted friends.

I strongly suggest this for anyone interested in healthy eggs and beauty of the eye and joy at the happy lives of happy chickens.