Chickens are versatile. Most people farmed chickens for their meat and eggs, while others would raise chickens as pets. It is not common to raise chickens as your life companion, but chickens do have their uniqueness compare to other animals, they are beautiful. And here in Asia, there are many ornamental types of chickens to choose from.
Silkie (China)
Image source via Scrumptious Silkies
Silkie breed falls under the bantam chicken family, that’s mean their body size is smaller than the usual chicken. Apart from its size, what makes the Silkie chickens adorable to collectors is its feathers. Unlike your regular bird feathers, Silkie’s feathers resemble like the fur more. Marco Polo, a famous merchant who travelled ancient Asia, called Silkie, the “furry chicken”.
Image source via Wikipedia
If you wanted to own a Silkie, the price to pay is not that expensive compare to the other chickens in this list. The price varies much on the chicken’s age and conditions. Your budget might range from RM60 to RM600.
Ayam Cemani (Indonesia)
Image source via Lifepal
What makes the Ayam Cemani unique is its whole body is black. The blackness covers the Cemani’s head, eyes, beak, tongue, feathers, and even its feet. Even its bone, internal organs and flesh are all blacks! This unusual colour is due to fibromelanosis, a type of mutation in domestic chicken and this cause the Cemani to experience hyperpigmentation.
Image source via Kompas.com
Cemani chicken is kept either for farming or as personal pets. This chicken is grade accordingly to its colour. A-quality if the whole Cemani is black, B-quality if its colour is a darker shade of grey, and C-quality if the Cemani has a lighter shade of grey. Although the Cemani are popular in Southeast Asia, this chicken is a rare breed. Their small numbers are the reason their price can be relatively high. The priciest Cemani can cost you around RM11,000.
Ayam Serama (Malaysia)
Image source via Berita Harian
Ayam Serama is another breed that falls under the bantam chicken family. But what makes the Serama favour by chicken enthusiasts is their unique body stance. The Serama has a large chest pointing out, their wings held almost touching the ground, and their feather tails point upward. When the Serama stand idle, they look like they are standing proud. Because of this posture, enthusiasts view the Serama like a brave warrior.
Image source via Wikipedia
Since the earlier 2000s, Serama became famous in both Europe and the United States. Serama enthusiast often took their chicken into beauty pageant competition. These chicken were judge based on their body posture and feather length. Since many enthusiasts take the beauty of their chicken seriously, it is no surprise if the Serama is our most expensive chicken in this list, RM35,000!
Onagadori (Japan)
Image source via Wikipedia
Onagadori has a long history with Japanese culture. This chicken was selected into the Japanese National Natural Treasure what enthusiast love about Onagadori is the chicken’s majestic long tail. The tails could grow long to 12 meters!
Image source via VnExpress
Aside from the high price tag around RM11,000, Onagadori is also an endangered species and rare. But when you do found one, be prepared to take extensive care of them because the Onagadori is considered a high-maintenance pet.
Dong Tao Chicken (Vietnam)
Image source via Báo Dân Việt
Dong Tao chicken, also known as the Dragon Chicken. The unusual nickname is because the Dong Tao chicken has two large scaly feet. The Dong Tao hens have mostly white feather while the cocks come with colourful feathers. These large feet chicken are only found at the village of Đông Tảo, Hanoi district. Although Dong Tao has unique appearances compared to other chickens, they are considered consumable animals rather than ornamental.
Image source via Zing
In the olden days of Vietnam, Dong Tao chicken is specially served for the royals and bureaucrats. And in today’s Vietnam, these poultry delicacies are served mostly to the rich. A kilo of Dong Tao meat will cost you RM245. If you are interested in breeding Dong Tao chicken, a fine specimen can cost up to RM8700.
So the next time you see a chicken, stop for a moment to think the animal as your food source. Some of these chickens are kept for their beauty, and they can be very expensive. Who knows, maybe chicken will be your next and majestic pets. STAY SAFE!!!
