Culling Javas II- Type Width=~1.5 unit
Height=~1 unit
Black Java-Rectangular Body
Width=~1.5 unit
Height=~1 unit
Rhode Island Red- Rectangular “Brick-Shaped” Body In my previous article on Culling Java Chickens, I attempted to describe for java chicken farmers the things I keep in mind when I choose “keepers”, the birds that I will use to breed future generations. First and foremost I want to choose birds that are vigorous and productive. Vigorous chickens don’t need special care; rarely get sick; and are active during, and survive, the heat of summer, and the cold of winter. Productive chickens feather quickly, lay abundantly (including in the winter without supplemental light), have meaty carcass with plenty of breast, and hatch and brood large clutches of chicks (are very fertile). Second to these, I want to choose birds with the best “type”; that is choosing birds with the right size, shape, proportions, and carriage. Then lastly I want to choose birds based on their color. It is “type” I wish to elaborate on in the current article, specifically, shape, proportions, and carriage.
Width=~1.5 unit
Height=~1.25 unit
Jersey Giant- “Square” Body
Width=~1.35 unit
Height=~1.2 unit
Australorp- “Square” Body Shape and Proportions The American Poultry Association does not include measurements for the shape and proportions of the different breeds of chickens in the Standard of Perfection. The only numbers listed in a breed’s description are for its weight and tail angle. Without measurements, interpreting the written description of the breed can be baffling, especially when similar written descriptions are used to describe different breeds. Adding to the confusion, most breeds have individual birds that deviate substantially from their ideal size, shape and proportions, so much so that they often overlap poor specimens of other breeds. For example, short-backed, deep-bodied, smallish javas may look similar to long-backed, shallow-bodied, heavy-ish Australorps. What is a java breeder to do? Fortunately, the American Poultry Association has pictures of ideal specimens of most of its breeds of chickens. I want to highlight features of the birds in those pictures so that they can be used by a keeper to evaluate “type” for birds in their flock. I also advocate attending poultry shows to discuss with judges and other breeders about how to interpret the written descriptions in the Standard.
Java with a “break”/ sharp angle between its back and its tail (arrow)
Plymouth Rock with a smooth “sweep” or curve to its back and tail (arrow)
Java- Its head is elevated above the tail
To start, chickens almost never stand still and rarely pose in the view presented in pictures of the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection. Part of the art of breeding is recognizing the features found in the drawn birds in living chickens that are moving around, that are running with their flocks, and that are often dirty and out of condition. One of the best things about poultry shows is simply that chickens are cleaned up and caged minimizing most of those problems and thus making evaluating them that much easier. All of the pictures in the Standard of Perfection are printed more or less so that they fill the same area of the page. This unfortunately obscures the size difference between many of the breeds. Black Javas are often confused with Jersey Giants and Australorps, two other big black chickens. However, they should be able to be told apart by their size alone. The Giant is 3 ½ pounds, about 30%, heavier than the Java, and the Java is a pound, about 12%, heavier than the Australorp. If the size difference alone is not enough to distinguish between the three breeds than their shapes and proportions should remove all doubt. Javas are supposed to be rectangular or brick-shaped and Jersey Giants and Australorps are supposed to be square or box-y. I have drawn lines on pictures of Javas, Rhode Island Reds, Jersey Giants and Australorps from the Standard to show what I mean by those terms. The square compact, body of Jersey Giants is created not by shortening the length of Javas but by giving them much deeper bodies. Australorps are square because they are shorter and deeper than Javas. No one mistakes Rhode Island Reds or Sussex for Javas, or vice versa, because they are different colors, but the truth is that if the world was in black-and-white those are the breeds that should most often be confused because they are the breeds with the most similar body shape and proportions. Rhode Island Reds, Sussex and Javas should be about 50% longer than they are deep. Javas have a slight slope to their back, are slightly longer, and have a higher tail carriage than Rhode Island Reds, but if we focus just on the core body they are very similar. Sussexes are even more similar with just a slightly lower tail carriage than Javas.
In looking at pictures of javas on the internet and in consideration of my own flock I have observed a couple of consistent java faults in relation to their rectangular shape. Most of the javas I see are too short- backed/bodied and appear square-ish. Also many javas are flat chested and lacking in their breasts. The bottom undercarriage of the java is rounded, but it is desirable for the curve to be as flattened as possible so as much of the rectangle is filled by breast as is possible. A very few javas are shallow and lacking body, appearing Minorca-like. There are many ways to make rectangles and squares by altering the relative proportions of the body length and body depth. The important thing is that the java chicken’s parts always be in proportion and in harmony with each other, creating a visual appealing and natural brick-shaped chicken. I think the latter, the proportion and harmony of the parts, is what the American Poultry Association wants evaluated by their judges and why they don’t have their judges running around measuring chickens with a ruler looking for absolute scientifically determined lengths. Significance of Rectangular verses Square Bodies There have been several articles by Don Schrider and Christine Heinrichs, poultry writers and historians of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, which discuss the importance of the rectangular verses square body shape (See Backyard Poultry Aug/ Sept 2011). In general they argue that rectangular hens have higher and longer production, but tolerate cold and wet less well. Square hens have a faster rate of growth and plumper carcass. The square compact body form loses less body heat, so more energy can be put towards growth, but they generally have less production in later years. If this is true, javas should naturally become longer if the best layers are selected in year two, three and beyond. Similarly in warmer climates javas are likely to naturally evolve longer bodies and in colder climates shorter bodies, unless vigorous selection is applied (which may explain why so many javas descended from Duane Urch’s Minnesota flock are short backed.). Tail and Head Carriage One last thing, before I end this article, besides the rectangular shape of the body, the Standard of Perfection pictures also demonstrate the correct tail and head carriage of Javas. I have included pictures that show the sharp “break” between the back and the tail of the java contrasted with the more gentle curve of the sweep of the back of the Plymouth Rock. (I discussed this in my previous article on culling Javas, but did not have examples.) I have also included a picture showing the how the head should be held above the tail. Contrast this with the Cochin (not shown) whose head and tail are held at the same level. Written by Jim Ward