Breed Profile: Java Chicken
Black and Mottled Java Chickens Recoup Lost Variety and Hardy Traits

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BREED: The Java chicken is the foundation of the American class of poultry, giving consistency to breeds developed from its gene pool.
ORIGIN: The Java was developed in America by 1835 from chickens imported from Southeast Asia. The exact origin of its ancestors is unknown, but thought to be around Indonesia (where the island of Java is situated).
The History of the Java Chicken
Sea captains who made many voyages to the East Indies in the early 1800s would have brought home chickens from ports they visited. Successful offspring of these birds would have undergone changes as they adapted to their new environment and were subject to selection. They became established in farmyards by 1835–1850. Popular market birds in the mid-1800s, especially for meat, they were overtaken by more modern breeds by the 1950s. Java chickens were used to develop some of their own successors, such as the Plymouth Rock and Jersey Giant. As well as the Black and Mottled Java chicken, there was an Auburn strain that was used to develop the Rhode Island Red. Indirectly, the Java legacy has passed to other popular breeds, such as Orpingtons and Australorps.
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The Black and the Mottled were admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection in 1883 (the White, although admitted, was dropped by 1910). The White became extinct by the 1950s and the Auburn in the 1870s. Even the Black and the Mottled were nearly lost in the 1990s, having fewer than 150 breeding birds.

Saving the Breed
Alerted to this loss, specialty breeders and historical societies dedicated their efforts to saving the breed. In 1996, Garfield Farm Museum, an 1840s living history museum in Illinois, started to restore the Black Java in earnest from a purebred flock. They started with about a dozen birds whose bloodline was confirmed by genetic testing.
In 1999, Tim Christakos of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) chose Garfield’s Java eggs to hatch in MSI’s Decoding Life exhibit: a large incubator where visitors can view chicks hatching. It hatched out thousands of Black and Mottled Java chicks, which were sold on to private breeders. Through such large-scale hatching, recessive genes eventually emerged, giving rise to White chicks from 1999 and Auburn from 2003. These were retained as breeding stock to restore the extinct varieties.

It was difficult to separate the varieties, as recessive genes can remain hidden for many generations. It even took time to restore pure-breeding Black lines. The Livestock Conservancy (TLC) assisted in the selection of breeding birds and setting up a breeding plan. Then, local breeders took offspring from these stabilized lines to cultivate sustainable populations. In 2010, the Java Breeders of America formed to support their efforts. You can contact them on their Facebook group.
CONSERVATION STATUS: Initial success allowed TLC to promote the breed from “Threatened” to “Watch” on the Conservation Priority List, as the breeding population topped 1000. However, the latest census revealed a drop to under 500 breeding birds, and relegation to “Critical” status.

Characteristics of the Java Chicken
DESCRIPTION: A large bird with a broad, deep, rectangular body, slightly sloping topline, long back, and full, round breast.
VARIETIES: The Black has a particularly brilliant beetle-green sheen to the plumage; eyes are dark, and legs nearly black with yellow-soled feet. The Mottled has similar plumage but with splashes of white, red-orange eyes, and yellow legs with gray mottling on the shanks. The Auburn hen has golden-brown plumage with black spangles, while the rooster is red and chestnut with black spangles. They have orange eyes and gray shanks. The White has orange eyes and yellow legs. Bantams have also been developed.

SKIN COLOR: Yellow.
COMB: A single upright comb with, ideally, five well-defined points, the first point being positioned above the eye.
POPULAR USE: Dual purpose.
EGG COLOR: Tinted to dark brown.
EGG SIZE: Large.
PRODUCTIVITY: Hens lay 150–180 eggs per year and lay well during winter. They continue to produce long after most breeds cease laying, and live for 5–10 years. Javas are slow-growing and maturing, as befits a heritage breed, and reach a market weight of 6.5–8 lb. (3–3.6 kg). The breed is listed in the Slow Food Foundation of Biodiversity’s Ark of Taste.
WEIGHT: Adult hens average 7.5 lb. (3.4 kg); roosters 9.5 lb. (4.3 kg).
TEMPERAMENT: Gentle and calm, they make good breeds for children. They are rarely aggressive and get on with other chicken breeds. They form a tight-knit social group and are very chatty. As active foragers, they prefer to range.

Resilient Qualities for a Sustainable Future
ADAPTABILITY: Hardy and resilient, they tolerate hot or cold weather, if given shelter, but those with larger combs are prone to frostbite. They are excellent foragers, good brooders, and attentive mothers.
BIODIVERSITY: This ancient lineage has a long period of adaptation to American climates. Its genetic diversity will benefit poultry and farmers during climate and environmental changes, including disease threats and changing economic forces.
QUOTE: “Saving the Java, in general, might provide the tools we need for the future. We need to continue to preserve the genetics of these rare breeds for future generations.” Tim Christakos, Senior Exhibit Specialist of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.*
Sources
- Heinrichs, C. 2019. How to Raise Chickens: Everything You Need to Know. Voyageur Press.
- The Livestock Conservancy
- *Steward, A., 2015. Garfield Farm and the Black Java chicken. Backyard Poultry.
Originally published in the August/September 2023 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.