Those who free range their chickens have had problems or fears with regards raptors preying on the flock, whether they are hawks, eagles or owls. There are a number of deterrent ideas to utilize, one of which being to put crow decoys around which need to be consistently moved around and cannot follow the flock, another being to own black chickens. The idea behind owning black chickens is that hawks might think they’re intimidating crows that are known for bullying predators to stay out of their territory. Some hawks however are smart enough to learn that a big red comb, heavy body and upright tail posture does not a crow make, and so will prey upon black chickens the same as any other color.
My goal is to make a chicken that looks enough like a crow or raven to make hawks wary if not fearful to make a dive for the flock. Ideal features for the project:
The breeds I’m thinking of that could help me with these traits and what they bring to this project are:
Black Bantam Sumatra (fibromelanistic, small size, lean to medium build, pea comb, minimal wattles, horizontal tail carriage, “wild game-bird” personality, alert, hardy, good foragers)
Black Bantam Cubalaya (black feathers, small size, pea comb, minimal wattles, lean build, downward tail cartiage, alert, good foragers, hardy, smart, friendly
My own mix 
(black skin, black feathers, pea or no comb, smallish size, small to no wattles, wary/alert, good foragers, smart)
And maybe:
Svart Hona (fibromelanistic, smallish size, shorter tail, alert, good foragers, calm, hardy)
The overall length of the hen would be more important than the weight, as we are going for visual trickery. Roosters would not be as visually deceiving as hens with the long curled tails, larger combs (in comparison to hens) and crowing so the standard would focus more on the hen matching these ideals. Egg color, toe number, spurs and other features will not be focused on for this project since those do not factor into the trickery. Because this will be a breed meant to keep free ranging chickens safe, the personality will lean towards good foraging and alertness.
I was told that @nicalandia could offer some advice?
[Disclaimer: I did not take all of these pictures and do not seek compensation for these photos. They are only meant to better convey the subject matter to the reader]
My goal is to make a chicken that looks enough like a crow or raven to make hawks wary if not fearful to make a dive for the flock. Ideal features for the project:
- Black feathers
- Black skin and beak
- Black or dark brown eyes
- No comb or wattles if possible
- Compact body mass
- Slanted body carriage
- Short, downward pointing tail
- Good forager
- Body length head to tail between 17-25” (crow body length is 17-19” and raven body length is 22-27”)
- Weight between 1lb-2.5lbs
The breeds I’m thinking of that could help me with these traits and what they bring to this project are:
Black Bantam Sumatra (fibromelanistic, small size, lean to medium build, pea comb, minimal wattles, horizontal tail carriage, “wild game-bird” personality, alert, hardy, good foragers) Black Bantam Cubalaya (black feathers, small size, pea comb, minimal wattles, lean build, downward tail cartiage, alert, good foragers, hardy, smart, friendly My own mix (black skin, black feathers, pea or no comb, smallish size, small to no wattles, wary/alert, good foragers, smart)And maybe:
Svart Hona (fibromelanistic, smallish size, shorter tail, alert, good foragers, calm, hardy)The overall length of the hen would be more important than the weight, as we are going for visual trickery. Roosters would not be as visually deceiving as hens with the long curled tails, larger combs (in comparison to hens) and crowing so the standard would focus more on the hen matching these ideals. Egg color, toe number, spurs and other features will not be focused on for this project since those do not factor into the trickery. Because this will be a breed meant to keep free ranging chickens safe, the personality will lean towards good foraging and alertness.
I was told that @nicalandia could offer some advice?
[Disclaimer: I did not take all of these pictures and do not seek compensation for these photos. They are only meant to better convey the subject matter to the reader]
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The traits I’m going for are hypermelanism (black skin, black feathers, black beak - they don’t need black bones), the smallest pea comb I can get and minimal wattles, a sporty body (not a heavy chicken body), and a downward tilted tail where the whole body is at a slant. Bonuses would be foraging skills and predator wary disposition as these will be most likely put in free ranging flocks. Egg color is not currently important.
