sa asian hard feather club

SA ASIAN HARD FEATHER CLUB
SASPO geaffilieerd
1
SASPO affiliated
SA A
SASPO gea
Peter Novellie and Gerald Holding
2
Foreword: the South African Asian
Hardfeather Club
This booklet is produced by the South African Asian Hardfeather Club (SAAHC) a specialist breed club affiliated to the South African Show Poultry Organization (SASPO).
The main purpose of the SAAHC is
to promote the breeding and showing of
Asian game breeds. In 2011 SAAHC produced a Training Manual which set out
the standards of perfection for 21 Asian
hardfeather breeds. SAAHC once again
acknowledges the important contribution
of the international experts, Willem van
Ballekom and Julia Keeling, who generously shared their knowledge and experience in the production of the Training Manual. These standards have been accepted
by SASPO and appear - with small, mainly
editorial, differences - in the 2013 SASPO
Standards of Perfection. Having helped in
the setting of world class breed standards
in South Africa, SAAHC now aims to pro-
The focus of these booklets is not so much
on what the ideal bird should look like
(though we do in some cases clarify aspects
of this), but rather on how to select, manage, house, grow, and prepare high quality birds for both the breeding pen and the
show pen.
duce booklets on the breeding and showing
of each of the most commonly kept Asian
game breeds, as well as allied long tailed
breeds.
Readers interested in joining the SAAHC
may contact Gerald Holding (pure-game@
vox.co.za or Peter Novellie (novellie@
netactive.co.za).
This booklet is devoted to the sedate but
very charismatic Ko Shamo, which is not as
demanding of space, or food, as are many
of the large and active Asian game breeds.
Tame, relaxed and much quieter than most
chicken breeds, the Ko Shamo is ideally suited to the suburban garden. In recent years
Ko Shamos have been represented at virtually every SASPO Show, and they appear
to be steadily gaining popularity. SAAHC
would, however, like to see them becoming
even more popular in future, and through
this booklet we hope to persuade readers to
take up this unique and very charming breed.
3
Introducing the Ko Shamo
With their erect, strutting carriage, chrysanthemum comb, pale eyes, prominent brow
ridge, short tail, Ko Shamo are very different and distinct from all other chicken
breeds. To go with their distinctive appearance they are full of character; the best
ones are bold and confident when handled,
seeming to enjoy attention. Aptly referred
to as ‘clockwork gnomes’ a male, taken
from his pen and placed on the ground, will
strut around, pull up his shoulders and fix
his owner with a challenging “who’re-youand-what-do-you-want-with- me?” stare.
The appearance of theatrical ferocity is all
for show however, they are endearing rather
than aggressive. The female is slightly more
demure than the male, but just as confident;
she will appreciate tidbits, especially when
in lay. Ko Shamos make ideal pets.
The Ko Shamo comes from Japan, the product of a long tradition of careful breeding.
An excellent historical background is given
by Shinichi Zenimoto and Geert Coppens
in their book ‘Yamato Gunkei and Ko Shamo’, regrettably now out of print. It is a testimony to the high regard for native poultry
breeds in Japan that they have been afforded legal protection as Tennenkinenbutsu
(Natural Monument). Ko Shamo were so
declared on 1st August 1941 (see the website: http://www.ooiwafa-mu.jp/k3.htm).
Ko Shamo have become widespread in Europe, and feature in many websites. Images
of the breed in its native country can be
found by googling the Japanese characters:
As evident in the photo below (from the
Being inherently confident Ko Shamos will website: http://jart.jspeed.jp/scripts/j_tori/
p12355.html), poultry shows in Japan are
sometimes arranged in the open air with admirable economy of means. Ko Shamos are
normally shown in pairs in Japan.
not go flying off when placed in unfamiliar surroundings, which makes it relatively
easy to pose them for photos!
4
As mentioned above, we will not deal with
the Ko Shamo standard in this booklet,
readers are referred to the SAAHC Training
Manual and the SASPO 2013 Standards of
Perfection. The pictures on this page give
an indication of some important features of
the Ko Shamo.
We will discuss some of these features below in the section on choosing birds for the
breeding pen.
5
Colours in Ko Shamo
Plumage colour is not important when
the offspring of mixed colour matings to
their correct colour classes. It does help,
judging Ko Shamo, and indeed for most
however, to understand the colour patAsian breeds. So why do we devote a secterns and the genes which produce them.
tion to understanding plumage colour in
Ko Shamo? Firstly, colour needs to be
The aim of this chapter is to share our unconsidered when it comes to show entries
derstanding of the inheritance of colours,
as our show classes are based on colour.
which is based on our breeding records
A similar arrangement holds for shows in
and the excellent chicken genetics website:
the United Kingdom and in Japan, where
http://chickengenetics.edelras.nl/.We also
classes are based loosely on colour (our
consider some “grey areas” when it comes
thanks to Julia Keeling for this informato assigning exhibits to the right colour
tion).
classes at South African shows.
The South African Show Poultry Organization now awards points for winners of
classes for varieties, specifically with the
aim of encouraging breeders to conserve
the colour varieties. So maintaining different varieties is a good way for a breeder to
add to his tally of show points.
It follows that many breeders want to maintain a variety of colours, partly because it
adds interest, but more especially because it
allows entries into a greater variety of show
classes, increasing the chances of winning
prizes and gaining show points.
The Wild Type
Domestic chickens are descended from the
Red Jungle Fowl, and the natural colour
pattern of their wild ancestors - partridge
hens and black breasted red males - will
be familiar to show poultry breeders as the
‘Black Red’ pattern that occurs as a variety in many chicken breeds. This pattern
is appropriately called the ‘wild type’.
During the course of domestication a great
Breeders who are accustomed to breeds
where colour is important are sometimes
reluctant to mate Ko Shamos of different
colours. They worry that they may end up
with mixed colours that may be difficult to
assign to the right class categories at shows.
There is no need for concern in this regard, the inheritance of colours in Ko
Shamo is generally simple and predict- many mutations have arisen that modify the
able, and it is seldom a problem to assign wild type colour pattern.
6
The Wheaten
tional genes which bring about differWe are not sure that the wild type pattern ent plumage patterns. In South Africa
exists in Ko Shamo, we have never come we have most of the colour variants that
across hens of the true partridge colour. It occur in Ko Shamo but not all. We will
seems that all Ko Shamos carry the wheat- start with the ones that do occur here.
en gene, which has little effect on males,
but which completely transforms the natu- The Ginger
One of the most common colours is the
ginger (Colour Code 326 in the 2013
Schedule). This is due to a gene that has
the effect of restricting the black colouring of the male to the wings and tail. There
are a number of genes that may have this
effect (see http://chickengenetics.edelras.
nl/). Thus instead of having a black breast
the ginger male has a ginger breast. The effect of this gene on females is not obvious
because in the wheaten the black colouring
is already restricted to the wings and tail.
ral, so-called partridge pattern of females. The difficulty is compounded by the fact
Another change caused by the wheaten that wheaten females can vary quite a bit,
gene is that the down colour of chicks some are pale, almost white, while others
changes from the striped pattern of wild tend to light brown.
type chicks to white or cream, as shown
below in pictures from http://chickengenet- In our experience ginger females tend to
ics.edelras.nl/.
show a distinct orangy hue, especially on
the neck. We have to recognize, however,
that it is easy to make a mistake, which
means in effect that many females that carry the ginger gene will end up being shown
in classes for wheatens. In view of this
problem we recommend that judges simply
accept the exhibitor’s choice of class, there
is no point in attempting to maintain a rigid
When it comes to showing, black red males distinction between ginger and wheaten feshould be entered under Colour Code 144 males.
as stipulated by the SASPO 2013 Standard
Show Schedule. Wheaten females should What will the offspring look like if we mate
be entered as 538.
say a ginger male to a wheaten female?
Well this depends on whether the male has
Although all Ko Shamos probably have inherited the gene for ginger from both
the wheaten gene, some have addi- parents (known as homozygous) or from
7
only one parent (known as heterozygous).
Because the gene for ginger is dominant to
black red/wheaten the heterozygous male
is ginger in colour, in fact he is indistinguishable in colour pattern from a male
that is homozygous for the ginger gene. All
the offspring of the homozygous male will
carry the ginger gene, so all will be ginger.
gous ginger male with a heterozygous
ginger female? About one quarter of the
offspring will be black red/wheaten and
the remainder ginger. It is important to
note that this is the expected ratio based
on probability. The way genes are passed
on to offspring is similar to the way a pack
of cards is shuffled and dealt, or the way a
But in the case of the heterozygous male only coin is tossed, so the outcome is a matter
half his offspring will be ginger, half will show of chance.
the black red/wheaten pattern.
The gene for ginger is not sex linked, so
the outcomes described above will be the
What happens when we mate a heterozy- same whether we mate a ginger male to a
8
wheaten female, or a black red male to a
ginger female.
What this means in practical terms is that
you can easily maintain a mixed flock of
gingers and black red/wheatens, and you
may cross ginger and black red as you like.
Male offspring will be either black red or
ginger, and it is easy to assign each to the
right show class. Females which show an
orangy hue should be shown as ginger, but
they are often so difficult to distinguish that
it won’t matter if they end up being shown
with wheatens.
If you want to maintain gingers in your
flock you will need to ensure that gingers
are represented in at least some of your
breeding pens. Ginger mated to ginger can
produce a proportion of black reds and
wheatens among the offspring (but only if
both parents are heterozygous for the ginger gene), but black reds and wheatens will
produce no gingers. Unless of course you
have mistaken a ginger hen for a wheaten,
in which case she may well surprise you
with some ginger sons!
the gene is not expressed, and there is no
way to know it is carrying the white gene
except by the offspring it produces. If the
heterozygous Ko Shamo is mated to a white
The White and Cinnamon-tinted.
White Ko Shamos are commonly seen on
shows in South Africa (Colour Code 542
in the 2013 Schedule). Most breeders agree
that whites tend to be softer in feather than
coloured birds, though it is possible to
breed whites with hard, short feather.
The gene for white is recessive, which
means that for a Ko Shamo to be white it
must have inherited the gene from both
parents. In a bird that has the gene for
white from only one parent (heterozygous)
half its offspring will be white. If it is mated
to another Ko Shamo that is heterozygous
for white one quarter of the offspring will
be white, the remainder coloured. As is the
case for the ginger gene, the gene for white
9
is not sex linked.
White mated to white will produce only
white. However, there is an important complication, very few of the females are absolutely pure white, most come with a light
wheaten or cinnamon wash over the neck
and back. This very attractive colour is seldom seen in males, most of which are pure
white, especially after a good wash. However, washing will not remove the wheaten/
cinnamon tinting from the females.
Spangling can combine with other colour
patterns making for some interesting variations. Perhaps the most attractive are the
spangled ginger males, which show three
colours; ginger, black and white, on the
breast, shoulders and legs. Spangled black
red males show only black and white on
their black parts, because the black bar is
invisible, but the bar separating the white
tip from the red is visible on many of the
hackle feathers. Black spangles show only
Judges will generally not accept birds that
are not pure white in a class for whites, so
such birds need to be shown as cinnamontinted, a common colour in Malays (Colour
Code 258 in the 2013 Schedule).
This brings us to another gene in chickens
that can bring about white - the so-called
dominant white. This gene changes black
plumage to white, but has little effect on orange or red. Dominant white is responsible
for the pile pattern as seen in Modern and
Old English Games. It is also present in the
Malay, where is it implicated in cinnamon
tinting, but probably absent in Ko Shamo
as we have never seen a pile male. Thus the
genetics behind the cinnamon tinting in Ko
Shamo, is rather a mystery. We would appreciate hearing of experiences and insights
that readers may have had in this regard.
The Spangled
black and white. Whites may also be homozygous for the spangle gene but of course
it won’t show. It will, however, show up in
some of the offspring if the bird is mated
to a coloured bird that carries the spangle
gene.
We recommend that ginger spangled males
and black red spangled males should both
be shown as spangled (Colour Code 516
in the 2013 Schedule). Similarly spangled
wheaten or spangled ginger females should
be shown together as spangles.
The intriguing pattern called spangled is due
to a gene that produces a white tip to each
feather, which is separated from the rest of
the feather by a black bar (tricolour). This
gene is recessive and is not sex linked, so
the patterns of inheritance described above
Black being a rather rare colour in Ko Shafor white also hold for spangling.
10
mo, at least in South Africa, we have not yet
come across black spangles. If and when
someone produces one we recommend that
it be shown as mottle (Colour Code 408 in
the 2013 Schedule).
Crow wing Ko Shamo males are distinguishable from black red males in that they
have no wing bay or bay edging to the primary feathers. In many black reds the wing
bays are not well developed, hence it is not
too difficult to confuse crow wings and
black reds. Thus it is likely to happen that
The Black
The black colour in Ko Shamo is prob- crow wings will occasionally be shown in
ably due to the dominant gene for extended classes for black reds. Since colour is not an
black (see http://chickengenetics.edelras.
nl/). This gene changes the down colour of
the chick from white or cream to black with
white underparts. The adult females are
usually black throughout but males often
have variable amounts of red in the neck
and saddle hackle. Some males are black
throughout; unfortunately we do not know
the genetic difference between such ‘self’
black males and males with red in the neck
and saddle hackle.
When it comes to showing, self blacks
issue in judging Ko Shamo we recommend
that judges show tolerance in this regard,
it seems unnecessarily harsh to disqualify
such wrongly entered birds.
The Cuckoo and Crele
should be entered as blacks (Colour Code
120 in the 2013 Schedule), but those which
have red in the hackle should be shown as
crow wings (Colour Code 282 in the 2013
Schedule), as they have essentially the
same plumage pattern as the crow wing Old
English Game. However, black Ko Shamos
have pearl or yellow eyes and dusky yellow legs (sometimes very dusky but with
yellow soles), not black eyes and legs like
the OEG.
These patterns are due to the dominant gene
for barring, which produces alternating
light and dark bars along the length of each
feather. Like spangling it occurs in combination with other colour patterns to produce
a number of variations. With black red and
wheaten the gene for barring produces a
pattern known as crele. Crele Ko Shamo
chicks are cream or white, the barring does
not seem to change the down colour. Interestingly, the gene for barring does have an
11
effect on down colour when combined with
extended black. Black chicks which carry
the gene for barring have a white patch on
top of the head. This patch is larger and
neck.
lighter in males than in females.
As we noted above, some male Ko Shamos
with the gene for extended black are self
black, but many are crow wings, that is they
have red in the hackle. Together with bar-
ring the self blacks show the pattern known
as cuckoo, a pattern which is often seen in
Pekin bantams. The crow wing males with
the barring gene will resemble creles, except that they will show no bay in the wings
or red on the shoulders. Females with extended black are generally mostly black.
With the barring gene many will be cuckoos, but some will have red or yellow in the
As regards show entries we suggest that
birds that show only dark and light grey barring, with little or no trace of red or yellow
be shown as cuckoos (Colour Code 284).
Those with red or yellow should be shown
12
as creles (Colour Code 280). Once again,
there is no point in strictly enforcing such a There are no clear rules as to how variants
separation, it would be best for judges to
of blue should be entered at shows. We suggest that:
• self blue be entered as blue (Colour
accept the exhibitor’s choice of class.
Code 148),
Barring may also occur in combination • blue red males and blue tailed wheatens
be entered as blue reds (Colour Code
with ginger. We suggest that barred gingers
be shown as creles.
190,
• blue tailed gingers may be entered either as blue reds or as gingers (Colour
An interesting point about the barring gene:
Code 326), as decided by the exhibitor.
it is sex linked, which means that the outcome of a mating between a barred bird and The Duckwing
another of a different pattern depends on The duckwing pattern is caused by the domwhether the barred bird is male or female. inant sex linked gene called silver, which
If a barred female is mated to a non-barred has the effect of diluting red or bay feathers
male all the male offspring will show bar- to silvery white or cream. With black red
ring, but none of the females. If a barred this gene produces the typical duckwing
male is mated to a female without barring pattern see in Old English Game, where
the outcome depends on whether the male males have a white wing bay, instead of the
is homozygous or heterozygous for bar- normal bay one. Combined with ginger this
ring. All the offspring of the homozygous gene produces males that are largely white
male will be barred, but in the case of the or cream with black in the tail and wings.
heterozygous male half the males and half With the crow wing the gene for silver prothe females will be barred the remainder duces the pattern game breeders call the
will not show barring.
grey. Females with the gene for silver will
be largely white with black in wings and
tail, and will not show the wheaten or orThe Blue
Blue Ko Shamos are occasionally seen at angy colouring that characterises wheaten
shows in South Africa. The blue is due to or ginger females.
an incompletely dominant gene which, in a
bird heterozygous for blue, has the effect of Unfortunately it seems that the silver gene
diluting the black parts to blue. Birds that is absent in the Ko Shamos in South Africa,
are homozygous for blue show a blue-splash we have never seen duckwings or black
pattern. When combined with black red or tailed whites at our shows.
wheaten the males are blue reds while the
females are blue-tailed wheatens, the same Conclusion: Applying Knowledge of
pattern commonly seen in Old English Colour Genetics
Game bantams. With ginger the males are
blue tailed ginger. Self blues come about In breeding Ko Shamos we need to give
when the gene for blue combines with the priority to type and character, and in matchgene for extended black.
13
ing up our breeding pairs it is best to be as
“colour blind” as possible. Nevertheless,
maintaining different colours adds diversity at show time and increases the scope of
competition. A basic knowledge of colour
genetics can help to maintain various
colours without taking us too far from our
main objective of striving for good type.
Maintaining Breeding Records
To give a real life example, we bred no spangles for a number of seasons, so we thought
that we had lost this gene. However, as is
typical of recessive genes, it remained all
the while unexpressed in the flock. Then
finally one of last season’s chicks, from a
black red x wheaten mating, turned out to
be a spangle male. He was not top class
though and, much as we would like to keep
the spangles going, to use him would compromise too much on type.
A male can remain with one female for the
duration of the breeding season. Most Ko
Shamo males bond well with particular females, and the members of a pair remain
very attached to one another. However,
you will generally want to maximize the
number of offspring produced by your best
males, so it may be better to move a good
male between two or three females, letting
him spend a day with each. Fertility is usu-
But, because we keep detailed breeding records, we know the parents of the spangle,
and of course we now know that they are
both carrying the spangle gene. The parents
have both won Best of Breed on shows and
have bred a number of good birds. So we
aim to just carry on breeding from them.
One in four of their offpring is expected
to be a spangle, and we hope to get one of
better type. Of course if we manage to find
someone willing to let us have a good spangle we can mate it to one of the parents,
in which case fifty per cent of the offspring
will be spangles.
We find it best to maintain Ko Shamo females in breeding pens by themselves. Unless two female have grown up together one
will dominate the other, and the subordinate
one will often perform poorly, laying fewer
eggs and producing fewer offspring.
Ring
Sire
Dam
Hatch Cable Tie Sex
Date
Colour
3889
4249
3101
7/11/14
Yellow
female Wheaten
3872
1944
1395
7/11/14
Black
female
3849
1944
1395
15/11/14
Black
female Wheaten
8616
1944
1395
15/11/14
Black
male
No.
Colour
Black
White
ally quite good with this schedule (though
of course this depends on the male). The
advantage of this way of breeding is that
both parents are known.
If the hens hatch and rear their own chicks
it is not necessary to mark the chicks until
it is time to ring them (around two months).
The ring number of the chick can then be
It is enormously helpful to maintain breed- entered into a database giving the ring
ing records, and this will be the subject of numbers of the parents, the hatch date, and
the next section.
any other details that may be needed. An
example of our breeding database is given
below.
14
If you use an incubator, as we do most of the
time, additional steps are necessary to ensure accurate records. The eggs are marked
at wider end with the ring numbers of the
father and the mother, and at the other end
with the date of setting in the incubator.
within the incubator, as shown below. In
this way one can prevent the chicks from
different parents from becoming mixed
up at hatching time. When the chick arrive they are marked with coloured cable
ties, the colours indicating the parents. The
cable ties have to be replaced as the chick
A few days before hatching the eggs are grows, until finally it can be given its own
placed in wire cages, which are placed numbered ring.
Top left: In the incubator, eggs on
the point of hatching are placed in
wire compartments.
Top right: chicks from different
breeding pens are kept separate
from one another.
Left: Plastic cable ties are useful
markers.
Below: Safely in the brooder.
Keeping track of chicks from incubator to brooder.
15
Breeding for Eye Colour
from breeders with similar experiences.
One of the challenges in breeding Ko Shamo
is to select for the correct eye colour. The
iris must be yellow (sometimes called gold)
or white (sometimes called pearl or silver).
In terms of the SASPO Standards of Perfection an iris colour foreign to the variety is a
general disqualification, so an orange or red
eye is no good for the show pen.
The genetics of eye colour in chickens is not
well understood (see http://chickengenetics.
edelras.nl/). It is complex, being influenced
by various factors, including plumage
colour. In crossing red eye with pearl eye
we saw no evidence of a simple dominance/
recessive effect, the offspring showed a variety of intermediate eye colours.
5794 at 2,5 months
5794 at 6 months
This ginger was tight and hard in
feather, but with a red eye. Mated to
pearl eyed pullets he helped to
impove our line.
Unfortunately this fault is quite common
among Ko Shamos in South Africa. Breeders often face the quandary of choosing
whether to regretfully cull an excellent bird
with a red eye, or to mate it to a bird with
a good eye, hoping that a proportion of offspring will combine the best of both parents.
Faced with this choice some years back, we
tried the latter option, and present some of
the results. We would welcome comments
5794 at 3 months
5794 at 17 months
A complication is that the eye colour may
change with age, being generally darker in
younger birds. This varies between individuals, in some birds the eyes are clearly
pearl or pale yellow at three or four months
(for example the white stag 5886 below).
5886 at 3,5 months 5886 at 5 months
16
In other cases the eye may remain reddish rience if the eye colour is still clearly red
or orange up to six months, and thereafter or orange when the bird is seven or eight
lighten to yellow or pearl. In a relatively months old it is unlikely to improve.
small proportion of birds the eyes remain
red or orange into adulthood (for example
Selecting Stock for the
the ginger stag 5795 below whose eye
colour never changed).
Breeding Pen, the Art of
Managing Risks
Standards of perfection describe a wide
range of features which together characterise the ideal bird. The real chickens in our
pens will not meet the ideal in all respects.
It is often said that there is no such thing
as the perfect bird - and furthermore we
can only breed with the birds we have. So,
when we set up our breeding pens, we need
to make compromises, weighing up the poor
points against the good ones. Chance plays
a role in the outcome, so in effect we take
some calculated risks. The art of breeding
is to manage the risks so as to improve our
chances of success.
We suggest taking simple, basic principles
of risk management into account when selecting breeding stock. There are two asWe found that, with appropriate selection,
pects to consider when weighing up risks:
we were soon able to eliminate this fault
1. the chance that the risk event (in other
from the strain, and now seldom produce
words an unwanted outcome) will ocbirds with poor eye colour.
cur, and
2. the seriousness of the impact of the risk
In conclusion, you can breed from an excelevent if it does in fact occur.
lent bird with bad eye colour if you have
no better choice, as long as this fault is not
One can estimate point 1 by assigning ranks
present on both sides of the breeding pen.
or scores based on the probability of ocWith many birds one cannot be really sure
currence. Similarly one can assign a score
of the eye colour before about six months
to point 2 on the basis of seriousness of
of age. However, to avoid disappointments,
impact. A commonly used measure of risk
it is best to select those individuals that
- the Risk Index - is calculated by multiplyshow the right eye colour by the time they
ing the score for point 1 by the score for
are two or three months old. In our expepoint 2.
17
Characteristics of Ko Shamo ranked according to prevalence of faults on a 10 point scale
(1=rarely faulty; 10=often faulty) and seriousness of the fault (1=minor; 2=important;
3=serious defect or disqualification)
Feature
Ranking in
terms of
prevalence
of faults
Ranking in
Notes
terms of
seriousness
of fault
Plumage colour
3
1
Plumage colour is not important
Split wing
2
1
Three equal parts
5
2
Carriage and type = 30 points
Long, almost erect neck
6
2
Head and neck = 20 points
Short wings
4
2
Handling, firm and muscular
3
2
Breast wide, deep, well rounded
2
2
Large head
6
2
Head and neck = 20 points
Prominent brows, wrinkled head,
4
2
Head and neck = 20 points
Short, deep beak
2
2
Small or absent wattles
2
2
Thighs medium length, well-muscled
2
2
Condition, plumage quality = 20 points
Thick shanks, good bone
5
2
Ko Shamo character; bold, confident
1
3
An essential feature
Upright Carriage
3
3
Carriage and type = 30 points, poor carriage is a serious defect
Back medium length, broad
3
3
Long back is a serious fault
Broad, prominent shoulders, five hills
visible
4
3
Narrow shoulders and absence of five
hill are serious defects
Short tail
8
3
A long tail is a serious fault
Prawn or tubular tail
1
3
An essential feature
Small comb, closely fitting
1
3
An overlarge comb is a serious fault
Feet well apart, toes straight
3
3
Crooked toes or duck feet are general
disqualifications
Hard, sparse plumage, bare skin
showing, narrow hackle
7
3
Good type depends on hard, sparse
plumage
Shank colour
1
3
Poor leg colour is a serious fault, shank
colour foreign to the breed is a general
disqualification
Eye colour
5
3
Eye colour foreign to the breed is a
general disqualification
Within weight limit
5
3
Being overweight is a general disqualification
18
When it comes to breeding an unwanted
outcome is that the offspring show faults
with regard to certain breed features. It is
therefore useful to be able to estimate the
likelihood that a certain fault will occur. We
can do this on the basis of experience with
the particular strain we are working with.
In every strain of show poultry we find that
certain of the desired breed features tend to
be well established. Almost all individual
birds possess the feature, few show deviations from the ideal, and in fact we can take
these characteristics almost “for granted”.
For such features the probability of a fault
occurring is low.
clude:
• eye colour (as mentioned above orange
or red eyes are sometimes a problem),
• the neck is often not long enough, with
the result that the bird does not show
proper “thirds”.
• the shoulders (the shoulder butts are often insufficiently prominent),
• lack of bone (manifesting as small heads
and thin shanks),
• hard, short feather (feathers are sometimes soft, more often too long),
• short tail (although the prawn tail is
well established the tail feathers are often too long).
Other features are less well established, and
we find that there is a high probability that
faults will crop up among the youngsters.
These are the “difficult” characteristics
that we struggle to improve and fix in the
strain.
The third column in the table assesses the
consequences of deviations from the ideal.
In terms of the Standard of Perfection not
all features are equally important. Some
carry more weight in terms of the scale of
points in the Standard, others are so serious
as to merit disqualification. In the table minor faults have been assigned a score of 1,
more serious faults are scored as 2 while serious defects or disqualifications are scored
as 3. The notes in the fourth column of the
table explain the seriousness of faults with
regard to each feature.
In the first column of the table on page 17
we list the various features of Ko Shamo as
in the SASPO Standard of Perfection. In the
second column we have scored the probability of a fault occurring, in other words
the prevalence of deviations from the desired feature. In our strain of Ko Shamos
the chrysanthemum comb, shank colour,
the prawn tail and the typical Ko Shamo
character - to mention examples - are well
established, and the chances of faults occurring with these features is low. Thus
these features have been given low scores
in the table.
The graph on page 19 plots the Risk Index
(the product of columns 2 and 3) for the different features, grouping them into:
• Those with a Risk Index of less that 5
(green bars)
• A Risk Index of between 5 and 10 (amber bars)
• Risk Index of over 10 (red bars)
Characteristics which have a higher probability of ‘going wrong’ in Ko Shamo have For features with a Risk Index of over 10
been assigned higher scores in the second faults are relatively common and, in addicolumn of the table. Examples of these in- tion, these faults are serious, likely to result
19
in the bird failing to win a prize. In practice this means that we should particularly
value birds that are good with regard to one
or more of the features denoted in red in
the graph. In selecting them for the breeding pen we may have to overlook any shortcomings the birds may show, even if these
shortcomings stand in the way of good performance in the show pen. This underlines
the frequently heard principle that the best
birds for the breeding pen are not necessarily the best for the show pen.
consider what we can do to manage and
mitigate the risks. Culling is the best way
to mitigate the risk, but only if we have
the choice of better birds. Often we are not
so lucky, as mentioned above we can only
breed with the birds we have. If we do not
have a choice, another way to mitigate the
risk is to mate the faulty bird to others that
do not show that particular fault.
The effectiveness of this approach seems to
vary between features, some are relatively
easily corrected in this way, for others it apAs a general rule, birds that are poor with pears more difficult. We have mentioned
regard to the “red” features are best culled, eye colour as being relatively easy to coras they are likely to perpetuate serious rect. We have found the same to be true of
shortcomings. However, this brings us to body weight. A bird that is over the weight
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Index of risk for the features of Ko Shamo
20
limit can be mated to smaller ones, and the good in this respect. Also give it a miss if
size can easily be brought within limits all the birds have orange or red eyes or are
given appropriate selection and inbreeding. too big. The same holds if all the birds on
offer all share faults associated with any of
In our experience excessive softness the “red” and “amber” features on page 19.
and length of feather are difficult to cor- However, if only one bird is faulty regardrect in this way. If a bird with soft, long ing these features, and the others are good,
feathers, a long tail and wings, is mated the pair or trio may be a good buy, though
to one with good short and hard feath- not necessarily at a high price. Watch out if
er very few of the offspring show any the birds do not share most of the “green”
improvement. Even if both parents are features. These features are normally well
hard feathered and short tailed we often established in Ko Shamo - if they are wrong
find a good proportion of “throw backs” to one suspects that the birds may have been
excessive feather and tail length amongst cross-bred.
the offspring. In fact in breeding Ko Shamo
nothing seems to be more difficult, or more
Breeding for hard, narrow,
important, than maintaining hard, narrow
and short feathers, especially short wings, short feather
tails and hackle. We discuss this problem
further below.
As is evident from the sections above, the
Ko Shamo has several feather characterisThe scores in the table on page 17 are essen- tics that set it apart from other breeds. The
tially subjective, based on our experience. hackle in the male is short, narrow and neeThey may to some extent be unique to our dle-like, wing and tail feathers are short, the
strain but, from talking to other Ko Shamo overall plumage is hard, scant, with little
breeders, we get the idea that they may be fluff. Balance and harmony are very imcommon to many South African strains. portant in Ko Shamo, and one should not
This would not be surprising because South focus too much on particular details. But
African Ko Shamos probably originate without the correct feathering a bird cannot
from just a few importations. Hence the lo- show the typical Ko Shamo type.
cal birds are likely to be related to one another, and are likely to have shortcomings One might expect that the various Ko Shain common.
mo feather requirements tend to correlate
with one another genetically, in accordance
We hope that the risk-based approach will with a general theme of “short and hard”.
help beginners with Ko Shamo to make the However, this is not necessarily true in all
right choices, when it comes to buying new respects, for example we have bred males
stock as well as in matching up breeding with good hackle, hard, tight feather, short
pens. Rather not buy a trio or breeding pair wings, but with tails that are much too
if one of the birds is seriously defective in long.
hardness and shortness of feather, and especially tail length, even if the others are We can find very little information on the
21
genetics of the Ko Shamo feather characteristics, and base much of this section on
the late Clive Carefoot’s work “Creative
Poultry Breeding”, now unfortunately out
of print.
It has been reported that hard feather is due
to an incompletely dominant gene, but Carefoot reasons convincingly that a complex
of different genes must be involved. This
would explain why hard, short feathering is
more variable and difficult to fix in a strain
than for example the comb or shank colour
which are governed by just a few genes (see
e.g. http://chickengenetics.edelras.nl/).
a few pointers in this section that may be
worth investigating. Clearly we have much
to learn, and it would be valuable to share
information and experiences with other
breeders.
An important feature of hard feathering,
pointed out by Carefoot, is that the feathers
emerge from the skin at a narrow angle, resulting in hard feather breeds having close
fitting plumage compared to soft feather
breeds. We have not tried it systematically,
but it may be a useful point to look out for
in selecting young birds. The angle of emergence of the feather should presumably be
apparent at an early age, and we could mark
One of the tricks of the trade in breeding is those that show the closest fitting plumage.
to be able to spot the least promising birds
at an early age, so that we do not waste run Carefoot stressed the importance of breadth
space and food on rearing birds that are of feather, a feature he regarded as imnever going to be any good. We have to ad- portant to establish in heavy, soft feather
mit that we have not mastered this aspect breeds, and noted that the breadth of the
with Ko Shamo, particularly with regard to primary flight feathers is a good indicator of
hardness and tightness of feather. Numer- feather breadth. In Ko Shamo we naturally
ous birds that we have parted with at the want narrow feather, and we have noted
age of around 10 to 12 months have turned that birds with broad wing and tail feathers
out to be impressively hard, tight and short just do not look right. Feather breadth tends
tailed at two years or older. It is satisfying to be evident at an early age, and we may be
to see that we have provided breeders with able to effectively apply Carefoot’s tip.
good quality stock, but it underlines the fact
that Ko Shamos, particularly males, im- Another important point made by Carefoot
prove with age. As is the case with British that holds for many chicken breeds, males
“Carlisle” type Old English Game bantams, tend to be less feathery than females. This
feathers in Ko Shamo tend to become short- is certainly true for Ko Shamo, females do
er with age, especially the tail feathers.
not show bare skin to the extent that males
do. In accepting that females are more
For this reason we recommend breeding feathery there is a risk that we may not be
from mature males, at least 2 years old, as focused and critical when selecting ferather than from cockerels. Nevertheless, males for hardness of feather as we are for
one cannot raise too many birds to matu- males. We need to guard against this and
rity, so it helps to be able to make the right be, if anything, even more critical in selectchoices as early as possible. We suggest ing females.
22
For interest we show photos of the offspring
of a first cross between a Ko Shamo male
and a Japanese (Chabo) bantam female.
The tail and feather characteristics of the
Japanese clearly predominate in both the
male and female, although the crosses do
not have the profusion and length of feather
characteristic of pure Japanese. In com-
Top: male and female first cross between a black red Ko Shamo male
and a black-tailed buff Japanese (Chabo) female
Below left: flight feathers of a black red Ko Shamo male
Below right: flight feathers of the male Ko Shamo/Japanese hybrid.
23
paring the primary flight feathers between
the male hybrid and a pure, hard feathered
Ko Shamo male we see the shortness and
brittleness of the latter, as evidenced by the
broken feathers. The Ko Shamo primary
feather is slightly narrower than the hybrid.
There is clearly no simple dominance relationship regarding feather characteristics,
which underlines the fact that in breeding
Ko Shamo we are selecting for characteristics that are under the influence of complexes of genes, and which differ considerably
from the natural feathering of the ancestral
jungle fowl. Another important point made
by Carefoot: unless we select carefully and
consistently for the special features we
want to maintain, the gene pool will tend
drift back to the natural state of the jungle
fowl. This helps to explain the particular
challenge of maintaining good hard feathered Ko Shamo.
Conclusion
We hope that this booklet will encourage
more breeders to take up the fascinating Ko
Shamo. We have certainly not exhausted
the subject, and hope that future revisions
will benefit from shared experiences and
insights from other breeders in South Africa and abroad. We would therefore welcome any comments and criticism readers
may have, which may be sent to either:
[email protected] or [email protected].