Ayam Bekisar

     The Ayam Bekisar, or the Bekisar, is the first-generation hybrid offspring of the male Green Junglefowl and domesticated hens from the Javan area. Bekisar roosters are highly prized for their loud clear calls, that can travel long distances. They have been traditionally used for a long time to help people for staying in touch while they are in the sea. Nowadays, Bekisars’ crowing competition are very common and popular in East Java, Bali and the surrounding islands, though this practice has caused the decline of wild Green Junglefowl populations.

     Bekisar roosters have wonderful color patterns indeed, as their plumage is generally glossy metallic blue-black on the neck, tail and chest. Back and wing feathers are of variable colors but usually are of a shiny coppery-red color. The hens are usually dull in color, compared to the male Bekisar, but they are beautiful specimens indeed. In general, Bekisar hybrid doesn’t have standardized colors, as its plumage color is highly variable, depending on the main color of the founder hen in the first place.

     The Bekisar hybrid is rarely fertile (hens are generally sterile, although they lay plenty of eggs). In rare cases, back-crosses with domestic chickens are achieved. It’s also thought that Bekisar roosters were bred again with domestic hens derived from the Red Junglefowl thousands of years ago. This cross produced a stock which is believed to be the ancestor of some breeds like the south-Americanan Araucana.

     To some extent, the Ayam Bekisar might be one of the birds, that south-American chicken breeds got developed from. As the Green Junglefowl is the original wild bird that carries the gene for producing green/blue egg, and perhaps it’s the great grandfather at some point in history. Interestingly, the Ayam Bekisar can easily re-adapt to the wild and the harsh environment, as if it was a wild Green Junglefowl.