Consider the valuable Indio Gigante,
3 Likes
Another excessively valuable chicken the Ayam_Cemani
Here are 10 ways to make a pile of money on bug eating orchard chickens
1. Ayam Cemani ($800 – $3,000) – The World’s Most Expensive Chicken?
The Ayam Cemani is an all-black bird prized due to a rare condition called fibromelanosis, which causes an excess of dark pigment resulting in jet-black feathers, skin, flesh, organs and bones. The black color is 10 times the melatonin as other chicken breeds. Unsexed eggs can be purchased for $45 with a minimum of 12. Juveniles (6-12 weeks) $800 and adults are sold for $1,200-$3,000. With a nickname, “The Lamborghini Chicken,” you know it’s going to be expensive.
2. Kadaknath ($2500) – India’s Contribution to the Most Expensive Chicken Breeds
These chickens are often confused with Ayam Cemani because of the black feathers from head to toe. However, Kadaknath’s have a varying pigment of black. They also differ in size, temperament, egg production and meat production. Many are jet black, but the breed also incorporates penciled and golden.
3. Dong Tao ($2,000) – The Dragon Chicken
This breed is rare and hard to find. The demand rarely matches the need. Dong Tao’s are prized for their easily recognized large legs and feet, which is easy to see why people call them the “Dragon Chicken.”
4. Deathlayer ($250) – A Prolific Layer
Moving from the thousands price range to the hundreds, Deathlayers are the leaders for being the most expensive chicken breeds. This dramatic name comes from their ability to lay eggs until their dying day. Also sought for their striking appearance they charm with their black babydoll eyes, beautiful feathers and can be silver or gold varieties.
5. Liege Fighter ($150) – A Muscular Marvel
Liege fighters are a large and muscular Belgian gamecock breed of chicken that was originally bred in the 19th century for fighting. They were bred to be powerful enough to overpower other fighting breeds and to fight using natural spurs instead of sharpened metal gaffes. Nowadays they are a great flock protector and generally friendly with their owners.
6. Ölandsk Dwarf ($100) – A Swedish Gem
Olandsk Dwarf chickens are true dwarf chickens. This means that they are not a miniature version of a full-size breed as you have with Bantam breeds. They are a landrace breed of chicken which are typically known to be hardy, disease-resistant and adaptable to changes. They are lightweight and display a beautiful combination of red, black, gray, brown and white multicolored feathers.
7. Swedish Black ($100) – A Fibromelanistic Fowl
The knockoff version of the Ayam Cemani might just be the Swedish Black moving this lower on the list of the most expensive chicken breeds. All physical features of the bird are black, although there can be a purple/greenish tint spotted in the sun. They are smaller and more cold-hardy than the Ayam Cemani. Despite the differences, it is still a fascinating and expensive bird.
8. Orust ($100) – A Spotted Scandinavian in the Most Expensive Chicken Breeds
Very hard to find, Orusts are beautifully spotted white and black from their head to their feet. This beauty, combined with their docile and easy-to-handle nature, makes them highly sought after.
9. Pavlovskaya ($86) – Russia’s Feathered Rarity Among the Most Expensive Chicken Breeds
If crests are a trait you like, these birds will be sure to interest you. They have a beautiful crest and lace-like markings. They are very cold-tolerant (being from Russia). They have a great history where they have been brought back from extinction, which is something many enthusiasts enjoy participating in preserving. They lay very few eggs a year, making them more valuable.
10. Serama ($77) – The World’s Smallest Yet One of the Most Expensive Chicken Breeds
Coming in last on the list of most expensive chicken breeds, Seramas are the smallest chickens in the world. A full-grown rooster is about the size of a pigeon. They are friendly and can be trained. They handle heat extremely well, as they are tropical birds. Their tiny stature and huge tails make a very intriguing look.
Serama chicken in the garden. Photo by Athok Fadhlin
What is the most expensive chicken breed in the world?
The Ayam Cemani is often considered the most expensive chicken breed in the world. Known for its all-black appearance—including feathers, skin, and internal organs—it can sell for thousands of dollars due to its rarity and exotic appearance.
4 Likes
The most expensive? Game chickens. Soon you will find your yard dominated by rooster houses with roosters on tie in front of them. Most roosters 150-300 bucks. Crazy addictive and sometimes connected to illegal cockfighting. Not always though.
4 Likes
Greenfire farms is the crackhouse of chicken fancy. I wouldn’t touch them with a 20 foot pole.
5 Likes
I’m hatching Ayam Cemani myself. At $200+ a bird for a good one it is hard to lose.
4 Likes
My answer is going to be to the headline, not any of the articles.
I’m going to say myth, at least if you can reasonable keep them protected well enough that they outpace predation (including your own.) They provide fertilizer and bug control. They’ll gladly accept a lot of your surplus, including unwanted seedlings popping up within their reach, and if they happen to attract casual interest from wandering dogs or coyotes without proving accessible enough to increase that population, other plant predators will also minimize the unwanted attention they pay to your young trees.
You can also eat or sell extra eggs or birds, so they’ll reduce costs and diversify income potentials. you may even be able to barter tasks you cannot do alone with neighbors who will help in exchange for that excess.
But, if you become addicted to their diversity like some of us are for our plants, then they can also just be another money sink that depends on a high level of failure to be able to keep experimenting with something new.
3 Likes
Very well said. One nice thing about black ones is they are mistaken for crows. Not much eats crow.
1 Like
Our birds almost pay for their feed bill. Our chickens turn a profit for sure. Turkey’s, ducks and geese break the bell curve though.
4 Likes
I don’t like that they scratch the heck out of the mulch around fruit trees and muscadines.
3 Likes
They must be looking for things living in the mulch? Maybe mulch wider or exclusion fencing in those areas?
1 Like
I have never dealt with them though they did a nice right up on that newer breed.
Yes, there are worms and insects in there. Chickens in my area tend to go there especially in the winter, bc the grass is all brown. Ripping off the mulch from the muscardines exposed the roots to frost, not good.
2 Likes