In article 'chickens', BIRDMAN wrote:
B>     Can't say as for sure if I've seen the "Shamo" before.  I've never 
ept
B> any fancies myself but I've seen and handled some of the long tail
B> varieties.  
B> Is that what you're talking about?  They are strikingly beautiful birds 
nd
B> I 
B> have considered getting a few once I have more chickens laying and can 
B> justify the expense of birds that aren't producing.
i don't believe this!! people who keep 'fancies' and antique varieties!!! a 
pleasant surprise, as i haven't wandered into this echo before. too bad y'all 
live so far away and in areas where there are others to trade with. 'yard' 
birds are more the standard where i am, even in small backyard flocks.
some things that may sway you in the direction of the japanese long-tails.. 
(i raise phoenix, along with gold-laced polish and banty cinnamon frizzles). 
the japanese birds provide a lot of beauty, that is true. hens and roosters 
are very friendly especially if you spend a little time with them when they 
are young.. the roosters just love being petted and act like cats, rolling on 
the floor and just being silly in general. (silly birds even get bombed on 
catnip!) they are very gentle and do get along with other roosters of their 
kind.. i think that comes from the fact they were bred as 'ornaments' to live 
in gardens of the rich; have never had any fighting problems amongst the 3 
that i have. in fact, i have to keep them seperate from other breeds that are 
more territorial. the hens, plain janes by comparison, but beautiful in their 
own quiet way are good layers of small light brown roundish eggs. an egg 
every other day is the average, which is pretty good for a fancy. they are 
supposed to be non-setters, but the mood strikes them usually in late summer. 
to share the 'wealth', i use the frizzles and an incubator to push my luck a 
bit... most of my hatchlings are given away, as i don't have room for a large 
flock of birds.. i just enjoy keeping something with such an old and 
interesting lineage going. sadly, there are no swaps and such here.. keeping 
anything other than 'yard' birds is considered weird. :(   the sumatra is 
also another nice longtail.. a bit more feisty and independant, but still 
friendly. being double-spurred, i get the impression the roosters were used 
as fighting birds at some point in their history. sadly, i didn't get too far 
with breeding them due to a rabid raccoon raid when the pair i had was still 
young. both breeds prefer lots of perches way off the ground.. the roosters 
get downright vain about those tailfeathers. overall, the longtails have 
proven to be quite intelligent and worth the time and keep. definitely egg 
birds.. not much bulk to them, which is fine with me, since our flock is not 
for eating purposes.
Ami-TAG -  The beauty of a pun is in the argh! of the beholder
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