#chickencasting

chicken breeds are like dog breeds or vegetable cultivars, they're lineages selectively bred by people for specific purposes. there are five general categories of chicken breed, mostly self explanatory, they're divided by the ways that they interact with capital: layers (egg production), broilers (meat production), dual purpose (egg & meat production), ornamental (think like fancy pigeons? more to be pretty than producers), and game birds (traditionally bred and kept for cockfighting)

so as animals domesticated for agriculture, they're divided based on the ways that they can interact with capitalism, and thus have the typical utilitarian relationship to disposability. but I also want to note that roosters obviously do not lay eggs, and past about 12 weeks of age are significantly less viable for meat production because modern consumers are primed to prefer more tender meats and rooster puberty toughens the muscle texture. this leaves the way that roosters have access to capital and therefore survival as A) looking pretty (ornamental) and B) having their natural flock protective instincts exploited to fight each other (game breed)

I talk about this a lot with roosters being my favorite animal, and kind of my gender as a disabled butch, but roosters are hardwired for love. chickens are obligate gregarious, the majority of chickens brains are dedicated to social relation and patterning to develop connection & care. the traits we think of as rooster traits come from their wild red junglefowl ancestors, flock prey that must take care of each other to survive. the rooster's role is stewardship, a type of masculinity that is mostly care work. the rooster's crow is to communicate vital information to the flock, they have several different vocalizations with different meanings, including morning, alert calls, request to check in, and letting everyone know its time to roost. the rooster always eats last, he makes sure his flock is fed and cared for. the rooster breaks up fights and bullying that happens in the flock. and if danger arises, the rooster fights: to injure and distract a predator so that his flock can get away and survive, even if he cant. this is what it means to be a rooster, to love, to have a flock.

the ameraucana is a breed developed from the chilean araucana that developed in isolation. araucana are weirdos in several ways: they do not have tails, they have feather tufts on their cheeks (the only breed to have tufts there and not muffs), and they lay blue/green eggs. if you've seen blue or green chicken eggs, however, they were most likely laid by an ameraucana, a breed developed because the araucana are genetically fragile and have frequent health issues. half or more of all fertile araucana eggs do not make it to hatch because they are incompatible with life. so people 'americanized' the araucana by breeding them with north american homesteading breeds, so they could have a healthier, more viable version of a chicken that lays blue eggs, a novelty! as such, ameraucanas have a complicated relationship to fragility, an innate desire to be seen as not fragile, that I see in kenny.

to be an ameraucana rooster, however, means that you do not lay blue eggs because you do not lay eggs. so your access to survival is limited: you've already failed to be a businessman before you even began. you can try to fit in with american 'audiences' but you're going to struggle there. the system is set up to reward others, and not you. one of the only things you have to offer is your heart, your grit, what's hardwired into you. having a flock. and that's not rewarded here

'chickens as companion animals' is rare in north america, and used to be even rarer. I am one of these freaks that has a companion rooster in the us, but it is definitely treated as weird. several waves of backyard chicken movements, particularly during early pandemic, have shifted cultural understandings and more and more people are considering chickens as pets. it is also much easier to adopt out a rooster if you can prove hes got experience in a flock. even before that, though, there was already a culture around chickens as pets in japan because they are small domesticated animals that are highly social and their needs can be met in a small apartment much easier than, say, a dog's. its still somewhat subcultural, for people to have companion chickens, but it is a thing that exists and has existed for decades. also, breeds that are much more common in north america are seen as a fun novelty.

the wheaten ameraucana is a coloration much more associated with game birds, but the breed is still an ameraucana, not a fighter. it would stand out in japan, where chickens are traditionally more often greyscale colorations like silver duckwing, white with black tails or solid whites or black feathering. so i think it fits kenny to be a breed that would stand out both in the us and in japan, but would struggle to have a place for him in the us until a few years ago. desperation has him shooting his shot, hes able to find a flock in japan, and prove himself capable

the shokoku is an ornamental heritage breed closely related to the japanese culturally significant onagadori breed, designated a Special National Treasure in 1952, which has a famously long tail, often up to 20ft. They've essentially turned off the gene that triggers molt in tail and saddle feathers, so the feathers are not dropped and continue to grow. shokoku tails are long but do molt, so they do not grow to 20ft, but they were used as breeding stock to develop the onagadori because they are a long tail breed local to shikoku where onagadori were developed.

shokoku are an ornamental breed, and not a game breed developed alongside cockfighting culture, but as they look like the most culturally significant chicken breed but arent, they are frequently used in the cockfighting that is unfortunately relatively common in japan. the traditional cockfighting breeds there like the shamo are huge & have minimal feathering of mostly solid colors, so having a small, brilliantly feathered ornamental breed fight is treated as a novelty, especially if it looks like the onagadori at the fraction of the cost & care needs. the silver duckwing coloration is found in both these breeds.

I also want to briefly explain what cockfighting actually entails, because many people assume they know what it entails, but it is often much worse. cockfighting is an extractive practice of the traits that chickens have because they are flock prey: threat displays, spurs on their legs, nervous systems attuned to protection. cockfighting roosters fight to the death, often with razors or other metal attached to their spurs. a cockfight always ends in death, and if the loser doesnt die cleanly, he is disposed of. because of the frequency of death, there's a high turnover and roosters as well as hens and chicks are kept in puppymill-like circumstances until they are killed or breeding stock. they are intentionally neglected & traumatized & have food and water withheld so they are more likely to fight & more likely to win. winners are more likely to become breeding stock, but this isnt a happy life. when these cockfighting operations are busted, it's often more for the human elements, gambling & drugs, rather than the animal abuse. authorities will often let the animal abuse continue even when they know about it because it creates a lot of resource-intensive problems to bust cockfighting rings, including rehoming distressed and traumatized animals by the hundreds.

ex-fighter rescue chickens are somewhat common among rescue chickens, but often the hens and chicks find homes and the majority of the roosters end up euth. ex-fighters are some of the most kind and loving roosters you can possibly interact with if you earn their trust. because love is hardwired into them, and they know what it's like to live without it.