Japanese bantam

The Japanese bantam or Chabo is a breed of chicken originating in Japan. It is a true bantam breed, meaning that there are no large fowl counterparts. It has a large upright tail that often reaches over the bird's head. The wings angle down, and to the back, along the sides.

"Chabo" redirects here. For the Japanese musician, see Reichi Nakaido.
Japanese bantam
A pair of black-tailed Japanese bantams
Other names
  • Chabo
  • Shojo Chabo[1]
  • Katsura Chabo[2]
Country of originJapan
DistributionSouth Asia
Usefancy
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    510–620 g[3]
  • Female:
    400–510 g[3]
Skin coloryellow
Egg colorcream or tinted
Comb typesingle
Classification
APAsingle comb clean-legged[4]
EEyes[5]
PCGBTrue bantam[6]
APSTrue Bantam Softfeather Light Breed[3]

Characteristics
A young Black-tailed buff Japanese bantam cockerel, which has not yet developed the breed's characteristic large tail and comb

The Japanese bantam has very short legs.[7]:142 This trait is caused by a single lethal gene. All proper Japanese bantams are then heterozygous meaning that when the birds are bred, 25% of the embryos will receive two mutant alleles and die in shell. The other 50% of the embryos will receive one mutant allele and one wild type allele and will then be short-legged. The remaining 25% receive two wild type alleles and have legs that are longer than what most breeders want. Long-legged birds bred to each other will never produce short-leg offspring.

There are many colour varieties of Japanese bantam, with standardised colours including birchen grey, black, black mottled, black-tailed buff, black-tailed white, blue, blue mottled, blue-red, brown-red, buff Columbian, cuckoo, dark grey, golden duckwing, gray, lavender, Miller's gray, partridge, red, red mottled, silver-grey, tri-coloured, wheaten and white.[5] There are also frizzle-feathered[3] and Silkie-feathered variations.[8] These chickens have been known to live for up to 13 years with proper care.

References
  1. Breed data sheet: Shojo chabo/Japan. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2014.
  2. Breed data sheet: Katsura chabo/Japan. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2014.
  3. Australian Poultry Standards (2nd ed.). Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association (trading as Poultry Stud Breeders and Exhibitors Victoria). 2011. p. 88 & 91. ISBN 9781921488238.
  4. APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
  5. Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  6. Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
  7. Victoria Roberts (2008). British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424.
  8. http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/nummers/12E02A04a.pdf
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