Bekisar

Bekisar are Indonesian hybrid chickens, traditionally produced by mating a male green junglefowl with a domestic chicken hen. They are especially associated with Java, Madura, Bali, and nearby islands, where males have long been prized for their clear, carrying crow and glossy junglefowl-influenced plumage. A bekisar is not a conventional breed that reproduces true; appearance varies with the domestic hen used, and the birds may show a high tail, dark iridescent body color, colored facial skin, and a more alert, wild temperament than ordinary chickens.

Keeping or producing bekisar is specialist work. Green junglefowl ancestry can mean stronger flight, greater sensitivity to confinement, and legal restrictions on wild Gallus species or hybrids in some places. Enclosures need to be secure, quiet, and suited to agile birds, with careful attention to quarantine because domestic poultry diseases can affect wild relatives. Fertility in first-generation and backcross birds is variable, so breeders plan matings rather than expecting a flock to maintain itself. Conservation-minded keepers also avoid releasing hybrids where they could mix with wild junglefowl populations.

Colors: Barred, Birchen, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Duckwing, Gold, Gold Laced, Laced, Lavender, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Partridge, Penciled, Porcelain, Red, Silver, Silver Laced, Spangled, Splash, Wheaten, White