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Conservation status | not at risk [1] : 88 |
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Other names |
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Country of origin | Japan |
Use | Originally bred for cockfighting |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Egg colour | White or tinted |
Comb type | triple in cocks |
Classification | |
APA | no [3] |
EE | yes [4] |
PCGB | yes [5] : 260 [6] |
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The Satsumadori is a Japanese breed of chicken. It originated in Kagoshima Prefecture, in the southernmost part of the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, and was originally bred for cockfighting. [7] The name derives from that of the former province of Satsuma, now the western part of Kagoshima Prefecture. [8]
The Satsumadori originated in Kagoshima Prefecture, in the southernmost part of the island of Kyushu in southern Japan, and was originally bred for cockfighting with steel spurs. [6] It was designated a Natural Monument of Japan in 1943, one of seventeen breeds which have this status. [9] In 1999 the total number of breeding stock was 305 birds; [1] : 101 the conservation status was assessed as "not at risk". [1] : 82
The Satsumadori is bred in many colour variants. The traditional Japanese colours are: akasasa, roughly "red-hackled"; kinsasa, "golden-hackled"; kisasa, "yellow-hackled"; shirosasa, "white-hackled"; soukoku, black; and taihaku, white. [8] In the United Kingdom it may be white, silver duckwing, gold duckwing, black or black-red; [5] : 260 the first three of these are recognised by the Entente Européenne, while the last is not listed. [4]
Standard weights are 3.375 kg (7.4 lb) for cock birds and 2.625 kg (5.8 lb) for hens. [2] : 99 The comb is triple in cocks, and small or non-existent in hens. [5] : 260 Comb, face, ear-lobes and wattles are vivid red, and the eyes are gold or silver; wattles and ear-lobes may be small or entirely absent. The beak and legs are yellow, but may be darker in the black variant. Cock birds have an upright stance; the tail fans out laterally, and is held above the horizontal. [5] : 260
The Satsumadori was bred as a game bird for steel-spur cock-fighting, in which blades were attached to the legs in the area of the spur. This type of cock-fighting is no longer legal in Japan. The Satsumadori is kept for fancy. [2] : 99