Chicken of the devil? Bird has feathers, meat, organs and even black eggs

A rare type of chicken dubbed the “Poultry Lamborghini” is becoming one of the most desired items in the world luxury industry. Ayam Cemani (which in Indonesian means "all black chicken") is completely black in color, including feathers, beaks, legs, skin and even flesh.

The price charged for the bird is not cheap at all: Greenfire Farm, one of the world's most respected poultry companies, according to the British Daily Mail, is able to earn $ 200 (almost $ 800) per pet. On the black market, that could be over a thousand dollars a head.

Rituals and collectors

Birds are coveted by collectors precisely because the species is exotic. Its rarity is caused by the large number of crossings performed in the creations of the island of Java, from where Ayam Cemani originates.

The species is also consumed in Indonesia and much of Asia as part of rituals. According to Greenfire Farms, they are famous for their "mystical powers". It is believed that the bird's darkness makes it an "ideal bridge between the human and the supernatural worlds."

But what causes this darkness in the bird?

Ayam Cemani's black color is due to a genetic condition known as fibromelanosis, which is caused by a mutation that affects the way pigment-producing cells work.

Swedish geneticist Leif Andersson found that the color change maker is a gene called endothelian-3 (EDN3). It is he who participates in the regulation of melanocyte cells that produce pigments. In Ayam Cemani birds, they are ten times more abundant than other breeds.