View source for Biology:Malay chicken

{{Short description|Breed of chicken}}
{{use list-defined references|date=August 2014}}
{{infobox poultry breed
| name          = Malay Game
| image         = Hen Tom Rhebergen.JPG
| image_size    =
| alt           = 
| image_caption =
| status        = 
| altname       =Malay
| country       = 
| distribution  =
| standard      =
| use           = 
| nickname      =
| apa           = all other standard breeds<ref name=apa/>
| aba           = all other comb clean legged
| ee            = yes<ref name=ee/>
| pcgb          = Asian hard feather<ref name=pcgb/>
| maleweight    = Standard: about 5 kg<br>Bantam: 1190–1360 g<ref name=roberts/>
| femaleweight  = Standard: about 4.1 kg<br>Bantam: 1020–1130 g<ref name=roberts/>
| skincolor     =
| eggcolor      =
| comb          =
| note          = 
| type          = [[Biology:Chicken|Chicken]]
| latin         = Gallus gallus domesticus
}}[[File:Tab10 Hühner (Geflügel-Album, Jean Bungartz, 1885).jpg|thumb|Malays Fowls by Jean Bungartz for 'Geflügel-Album', 1885]]
[[Image:Malay Game Fowl Hen.jpg|thumb|A Malay hen]]
The '''Malay''' is a breed of game [[Biology:Chicken|chicken]]. It is among the tallest breeds of chicken, and may stand over {{nobreak|90 cm}} (36 inches) high.<ref name=graham/> 
The Malay is bred principally in Europe,<ref name=ee/> and in Australia and the United States.<ref name=dad/> It was derived, partly in [[Earth:Devon|Devon]] and [[History:Cornwall|Cornwall]] in south-west England,<ref name=pcgb2/> from birds imported from Indian subcontinent<ref name=graham/> or South-east Asia in the first decades of the nineteenth century, when large birds of this type were widespread in northern India, in Indonesia and in the [[Biology:Malay Peninsula|Malay Peninsula]].<ref name=tlc/>

The Malay was the first chicken breed to be bantamised; a dwarf version of the standard-sized breed was created at the turn of the twentieth century.<ref name=roberts/>

==History==

From about 1830 very large game chickens were imported to England, where they became fashionable<ref name=tlc/> and were selectively bred by English breeders.<ref name=pcgb2/> Some imports are documented from the Malay Peninsula, others from the Deccan of India.<ref name=wingfield/> Those from India were sometimes called Grey Chittagongs,<ref name=pcgb2/> but were considered to be closely similar to the Malay. They were particularly numerous in Devon and Cornwall, especially in the area round Falmouth, which was a common first port of call for returning East Indiamen.<ref name=wingfield/> They were also numerous in Ireland, in the area of [[Place:Dublin|Dublin]].<ref name=wingfield/>

Malays were shown at the first British poultry exhibition in 1845, and were included in the ''Standard of Excellence'', the first edition of the British Poultry Standards, in 1865.<ref name=roberts/><ref name=teget/>

Malay birds were present in Germany and the Netherlands by about 1834, and by 1846 were introduced to the United States also.<ref name=tlc/> The black-breasted red Malay was included in the ''Standard of Perfection'' of the American Poultry Association from 1883, and the bantam in 1904; five other colours, both standard- and bantam-sized, were added in 1981.<ref name=apa/> Numbers of the breed in the USA are very low; its [[Biology:Conservation status|conservation status]] is listed as "critical" by the FAO.<ref name=dad/>

==Characteristics==

The Malay has an upright stance, a well muscled form and a large skull. Nowadays they are selected to be better egg-layers than in the 1970s with 70 to 120 eggs annually for a young hen and older hens laying only 30 to 55 eggs.

==Use==

Today, in the West the Malay is mainly kept for participation in poultry shows by breeders. It is considered a hard-feathered, gamefowl breed.

Malay chickens have been used in Brazil for the creation of the Índio Gigante Chicken.

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name=apa>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171104135004/http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/PDF%20Forms/APA%20Recognized%20Breeds%20and%20Varieties%20Sept2012.pdf APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012]. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=f50eec9c778dd46ffc5823b2492bdc6a,reportsreport16_50000350 Transboundary breed: Malay Game]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2014.</ref>

<ref name=ee>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130616062803/http://www.entente-ee.com/deutsch/sparten/gefluegel/dateien/2013/Verzeichnis%20R%20F%2028042013.xls Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013)]. Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.</ref>

<ref name=graham>Chris Graham (2006). ''Choosing and Keeping Chickens''. London: Hamlyn. {{ISBN|9780600614388}}. {{nobreak|p. 158–59.}}</ref>

<ref name=pcgb>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143235/http://www.poultryclub.org/img/Breed%20Classification.pdf Breed Classification]. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.</ref>

<ref name=pcgb2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181109100645/https://www.poultryclub.org/breed-gallery/chickens/ Chickens]. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.</ref>

<ref name=roberts>Victoria Roberts (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=nAfyUHY42u0C ''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}}. {{nobreak|p. 169–71.}}</ref>

<ref name=teget>William Bernhard Tegetmeier (editor) (1865). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qz1FAAAAYAAJ ''The standard of excellence in Exhibition Poultry, authorized by the Poultry Club'']. London: Poultry Club. {{nobreak|p. 17–19}}</ref>

<ref name=tlc>[http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/malay Malay Chicken]. The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed August 2014.</ref>

<ref name=wingfield>William Wingfield, George William Johnson (1853). [https://books.google.com/books?id=VZ4aAAAAYAAJ ''The Poultry Book: Comprising the Characteristics, Management, Breeding, and Medical Treatment of Poultry'']. London: W. S. Orr & Company.</ref>

}}
==See also==
* List of chicken breeds

[[Category:Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist]]


{{Sourceattribution|Malay chicken|1}}