[Illustration: MALAYS.]
This majestic bird is found on the peninsula from which it derives its
name, and, in the opinion of many, forms a connecting link between the
wild and domesticated races of fowls. Something very like them is,
indeed, still to be found in the East. This native Indian bird--the
_Gigantic Cock_, the _Kulm Cock_ of Europeans--often stands considerably
more than two feet from the crown of the head to the ground. The comb
extends backward in a line with the eyes; it is thick, a little
elevated, rounded upon the top, and has almost the appearance of having
been cut off. The wattles of the under mandibles are comparatively
small, and the throat is bare. Pale, golden-reddish hackles ornament the
head, neck, and upper part of the back, and some of these spring before
the bare part of the throat. The middle of the back and smaller
wing-coverts are deep chestnut, the webs of the feathers disunited; pale
reddish-yellow, long, drooping hackles cover the rump and base of the
tail, which last is very ample, and entirely of a glossy green, of which
color are the wing-coverts; the secondaries and quills are pale
reddish-yellow on their outer webs. All the under parts are deep glossy
blackish-green, with high reflections; the deep chestnut of the base of
the feathers appears occasionally, and gives a mottled and interrupted
appearance to those parts.
The weight of the Malay, in general, exceeds that of the Cochin-China;
the male weighing, when full-grown, from eleven to twelve, and even
thirteen pounds, and the female from eight to ten pounds; height, from
twenty-six to twenty-eight inches. They present no striking uniformity
of plumage, being of all shades, from black to white; the more common
color of the female is a light reddish-yellow, with sometimes a faint
tinge of dunnish-blue, especially in the tail.
The cock is frequently of a yellowish-red color, with black intermingled
in the breast, thighs, and tail. He has a small, but thick comb,
generally inclined to one side; he should be snake-headed, and free from
the slightest trace of top-knot; the wattles should be extremely small,
even in an old bird; the legs are not feathered, as in the case of the
Shanghaes, but, like them and the Cochin-Chinas, his tail is small,
compared with his size. In the female, there is scarcely any show of
comb or wattles. Their legs are long and stout; their flesh is very
well flavored, when they have been properly fattened; and their eggs are
so large and rich that two of them are equal to three of those of our
ordinary fowls.
The Malay cock, in his perfection, is a remarkably courageous and strong
bird. His beak is very thick, and he is a formidable antagonist when
offended. His crow is loud, harsh, and prolonged, as in the case of the
Cochin-China, but broken off abruptly at the termination; this is quite
characteristic of the bird.
The chickens are at first very strong, with yellow legs, and are thickly
covered with light brown down; but, by the time they are one-third
grown, the increase of their bodies has so far outstripped that of their
feathers, that they are half naked about the back and shoulders, and
extremely susceptible of cold and wet. The great secret of rearing them
is, to have them hatched very early indeed, so that they may have safely
passed through this period of unclothed adolescence during the dry,
sunny part of May and June, and reached nearly their full stature before
the midsummer rains descend.
Malay hens are much used by some for hatching the eggs of turkeys--a
task for which they are well adapted in every respect but one, which is,
that they will follow their natural instinct in turning off their
chickens at the usual time, instead of retaining charge of them as long
as the mother turkey would have done. Goslings would suffer less from
such untimely desertion.
THE PHEASANT MALAY. This variety is highly valued by many, not on
account of its intrinsic merits, which are considerable, but because it
is believed to be a cross between the pheasant and the common fowl. This
is, however, an erroneous opinion. Hybrids between the pheasant and the
fowl are, for the most part, absolutely sterile; when they do breed, it
is not with each other, but with the stock of one of their progenitors;
and the offspring of these either fail or assimilate to one or the other
original type. No half-bred family is perpetuated, no new breed created,
by human or volucrine agency.
The Pheasant Malays are large, well-flavored, good sitters, good layers,
good mothers, and, in many points, an ornamental and desirable stock.
Some object to them as being a trifle too long in their make; but they
have a healthy look of not being over-bred, which is a recommendation to
those who rear for profit as well as pleasure. The eggs vary in size;
some are very large in summer, smooth, but not polished, sometimes
tinged with light buff, balloon-shaped, and without the zone of
irregularity. The chickens, when first hatched, are all very much alike;
yellow, with a black mark all down the back. The cock has a black tail,
with black on the neck and wings.