Siyah Rampuri

The Rampuri traces to the yards of Rampur in northern India, where Aseel were kept and bred under noble patronage for centuries. They are a fowl with an exceptionally fine head — broad skull, deep-set eye and a short, thick, curved beak.

The Siyah Rampuri is the line kept and maintained on the Juul Gamefowl yard: a small, compact black bird with the heart of a lion. Siyah means black, and the birds carry a hard, close, beetle-green feather over a short, deep, muscular frame — no more bird than is needed, and every ounce of it useful.

In attitude and in nature they stand very close to the jungle fowl. They are alert to everything that moves, quick to take cover and quick to come back out, and they forage from first light to last. Hens go broody readily, sit tight and mother their chicks with real ferocity; cocks hold a territory, watch the sky and call their hens to feed before they eat themselves. They roost high, fly well for their size, and keep the wild bird's economy of movement — nothing wasted, nothing nervous.

That wildness is not shyness. Handled from young they are steady and confident with people, but they never lose the self-possession of a bird that would do perfectly well without us. For courage against size there is nothing in the yard to touch them.

What sets the Rampuri apart is bearing. A good one carries itself with a stillness and dignity that is unmistakable, and this is the first thing I select for after soundness.

I breed within strain wherever possible and record every pairing, so the Rampur character is kept intact rather than diluted.