Creation Zoo Update: Meet Our New Chickens and Japanese Quail

There’s a very wide variety within chickens (part of the landfowl kind), and our exhibit now features six unique breeds. Here’s what one of our zookeepers sent me about these fun new chickens and the quail (we also have doves from our collection in the exhibit):

Zookeepers chose six unique breeds to catch the eye of visitors. June is an Ayam Cemani, an Indonesian breed known for their solid black coloration. Ayam Cemani roughly translates as “completely black chicken,” and indeed, their feathers, beaks, combs, wattles, tongues, feet, meat, and even their organs are black!

Betty is a Barbu d'Uccle, a fully bantam (small) breed from Belgium known for their fluffy beards and feathered feet.

Bernice is an Easter egger, which is not a true breed but a hybrid between a breed that lays blue eggs and a breed that lays brown eggs. The result? Chickens that lay beautiful eggs of varying shades of brown, blue, lavender, olive, peach, pink, or yellow.

Louise is a Marans, a French breed prized for their deep chocolate–brown eggs. Some French chefs will only use Marans eggs because of their quality.

Agnes is a Swedish flower hen, a breed that almost went extinct in the 1970s. Thankfully, three flocks were found that were used to save the breed.

Finally, Eunice is a Wyandotte, an American breed valued for their beautiful colors and egg-laying abilities. One Wyandotte hen may lay 240 eggs per year!

The Creation Zoo also adopted three Japanese quail named Snowy Snow, Sprinkle, and Sunshine. Japanese quail were domesticated in eleventh-century Japan to be used in singing competitions. These quail produce nearly 30 different sounds. They are also valued for their eggs, as one hen may lay up to 300 per year. Japanese quail eggs once hatched in space, making them the first birds to be “born” off the planet!

Zoo staff are excited to share these unique birds with guests, as several of the chicken breeds are endangered, and Japanese quail are near threatened. As stewards of God’s creation, it’s important that we wisely and kindly manage the animals he has provided for us.

Creation Zoo—with its Wonders of Creation stage where we do live animal programs—is extremely popular with our guests.

Creation Zoo—with its Wonders of Creation stage where we do live animal programs—is extremely popular with our guests. They love meeting the unique animals, including our new chickens and quail. And the zoo continues to expand. In May, our new Butterfly House is scheduled to open, and it will feature beautiful North American butterflies. Guests will love it!

I encourage you to visit soon to enjoy everything the Creation Museum has to offer, including meeting our new animals. And we hope you’ll take advantage of our Family Adventure Days every Monday in April and May (excluding Memorial Day). During this event, families enjoy special offers and exclusive perks like free tours, free refillable souvenir tumblers for parents, a free treat for every child, and so much more! Tickets must be purchased through our Family Adventure Days webpage, and kids 10 and under enjoy free admission on top of all the extra offers and perks.

Plan your visit at CreationMuseum.org.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.