Saipan Jungle Fowl

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The Saipan Jungle Fowl is a breed of domestic chicken. Not a true jungle fowl, it was found on the island of Saipan. It is thought to have been brought into The United States of America by returning American servicemen at the end of World War II including B. W. Saylor, who wrote "The Saipan Jungle Fowl" in 1977. Although the birds encountered at that time were both domesticated and wild on Saipan, it is thought that the wild ones were feral and descended from those brought in by the original human inhabitants. An alternative theory is that they were brought in by the Japanese as occurred in other locations such as Taiwan during the Japanese colonial occupation.

The Saipan Junglefowl was likely introduced to the island of Saipan by Austronesians seafarers. Many vertebrate paleontologists believe that giant gamefowl like the Saipan are living remnants of an extinct Comoros Island Junglefowl Gallus giganteus which was introduced to Madagascar and Reunion Islands by Austronesians who also carried these naturally tame birds back to South East Asia and Oceania as long ago as the Neolithic period.

There were also feral junglefowl introduced to the Solomon Islands which are descended of normally proportioned, wild birds imported from Indonesia and beyond. The combination of the Comoros Island Giant Junglefowl and the domestic descendants of the Red Junglefowl produced the Saipan, Shamo, Malay, Koeyoshi and Asil.

Because of its unique genetics and consequent hard-wired instincts to scavenge shorelines for stranded sea life, the Saipan does not thrive on the soy/grain-based diets of typical domestic fowl. In order to reproduce successfully, its diet must be supplemented with fat (rendered beef suet); crab meal, and or a fish based dry cat food. Ready access to fruit and vegetables are also suggested so that it ingests enough dietary fiber.

The "Saipan" bird is tall and upright, resembling the Malay, the Shamo, the Asil, or other oriental gamefowl, that are Asian in origin. The Saipan is either pea combed or flat combed and is absent of wattles, having a simple dewlap instead. The rooster is most often Black Breasted Red and the hen Wheaten in color, but there are variations such as white and other color combinations. The hens make excellent mothers, with a strong tendency towards broodiness. Often hens that were raised by the same mother will communally hatch and raise chicks together. Though quite tame, intelligent and non-flighty, they are very alert and survive very well in situations where animal predation is a significant barrier to raising chickens. They lay a limited number of cream colored eggs yearly, though Saipan jungle fowl are relatively long lived and fecund. Saipan jungle fowl are known to have been used in cockfighting and are often bred into strains of gamefowl to enhance size and ability for naked-heel (fighting without artificial spurs) cock fighting competitions. Both the cocks and hens tend to be aggressive with other poultry, as well as towards two and four legged intruders that they do not recognize.

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