Friday, August 23, 2013

"Rare $2,500 Chicken Is Lamborghini of Poultry"

From Yahoo:
How much would you pay for chicken?

Paul Bradshaw, a breeder in Florida at Greenfire Farms, sells chickens for $2,500...per chicken, that is. And if he has his way, the market for the rare Indonesian breed Ayam Cemani will soon take off across the U.S.
We asked Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine, why this chicken costs so much.

"To be fair, it is an all black chicken," she says. "So it's very chic. Its feathers are black. Its organs are black. Its meat is black. So it's very special, it's a rare breed chicken."

Collectors buy the bird because it's exotic and beautiful. Cowin says you can collect the large, cream-colored eggs and eat them... but:

"At $2,500 a pop, $5,000 for a pair, you're probably not gonna go eat that bird anytime soon," she notes. "The market is not large, but it's passionate. This guy [Paul Bradshaw] who has imported this breed...he has a higher demand for these chickens than any other chickens in his rare breed collection. So among the people who care... they do care a lot."...MORE