What color eggs do Shamos lay?

**Tinted to light-brown** eggs — a pale, warm off-white. Shamos are a Game breed kept for type, not production, so hens are only fair-to-poor layers at roughly 90 medium-to-large eggs per year.

Are Shamos good for showing?

Yes. They're exhibited in the APA's **All Other Standard Breeds** class and judged on their tall upright station, hard muscular condition, tight feathering, small pea comb, and pearl eyes. Present birds in firm, athletic condition.

How hard are Shamos to hatch?

The eggs themselves are **no harder than any chicken egg — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**. The real challenge is supply and grow-out: hens lay few eggs, breeders must be penned individually, and game cockerels have to be separated young.

Why do Shamos have to be kept in separate pens?

Shamos are an aggressive Oriental Game breed. They're friendly toward people but combative with other chickens, and males will fight one another, so breeders typically house cocks — and often hens — individually and only pair birds under supervision.

How big do Shamos get?

Large. Standard males run about **11 lbs and females about 7 lbs**, and the biggest birds stand very tall with a near-vertical carriage. The larger type is called O-Shamo and the medium type Chu-Shamo.

Where do Shamos come from?

The Shamo is a **Japanese** Oriental Game breed whose ancestors trace back through Siam (Thailand) to birds from the Indian subcontinent — the name is a Japanese rendering of 'Siam.' It reached the US largely after WWII and was APA-recognized in 1981.

Shamo: The Tall, Upright Japanese Game Fowl

Verified September 2026Tinted eggs

The short version

The Shamo is a large, very upright Japanese Oriental Game breed — muscular, hard-feathered, and carried nearly vertical, with a small pea comb and pearl eyes. Recognized by the APA in 1981 and exhibited in the All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class, it comes in a handful of varieties (Dark, Black-Breasted Red, Black, Wheaten) and lays a tinted to light-brown egg. It is a heritage exhibition and preservation bird — friendly to people but aggressive toward other chickens, so cocks and often hens are penned individually.

APA class: AOSB

Egg color: Tinted–Brown

Broodiness: Occasionally broody

Varieties: 4

Egg-color genetics

Shamo shells run from tinted to light brown — a pale, warm off-white rather than the deep brown of a Marans or the blue/green of an oocyan layer. The Shamo is a Game breed kept for type and posture, not lay, so shell color is incidental: hens are fair-to-poor layers at roughly 90 medium-to-large eggs a year.

Breeding notes

Pen Shamos individually or in tightly managed single pairs. They are a Game breed and highly aggressive toward other chickens — cockerels will fight one another and hens can be scrappy too — so most breeders keep birds in separate pens and introduce a pair only under supervision for mating. This is the single biggest management difference from a docile utility breed.
Select for the breed's defining upright 'station': a tall bird carried nearly vertical, with a long, muscular neck, broad shoulders, and prominent, well-muscled thighs. Type and carriage matter far more here than any single plumage variety.
Breed toward hard, tight feathering. Shamo plumage is sparse and held close to a firm body, often leaving parts of the neck, breast, and legs bare — this is correct 'hard feather,' not a fault, and should be maintained rather than fluffed out.
Keep the pea comb small and clean and the eye pale (pearl). Avoid single-comb or loose-feathered throwbacks when culling.
This is a heritage preservation project: The Livestock Conservancy lists the Shamo as critically endangered in the US, so document your flock and prioritize keeping distinct bloodlines going. The breed is kept and shown as a heritage Oriental Game fowl — not as a fighting bird.

Showing notes

Shamos are exhibited in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class and entered by variety (e.g. 'Dark Shamo, large fowl'). Larger O-Shamo and medium Chu-Shamo differ in size class.
Judges reward the upright station, hard condition, and muscle: a tall, firm, well-balanced bird that stands nearly vertical, with tight hard feather over dense muscling and a strong, broad frame.
Condition matters — present a bird in hard, muscular condition with clean, tight plumage, a small tidy pea comb, and clear pearl eyes. Soft, over-fed, or loosely feathered birds show poorly against the breed's athletic ideal.

Hatching & incubation

No breed-specific incubation requirements — Shamo eggs incubate like any chicken egg: about 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
Practical bottleneck is fertility and supply, not the incubator: hens lay few eggs and birds must be penned apart, so hatching eggs from a productive, well-matched pair can be scarce.
Brood cockerels with separation in mind — Shamo chicks are game and males start sparring young, so plan grow-out pens that let you split them before they injure one another.

Recognized varieties

DarkBlack-Breasted RedBlackWheaten

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Shamos lay?: Tinted to light-brown eggs — a pale, warm off-white. Shamos are a Game breed kept for type, not production, so hens are only fair-to-poor layers at roughly 90 medium-to-large eggs per year.
Are Shamos good for showing?: Yes. They're exhibited in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds class and judged on their tall upright station, hard muscular condition, tight feathering, small pea comb, and pearl eyes. Present birds in firm, athletic condition.
How hard are Shamos to hatch?: The eggs themselves are no harder than any chicken egg — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. The real challenge is supply and grow-out: hens lay few eggs, breeders must be penned individually, and game cockerels have to be separated young.
Why do Shamos have to be kept in separate pens?: Shamos are an aggressive Oriental Game breed. They're friendly toward people but combative with other chickens, and males will fight one another, so breeders typically house cocks — and often hens — individually and only pair birds under supervision.
How big do Shamos get?: Large. Standard males run about 11 lbs and females about 7 lbs, and the biggest birds stand very tall with a near-vertical carriage. The larger type is called O-Shamo and the medium type Chu-Shamo.
Where do Shamos come from?: The Shamo is a Japanese Oriental Game breed whose ancestors trace back through Siam (Thailand) to birds from the Indian subcontinent — the name is a Japanese rendering of 'Siam.' It reached the US largely after WWII and was APA-recognized in 1981.

Sources

Shamo Chicken (heritage breed profile, history & conservation status) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Breed Profile: Shamo Chicken — Backyard Poultry (Countryside) (Reference)

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