Home Jidori and branded chicken Yamagata
Yamagata Jidori
やまがた地鶏 Yamagata
English name: Yamagata Jidori — no official English name found, so romanised by this site.
Requirements for Yamagata Jidori: breed — Shamo (game fowl) cross; where raised — council members are those involved in producing, distributing or selling Yamagata Jidori within the prefecture, and slaughter must take place at an approved facility in Yamagata (no municipality is named for rearing); rearing period — no minimum is set; the birds must be slaughtered within 180 days of age (the manual gives 120 days as a guide for shipment). Also: feed by stage: to 28 days of age about 21% crude protein and 2,900 kcal/kg; 28 to 70 days about 17% and 2,840 kcal/kg; from 70 days to shipment about 18% and 3,150 kcal/kg; The council states that the brand conforms to the JAS standard for jidori. Not specified: housing.
Definition — what qualifies
| Breed | Shamo (game fowl) cross A three-way cross: the sire is a hybrid of a red-laced Shamo male and a Nagoya female, the dam a Barred Plymouth Rock Native-breed blood percentage: 100% Sources: [D001] |
|---|---|
| Where it must be raised | Council members are those involved in producing, distributing or selling Yamagata Jidori within the prefecture, and slaughter must take place at an approved facility in Yamagata (no municipality is named for rearing) Sources: [D002] |
| Rearing period / age at shipment | No minimum is set; the birds must be slaughtered within 180 days of age (the manual gives 120 days as a guide for shipment) Sources: [D002] |
| How it is housed |
Not set (no such requirement in the source) |
| Other conditions |
Feed by stage: to 28 days of age about 21% crude protein and 2,900 kcal/kg; 28 to 70 days about 17% and 2,840 kcal/kg; from 70 days to shipment about 18% and 3,150 kcal/kg [D001] The council states that the brand conforms to the JAS standard for jidori [D003] |
Japan's JAS standard for jidori sets four conditions: the chicks, the rearing period, the housing and the stocking density. A brand's own conditions can be stricter, or set differently. The JAS standard for jidori →
Native breeds named in this brand's cross: Shamo ・ Nagoya ・ Barred Plymouth Rock （All 38 native breeds）
The “80 days from hatching”, “floor housing from 28 days of age” and “10 birds per m²” in the rearing manual belong to a table introducing the JAS standard for jidori — they are not this brand’s own conditions, and the manual dates from 2014, when JAS said 80 days rather than today’s 75. Unusually, the brand sets only an upper limit on age (180 days) and no minimum. Its native-breed blood percentage is stated as 100%.
Compared with other brands
Yamagata Jidori is the only chicken brand that sets a maximum rearing period (180 days) but no minimum.
This guide lists 4 brands from Yamagata (also Shonai Green Pork Boomin, Yamagata Beef and Yonezawa Gyu). By prefecture →
Compare this brand side by side with others → ・ Find brands by their rules →
Counts cover only the brands in this guide.
Guides
Managed by
- Managed by
- Yamagata Jidori Promotion Council
- Official site
- https://agrin.jp/crop/chikusan/yamagatajidori/index.html
Other brands from Yamagata
- Shonai Green Pork BoominPork brands
- Yamagata BeefBeef brands
- Yonezawa GyuBeef brands
About the names
Brand names are proper nouns. English names follow the brand association's official English page first, then the English name in the GI register, and otherwise romanised Japanese plus "Beef", "Wagyu" or "Pork". We never call a non-Wagyu brand Wagyu.
Sources
Sources are in Japanese
- [D001] やまがた地鶏の飼養管理マニュアル（平成26年3月） — Yamagata Jidori Promotion Council and Yamagata Prefecture Livestock Experiment Station ・ Primary source ・ Accessed 2026-09-28
- [D002] やまがた地鶏振興協議会規約（2025年版・実施細則つき） — Yamagata Jidori Promotion Council ・ Primary source ・ Accessed 2026-09-28
- [D003] やまがた地鶏リーフレット（2025） — Yamagata Prefecture and the Yamagata Jidori Promotion Council ・ Primary source ・ Accessed 2026-09-28