Game Chicken "Barrel Huts" - Why and How?

[quintinp]

Quote:
If you have netflix, than you can type in chickens in the search menu, and a documentary about chickens will appear, and in the documentary the hens were in the coop, and the roosters were in the barrels. I guess that they probably hatch there own eggs, if they have only one type of breed than there will be no cross breeding. They could let there hens out for the day, and the roosters would do there deed with the hens. and then the hens go up to bed for the night in the coop and the rooster stays in his barrel on a tether. Then in the morning, the hens will lay a fertilized egg and start there day all over again. The chickens owner will collect the eggs, feed the chickens and put some of those eggs in his incubators. I know that in Oklahoma it is illegal to fight roosters. I have only seen a vacant game rooster farm once in my life. I bet there are dogs to keep watch over the roosters as well. During the night.

 

[centrarchid]

quintinp,

I am pretty sure males selected for breeding are placed in breeding pen (1 male / pen) with one to a few hens for duration of egg collection period. Many breeders, possibly most now use incubators or broody hens not mother to eggs, but also some allow hens to incubate their own eggs and rear chicks which is why the parenting abilities of games has remained strong.

 

[Soli]

If anyone has a photo of how they arrange their barrels, I'd like to see how they are made and how one affixes the tether for the roo. I may try it for spare roosters to allow them to mature before sale if they are not inclined to live together in a group pen.

 

[Vcomb]

I use barrels and I've never fought a bird in my life so not all folks who use them are involved in anything illegal.

The number one reason for barrels is they are economic. Barrels are usually cheap to come by and easy to move. The tie cords (tethers) create an instant pen for each rooster. To give you an example, I bought 24 cords that were 8ft long for around $55. the barrels were free. Can you think of a way to house 24 roosters individually for $55 and give them a space that is 16' across to each bird?

Different people run hens and young birds loose for different reasons. The young roosters haven't had that switch flip in their head yet and can co exist. Free ranging them along with the hens gives them all the benefits it gives any other free ranged chicken. Prized breeding stock is usually kept locked up, though. LG dogs are kept to protect the chickens.

That being said, I can't say that the barrel system would be very useful for a longtail breeder. (I've considered it for our own Phoenixs.) Why? well for one even though each bird gets plenty of space to roam around in they have just the barrel to roost in which means turning around inside it will bust the tail feathers. The cord itself will also become entangled with the feathers and can pull them out. Finally, the barrel's size doesn't offer enough protection from the elements for the tail feathers and soon you'll have a muddy busted up mess.

You would likely be much better off building a row of pens that are about 4'-6' wide per stall, 6-8' long, 6' at the back end and 7-8' at the front end with the roost at the front end at 6' tall. they'd be put in a row like this (this one is a pretty bare-bones version).

http://media.photobucket.com/image/rooster flypen/AREN1201/Picture010.jpg

some more versions

http://media.photobucket.com/image/rooster flypen/wildfoot_photos/DSC00029.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/rooster flypen/bricciojr/SDC104031.jpg

 

[Soli]

Vcomb, those are nice runs!

I have a similar plan in the works for breeding runs where selected groups of a rooster and 3-5 hens can live and maintain their feather with high perches and roomy enough to maintain good feather. Probably at the outset I will be looking at 6-8 runs, which should be enough for the next year or two.

I was trying to figure out how to grow out the cull and "extra" roos to full-tailed adulthood in an efficient manner but it may be best just to sell or process the culls when I make that decision. I'll try for a bachelor run, but roos being roos, it will probably only work for ones hatched and raised together.

I'm really grateful for all the info on the barrel huts - and glad to know it isn't always illegal.

 

[TimBurma]

I was also wondering about this as I have two extra male gamecocks(Burmese) that can't keep with my main group but I don't want to get rid of. My question wouldn't be about the barrels, but about tethering. What are the pros and cons of tethering a bird?

 

[mtnlady621]

Doesn't anyone but me think raising game cock for fighting is cruel and wrong and illegal??

 

[aart]

Doesn't anyone but me think raising game cock for fighting is cruel and wrong and illegal??

Of course, but remember not all barrel users are fighters.

I use barrels and I've never fought a bird in my life so not all folks who use them are involved in anything illegal.

 

[mtnlady621]

Of course, but remember not all barrel users are fighters.

I did not mean to allude that tht's all they were used for. In fact, I am new in KY and have seen these barrel huts(but they are vertically set not horizontally) and my question is what are they used for? And the one home I saw them used at had chickens all over the yard, so I couldn't understand how someone would house so many chickens this way. It seems easier to have 1 large coop. Please someone enlighten me... thank you.

 

[3KillerBs]

I did not mean to allude that tht's all they were used for. In fact, I am new in KY and have seen these barrel huts(but they are vertically set not horizontally) and my question is what are they used for? And the one home I saw them used at had chickens all over the yard, so I couldn't understand how someone would house so many chickens this way. It seems easier to have 1 large coop. Please someone enlighten me... thank you.

Because game breed roosters will fight each other. That's what they were breed to do for centuries, even millennia.

If a person wants to raise and/or show game type chickens there has to be a means of separating the roosters and the little barrel huts are time-tested and effective.

Raising them doesn't mean fighting them.