hatchery oriental game breeds

[nikkers390]

I ordered some Thai and Madagascar game for 2016 delivery, mainly for the color and pullets only. I love the way they look and particularly love nn chickens. \I had 3 Malays this year and all died within 6 weeks.

 

[dsrtchkn]

I would agree, I tried Ideals saipan, shamo, and malay and was not happy. Once I acquired the real deal, or as pure as I could find, I saw its night and day. The hatchery is a good start to get to know the gameness (I say this because they aren't really game but they kinda act like it) and to have different looking birds on your yard but if you find real birds they are so much better and you will be much happier.

 

[varidgerunner]

You have to remember, the folks that are set up to produce eggs for the hatcheries are not going to supply very many eggs if they use the real deal gamefowl. If you crowd a bunch of hens together, they aren't going to lay good, and if you provide them with a place that they feel comfortable laying, they are going to lay 12 eggs and set on them. Some of them will quit laying if you take their eggs. I have a few that won't lay in a pen, turn them loose and in four weeks they show up with chicks. The same thing that makes the males super aggressive makes the females super maternal. This comes with quirks., but there really is no comparison.

Even though the hatchery prices are high, if you raise real gamefowl, you would have more than those prices in them. If you raised more than just a few it would be a constant struggle dealing with a bunch of individually penned birds. Hard to get people to cough up what they are really worth, though. People will go out and buy an incubator that will only hold 20 eggs and pay $150 for it. You can buy a good game pullet for half that and she will last about as long and doubles as a brooder. But they want that pullet for 10 bucks.

The hatchery suppliers may very well have the real thing on their place, but I doubt very seriously that very many of their best lines go to the hatchery. Not when they can command more for them than the hatchery prices. If I put my Asil chicks in a box, without a hen to keep the peace, people would be picking up a box of parts at the post office. I doubt that would go over well. So the hatchery birds do well to provide birds "for the masses" and give people a taste of what it's like to have gamefowl.

 

[yellowherb]

Anyone order recently from Ideal? Has there been any improvements in the orientals?

I have a order coming 3/23 just a few of each. I'm not experienced in gamefowl and just love chickens in general and the idea of a little "raptor" or two in my yard. I ordered 1 male saipan, 2 pullets, 2 sr each of malay, thai and shamos. I figure what doesn't work gets moved on.

Now even though they are hatchery should I be feeding those saipans fish and other proteins? I thought I could set up a few culture buckets of mosquito fish. My sultans loved fresh minnows lol.