Historic Presence of Jungle Fowl in the American Deep South

[Chickenosauurs_RexNo54]

Yes as to both questions.

Thank you, good luck with all of your projects they are all so interesting and unique!

 

[Red Mangrove]

My original gamefowl were given to me by a Nicaraguan friend, and I suspect they have mixed American and Spanish game ancestry. In fact, I suspect the majority of Floridian gamefowl are like this, given our heavy historical influence from Latin America

This is probably a mostly good thing, given how most purebred animals suffer from tremendous genetic bottlenecking

It seems like my F1 hybrids of gamefowl and any other breed are the most hardy animals I have. AGF and RJF hybrids are particularly tough

 

[Krugerrand]

fascinating thread. thank you for it.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I’ve got two sets of improved Crackers growing out. One set is of 8 and their mother will disappear with them for a day or two at a time between sighting around the house. They seem resilient and well formed.

The second set is of 14 that I’m keeping in a large coop that I’m moving with my truck like a chicken tractor. Their mother is the rarest prize I have, a straight combed, half-aseel that came out looking like a pure Cracker just larger. Her father carried the straight combed recessive gene. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, she grew up deep in the woods with no human care for several months of her life. So her free range credentials are proven, but I’m not letting her out of the coop, likely ever. She gets fresh vegetation and dirt by me moving the coop. Lanky the cock grew up free range since chickhood.

When these chicks are old enough I’ll turn them out to see how they do. If they do as awesome as I think they will, I plan on keeping this pair together for their natural lives and constantly spam chicks.

 

[LTAY1946]

View attachment 3550280

I’ve got two sets of improved Crackers growing out. One set is of 8 and their mother will disappear with them for a day or two at a time between sighting around the house. They seem resilient and well formed.

View attachment 3550278

The second set is of 14 that I’m keeping in a large coop that I’m moving with my truck like a chicken tractor. Their mother is the rarest prize I have, a straight combed, half-aseel that came out looking like a pure Cracker just larger. Her father carried the straight combed recessive gene. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, she grew up deep in the woods with no human care for several months of her life. So her free range credentials are proven, but I’m not letting her out of the coop, likely ever. She gets fresh vegetation and dirt by me moving the coop. Lanky the cock grew up free range since chickhood.

When these chicks are old enough I’ll turn them out to see how they do. If they do as awesome as I think they will, I plan on keeping this pair together for their natural lives and constantly spam chicks.

Beautiful Birds. I want to be in line for a few when the time comes.

 

[Marc Grines]

Hello,

I have a two fold question. First, can anyone either tell me about or point me to resources discussing whether red jungle fowl, RJF hybrids, or closely derivative breeds, were used as farm or game chickens in the American deep south in the late 1800s or early 1900s?

Second, to what degree are American game bantams or American game chickens derivative of red jungle fowl, and what behavioral traits do those American breeds share with RJF?

Here’s why I ask. My family has lived in Florida since the early 1800s. Specifically on the north central and north parts of the peninsula. The environment is sub tropical in those areas. My family were backwoods farmers and hunters until the mid 1900s. Our ethnic group is called the Florida Cracker (yes that’s our real name, you can wiki it). I was raised by my grandparents of that older generation. When I was a child they gifted me with my own chickens. I raised normal breeds such as Road Island Reds and Americanas.

When I was in middle school an uncle gifted me with the kind of chickens my ancestors traditionally raised on their backwoods farms and what they always had growing up. They were only generically called “game chickens.” No other name was known or given to them.

They behaved differently than my other chickens. They roosted in the trees at night. The hens wouldn’t nest in the nest boxes in the coop, but instead they hid their nests in the woods and on fence lines. The rooster was more protective of the hens and would even call them over to get bugs instead of eat them himself. Because of how they hid their nests they weren’t great egg chickens but they were great at surviving free range. All they really needed was a water source.

Now many years later I own my own farm in the Florida woods. I’m looking for those traditional Florida homestead “game” chickens but no one I know has them anymore. I want them both for the nostalgia and for the practicality of having a more predator resistant bird.

Physically the pictures I can find that look just like them are Indian Red Jungle Fowl. The color and size are right. But I’ve also found some pictures of American game bantams that look like them as well. And some Old English bantams.

I cannot recall the leg color of our “game” chickens. I do know they never had an “eclipse” molt based on what I’ve read about eclipse molts in the jungle fowl thread here. Their personalities weren’t overly skittish of humans but they preferred to keep their distance. More than anything their roosting in trees and hiding their nests seemed defining. They reminded me of little wild turkeys in chicken form in their habits. Or maybe a better way to put it is that they had some ways about them more like guineas than chickens.

I do have some red jungle fowl chicks on reserve from a farm in central Florida. I don’t care if they’re pure or not, I only care about them approximating what I grew up with and what my ancestors may have been keeping in 1900.

Any ideas what a Florida Cracker “game” chicken might be? One uncle called them “Spanish” game chickens. Many of our traditional domestic animals such as the Cracker cow and Cracker horse are directly related to livestock the Spaniards brought that subsequently adapted to Florida. Would there be reason to believe the Spanish had access to jungle fowl-like chickens that adapted to here? Or were we perhaps raising some form of wild phase American game chicken?

I am looking to purchase some hatching RJF cracker eggs to take to a private island in Bahamas.
If available please let me know. I had some grey jungle fowl live birds out of Georgia available but to much red tape to get live birds thru customs in Bahamas.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Something I forgot to add about the pic of the 14 roosting chicks is in that pic they’re just 4 weeks old. I am very pleased that they could fly up to a high roost. A big problem I have with hens across various lines of mine is them flying to roost when the chicks are only 2-3 weeks old and the chicks simply can’t do it. So it seems this specific pairing has produced an entire brood that is maturing more rapidly than other lines on my farm. The hen did her part by staying with them on the ground until they were ready, and they did their part by responding to her prompts to fly up.

I’m itching to turn them out because the coop is getting crowded as they grow. But if I can wait another month I think that would be the right time to turn them out.

 

[Appalachian homestead]

I noticed in the pic of them roosting that some are tucked under Lanky. Does he help take care of the chicks or just tolerate them?

 

[Chicken Heel]

Something I forgot to add about the pic of the 14 roosting chicks is in that pic they’re just 4 weeks old. I am very pleased that they could fly up to a high roost. A big problem I have with hens across various lines of mine is them flying to roost when the chicks are only 2-3 weeks old and the chicks simply can’t do it. So it seems this specific pairing has produced an entire brood that is maturing more rapidly than other lines on my farm. The hen did her part by staying with them on the ground until they were ready, and they did their part by responding to her prompts to fly up.

View attachment 3572392

I’m itching to turn them out because the coop is getting crowded as they grow. But if I can wait another month I think that would be the right time to turn them out.

Very nice looking family... based on your photo and in addition to the rooster and hen, I see 7 pullets and 1 cockerel. What sexes are the remaining ones?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I noticed in the pic of them roosting that some are tucked under Lanky. Does he help take care of the chicks or just tolerate them?

He calls them over to eat treats he finds.