Historic Presence of Jungle Fowl in the American Deep South

[Chicken Heel]

That was what I read about the Carolina bantams. Natural selection made them mostly black with flecks of red or brown in the hens and some roosters, while other roosters retained the natural brown red/BBR coloration. I recently turned 4 not quite half-grown black and brown OEGBs into the woods at the far end of my farm and they blended right in to the understory. Hardwoods in the deep southeast have a tendency to have dark soil and understory. BTW, of the 4, 1 made it back to the OEGB coop a week later. I haven't seen any sign of the other 3 but I haven't looked down in the swamp I turned them loose in either. I was impressed that he survived a week in the woods.

Here's some pics of the Christmas hatch:

Raptor's (actually later than the Christmas hatch):
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Oddly colored pullet:
View attachment 2116359

Hei Hei's (I'm keeping this one)
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I ended up with 35 bitties from 4 hens off of the last batch that all sat at the same time. They've lost 5 bitties free ranging but so be it. I think I have a big enough flock I can afford to let the strongest survive.

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The more I read your description of the Carolina Bantams, they sound most like what my Grandpa Shook had in the mountains of NW North Carolina in the 1960's. His chickens had free run of the property surrounding his two barns that included pastures and hardwood forests. Your description of the hens and roosters are what I recall his looking like. He gave me my first chickens that included a mostly black hen and 12 chicks. A year later I had more than 80 running loose on our property in Burke County NC. One hen came out of a brush pile with 18 chicks that spring. Your picture above reminded of that moment in time.

 

[Don 27]

That was what I read about the Carolina bantams. Natural selection made them mostly black with flecks of red or brown in the hens and some roosters, while other roosters retained the natural brown red/BBR coloration. I recently turned 4 not quite half-grown black and brown OEGBs into the woods at the far end of my farm and they blended right in to the understory. Hardwoods in the deep southeast have a tendency to have dark soil and understory. BTW, of the 4, 1 made it back to the OEGB coop a week later. I haven't seen any sign of the other 3 but I haven't looked down in the swamp I turned them loose in either. I was impressed that he survived a week in the woods.

Here's some pics of the Christmas hatch:

Raptor's (actually later than the Christmas hatch):
View attachment 2116355

Oddly colored pullet:
View attachment 2116359

Hei Hei's (I'm keeping this one)
View attachment 2116360

View attachment 2116365

View attachment 2116367

View attachment 2116362

View attachment 2116364

View attachment 2116371

I ended up with 35 bitties from 4 hens off of the last batch that all sat at the same time. They've lost 5 bitties free ranging but so be it. I think I have a big enough flock I can afford to let the strongest survive.

View attachment 2116354

Where did you read about the natural selection of colors in the batams?
By the way , very nice birds!. In the future years it will be interesting to see what your birds turn out to be .

Unfortunately with my birds I recently lost four hens and a rooster in one night. They were sleeping up 7ft in a open barn . I started letting birds sleep up in the barn a year ago. I would have thought if something was going to get them it would have been sooner, so I slowly started letting more birds sleep up in their. What do you suppose got then? The only remnants left were feathers and my rooster found dead in the field . He didn't appear to have any punctures in the skin or missing feathers. I think what pulled the predators in was the night before the kill I got home late and forgot to lock my broody hen up. The next morning she was nowhere to be found. Since then I have started trapping, I haven't got anything yet but something did fire the traps off last night.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Where did you read about the natural selection of colors in the batams?
By the way , very nice birds!. In the future years it will be interesting to see what your birds turn out to be .

Unfortunately with my birds I recently lost four hens and a rooster in one night. They were sleeping up 7ft in a open barn . I started letting birds sleep up in the barn a year ago. I would have thought if something was going to get them it would have been sooner, so I slowly started letting more birds sleep up in their. What do you suppose got then? The only remnants left were feathers and my rooster found dead in the field . He didn't appear to have any punctures in the skin or missing feathers. I think what pulled the predators in was the night before the kill I got home late and forgot to lock my broody hen up. The next morning she was nowhere to be found. Since then I have started trapping, I haven't got anything yet but something did fire the traps off last night.

This is some good reading for the purposes of my original questions in this thread and it talks about the Carolina bantam:

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1762&context=etd

I couldn’t say what may have got your birds. Many predators can climb and once pandemonium started chickens may have ended up on the ground. Got a free range dog around? I think my dog is the biggest reason I’ve lost so few chickens to predators.

 

[Don 27]

This is some good reading for the purposes of my original questions in this thread and it talks about the Carolina bantam:

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1762&context=etd

I couldn’t say what may have got your birds. Many predators can climb and once pandemonium started chickens may have ended up on the ground. Got a free range dog around? I think my dog is the biggest reason I’ve lost so few chickens to predators.

No, we don't have a dog or have I seen one around. The way I designed the roosts is the attacker would have to climb almost upside down on a two by four at a 140 degree angle to get to the birds. The only animal I can think of that would be able to pull that move off would be a raccoon. Unfortunately I only have two game roosters left . Where do your birds sleep ? Do you have any tips on how to have a successful free range flock? I have reinforced the barn and predator proofed it. The poor weather has delayed any clutches my hens have attempted before they were killed.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Look at this beauty. I have named him Ragnar and he shall be one of my keepers.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

No, we don't have a dog or have I seen one around. The way I designed the roosts is the attacker would have to climb almost upside down on a two by four at a 140 degree angle to get to the birds. The only animal I can think of that would be able to pull that move off would be a raccoon. Unfortunately I only have two game roosters left . Where do your birds sleep ? Do you have any tips on how to have a successful free range flock? I have reinforced the barn and predator proofed it. The poor weather has delayed any clutches my hens have attempted before they were killed.

I believe a 24-7 free range dog is the biggest predator deterrent. It doesn’t have to be a dedicated livestock guardian breed. Just anything that’s reasonably large and is possessive of its territory.

Part of my flock sleeps in a locked coop and part sleeps up in the trees. Hens with bitties sleep on the ground for a long time. Some go in the coop. Others just find sheltered places outside.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Look at this beauty. I have named him Ragnar and he shall be one of my keepers.View attachment 2153243

He is nice looking....

 

[Don 27]

I believe a 24-7 free range dog is the biggest predator deterrent. It doesn’t have to be a dedicated livestock guardian breed. Just anything that’s reasonably large and is possessive of its territory.

Part of my flock sleeps in a locked coop and part sleeps up in the trees. Hens with bitties sleep on the ground for a long time. Some go in the coop. Others just find sheltered places outside.

We use to have a dog.. but... The neighbors train police dogs and they can be aggressive animals.

My dog would bark at the trainers and some of them were the picky type of people to say the least. So I got rid of him before I made any enemies.

 

[Don 27]

Look at this beauty. I have named him Ragnar and he shall be one of my keepers.View attachment 2153243

That bird looks almost perfect!

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Do any of you mix your own feed?