Jungle Fowl

[Ntsees]

...
Are they OK to be released eventually to roam the garden with my chickens... or will they fly off like pheasants?

Nice. Try to share with us some pictures of your new birds if you can.

 

[jak2002003]

Photos coming soon....

Then I hope people can tell me if they are pure breed or not.

Even looking at photos on the web about wild red jungle fowl... so many pictures look different... shape, posture and colouring.

My pair look the right shape and colouring, but the hen has a small comb, and some of the net photos show wild hens with no comb.

I live in Thailand... so maybe the RJF in different countries differ slightly in all that stuff.

Also my roosters comb is a bit floppy. Not sure that is right for 100 percent jungle fowl!!!

OK.. pics ASAP....

 

[jak2002003]

Here are the pics.

I don't mind if they are not pure wild red jungle fowl... they are going to be pets and I like the colour.

They seem a bit flighty. Should I clip their wings before I let them out? I am worried they will just fly away. How long to keep them confined before they get used to their home? Thanks.

 

[centrarchid]

Looks like they might be a product of out crossing with brown leghorn.

 

[Ntsees]

Nice birds. While they do have some wild genes, they are not pure. If you free roam them, whether they'll return or not will be up to them because even chickens can escape and become feral (such as the chickens in Hawaii).

You are right that pure hens would have no comb or wattles. While there are slight differences hence subspecies names were given, pure red junglefowl across their native range are usually consistent . There are more in-depth features to look for when determining whether a male bird is pure or not, but for starters, look at the lesser sickles/sickle-shaped coverts - there should only be 4 (the 5th one is really short and is sometimes hidden). These 4 sickle-shaped coverts should be short and rounded, not lengthy and pointed like your male. The following link will show you pictures of what I mean regarding the lesser sickle coverts (it doesn't matter if you are in India or in Vietnam, those lesser sickle coverts remain consistent): http://www.indianaturewatch.net/view_cat.php?tag=Red jungle fowl

...and, I just love videos (start counting those lesser sickle coverts in the males ) - http://www.hbw.com/ibc/species/5348...rt_by=value&sort_order=DESC&items_per_page=20

Since you live in Thailand, you should be able to have access to pure birds if you look. And if you do decide to get pure birds, I hope you know what you are getting yourself into.

 

[jak2002003]

Nice birds. While they do have some wild genes, they are not pure. If you free roam them, whether they'll return or not will be up to them because even chickens can escape and become feral (such as the chickens in Hawaii).

You are right that pure hens would have no comb or wattles. While there are slight differences hence subspecies names were given, pure red junglefowl across their native range are usually consistent . There are more in-depth features to look for when determining whether a male bird is pure or not, but for starters, look at the lesser sickles/sickle-shaped coverts - there should only be 4 (the 5th one is really short and is sometimes hidden). These 4 sickle-shaped coverts should be short and rounded, not lengthy and pointed like your male. The following link will show you pictures of what I mean regarding the lesser sickle coverts (it doesn't matter if you are in India or in Vietnam, those lesser sickle coverts remain consistent): http://www.indianaturewatch.net/view_cat.php?tag=Red jungle fowl

...and, I just love videos (start counting those lesser sickle coverts in the males

) - http://www.hbw.com/ibc/species/5348...rt_by=value&sort_order=DESC&items_per_page=20

Since you live in Thailand, you should be able to have access to pure birds if you look. And if you do decide to get pure birds, I hope you know what you are getting yourself into.

thanks for those links and the info.

I really like my new birds.. nice colours and behave very differently from my Thai Bantams.

I decided to let them out just 2 days after buying them.

To my surprise they fit right in with my current chicken flock and not even any fighting with pecking order or with the other 3 roosters I have. I have never had such an easy introduction.

Once they are out of the pen they suddenly got much more calm and tame... and will come to me when I offer mealworms.

The evening they followed the other chickens to the big mango tree, where they all roost up high.

I don't think I want pure Jungle fowl now... I am happy with this rooster and hen.. as I love the wild colours. The hen had 3 eggs since I got her and I have put them under a broody hen. So I will have some more look like them.

I now hope they will interbreed with my bantams and give me some nice coloured and good looking mix breeds to keep on my property.

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

I've read up on some of those Pacific Island breeds before but it was before I ever thought about there being breeds out there with some Green Junglefowl blood in them. They sure are different than most domestic chicken breeds including some that have a "laughing" crow...like the Indonesian Laughing Chickens" derived from Bekisars that have definitely have GJF blood. I like the looks of this Quechua that has iridescent feathers reminiscent of GJF and very similar to Ayam Cemani:
http://www.gracefulchickens.com/violaceous-black-pearl/

Lately I've been looking at the Black Quechua/Olmec fowl. They are fibromelanistic, are described as having a "laughing crow" and often lay blue or green eggs (but sometimes just cream). It has been suggested that the blue egg gene originates with the Green Jungle Fowl. The fibromelanistic Ayam Cemani is thought to have some Green Junglefowl genetics and the Indonesian Laughing Chicken is said to have Green Junglefowl ancestry as well. So...I'm really thinking that the Black Quechua/Olmec might be the hens to use in a GJF cross. They are also described as being tolerant of cold and wet conditions...which would be good to counteract the cold sensitivity of the GJF with hardier offspring. The only problem now is the one GJF rooster that I saw for sale for $200 is long gone and it seems that it might be awfully tough to find another. I had assumed that there would be an excess of GJF roosters out there as breeding flocks would contain more hen's than roosters. I'm not really quite set up to get started yet but at least I think I've decided on the route to take.

 

[smoothmule]

Here are the pics.

I don't mind if they are not pure wild red jungle fowl... they are going to be pets and I like the colour.

They seem a bit flighty. Should I clip their wings before I let them out? I am worried they will just fly away. How long to keep them confined before they get used to their home? Thanks.

They don't appear to be pure Red Jungle Fowl. Do you have any documentation from the breeder? Do they "Eclipse" (loose their color and become a dull, nearly black color and the roosters comb will shrink down.

 

[smoothmule]

Lately I've been looking at the Black Quechua/Olmec fowl. They are fibromelanistic, are described as having a "laughing crow" and often lay blue or green eggs (but sometimes just cream). It has been suggested that the blue egg gene originates with the Green Jungle Fowl. The fibromelanistic Ayam Cemani is thought to have some Green Junglefowl genetics and the Indonesian Laughing Chicken is said to have Green Junglefowl ancestry as well. So...I'm really thinking that the Black Quechua/Olmec might be the hens to use in a GJF cross. They are also described as being tolerant of cold and wet conditions...which would be good to counteract the cold sensitivity of the GJF with hardier offspring. The only problem now is the one GJF rooster that I saw for sale for $200 is long gone and it seems that it might be awfully tough to find another. I had assumed that there would be an excess of GJF roosters out there as breeding flocks would contain more hen's than roosters. I'm not really quite set up to get started yet but at least I think I've decided on the route to take.

I have a friend who raises Black Quechua/Olmec fowl and they do not have a laughing crow. Musical? maybe but all roosters have their own voices. I knew an old woman who raised Araucana's some 30+ years ago and she said some of hers had a laughing crow but at that time, breeders were only interested in the tufts and rumpless traits and the crow was lost. Indonesia is banned to import from by every other country that I'm aware of. Until they can get control of the disease in the birds there, no one will ever allow importation from them. Illegal importation might yield a few hatched chicks but they would likely not live long enough to crow or produce and could cause outbreaks here in the US, not to mention huge fines if you're caught.

Green Jungle Fowl are still very rare due to how fragile they are to raise. There are not many breeders and many are opposed to hybridisation because the pure numbers are so low. Even in Indonesia, the wild caught males used to make the Bekisars, often do not survive a full breeding season as they are so susceptible to common poultry diseases. Green JF also are not likely to breed willingly with domestic hens so artificial insemination is how most Bekisars are made. I have friends from Indonesia who breed them. The chicks are fairly hardy (Bekisars) and the cockerels have all sorts of interesting crows but the hens are generally infertile, none known to be fertile. Breeding a Bekisar male back to either a domestic hen or a pure Green JF hen can produce varying degrees of fertility in hens and full fertility in cockerels. I've been studying this for Years. I figure if there was a way to create a laughing crow line of birds here in the US, then those trying for the past 30 yrs would have gotten it done....maybe. Still, it hasn't stopped breeders from trying. I am no different. I bought my first Jungle Fowl this year. I'm hoping to do well producing pure JF (I have Murghi Murghi Reds, Greys, Sri Lanka and Greens) Task number one is to keep them alive through the winter here, where it can be bitterly cold (Yes, they have a building that I can heat) Next, to provide the right environment and change of diet to support breeding and fertile eggs. Then to successfully brood and raise the chicks. If I find I can raise plenty of these guys, I may give some cross breeding a try, with AI only, using a male I raise for this purpose so he can be handled and collected. The other thing about JF, the Greens that is, they are mature and productive at age "4".......so keeping them alive until fully mature can be an expensive challenge.

Then.....after all that, where does one go to build a laughing crow rooster???? It's all a crap shoot without a blueprint and I have asked many breeders of JF in Indonesia about the origins of the Laughing Crow and All I can get from them is that they are just like that, absolutely nothing as far as an idea about what breeds/species were used to make the first ones. And, they don't breed true....... And THIS is why there are no Laughing crow roosters anywhere else in the world but Indonesia, LOL Drives me nuts too.

 

[smoothmule]

I have spent the entire summer getting my JF in peak health for next years breeding season. They were not in the best condition when I got them, they had been breeding. They are all mature birds except for a few younger males. They spent a fair amount of time this summer in Quarantine here before moving them into the building we built for them. About the time I moved them to their new home, the breeding season was ending and they began to go into Eclipse. I was actually glad for that so I could have them.....and me, better prepared for breeding and brooding.

Here in one of my Sri Lanka males






One of my Greens (taken recently, he is in eclipse)





My Greys and Reds look Awful. Males are in eclipse, the combs are tiny and they are very dull compared to their usual vibrant color and pattern. Come spring, or maybe before (?) they will start showing signs of color again and I'll change their diets to a breeding diet.