Self Sufficient Breeding vs. Dual Purpose Breeding

[Christiancowboy]

If they are like mine, they will immediately hop to the 4' height and cross over - that's what they do with all my gates, and a couple will actually flap and "walk" up chicken wire to get a bit higher, so they can go over. I added stand off electric fencing to "discourage" that behavior.

Actually, game fowl should be better at it than mine, since my mutts are mostly from heavier bodied dual purpose breeds - Brahma, Wynadotte, "Rainbows" (Hoover Hatchery), and some spawn of Comets - my smallest birds.

Well, mine are going to be in several acre sections, with lots of room. So, they're not so apt to be trying to fly over an 8 foot high fence. I'm sure I'll have an occasional one get out, but that's part of it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Well, mine are going to be in several acre sections, with lots of room. So, they're not so apt to be trying to fly over an 8 foot high fence. I'm sure I'll have an occasional one get out, but that's part of it.

Yes, I have 30 acres, my chickens are officially confined to roughly 5 of those acres, and they routinely defeat the fence at the 4' height. Just as they routinely go thru the holes in the Red Brand field fencing I own, which is used to provide some border to my goats (who can jump it, but are mostly too lazy to do so). My suspicion is that your game birds will fly to the top of the 4' chicken wire, perch at the heavy wire of your field fence that the chicken wire is secured to, and go thru the grid at that point.

But maybe your birds won't be that smart, or that motivated.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Also curious as to your budget. 8' of field fence around just a couple acres isn't so bad, if you have a cheap way to support 8' of fencing - maybe $540 / 330' length (I was paying $250/330 ft roll at the 4' height when I bought my last one, and know its come up some, since then). But poultry wire is way up in price last I saw - actually more expensive than the field fence. I bought a 4'x50' roll a couple days ago for my rabbit run - $60. The new stuff on the shelf lowes was changing suppliers for was $100 for the same roll size (4x50).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and the more I think about it, since OK, Redbrand, and the others I famaliar with only make fences up to about 4' height, I'm curious as to how you intend to erect an 8' fence of field fencing. Maybe you had something other than this stuff in mind? Its not designed to be suspended, even if you could get enough conveniently spaced trees, 10' substitutes for T-posts, whatever to affix them, and the corners would be some impressive engineering. Guy lines and earth augurs?

 

[Geena]

Indeed, I think you'd probably need 12 ft posts to effectively hold up an 8 ft wire fence, without any leaning or sagging, depending on what kind of soil you have. I put my T-posts 3 ft in the ground for a 5 ft fence. For several acres that would be quite the project and very expensive.

 

[Shadrach]

First Off, No One dictates to me about my faith in Christ, or speaking of it? NO ONE!!!
It's not that I'm Trying to do it with game chickens. I grew up doing it with game chickens and still am doing it with game chickens.
The only thing I'm experimenting with is crossing them with a few different dual purpose breeds to add a little bit more size. I'm looking at breeding till I'm around 3/4 to 7/8 game, and see if that add some size, while maintaining self sufficiency.

I'm going to give you the courtesy of a reply and then you're going on ignore as well.
Nobody who has been raising and breeding chickens with your intended goal would come onto BYC and ask for the advice you are asking for.
Nobody who knows the first thing about chickens would set about trying to achieve your aims with trying to cross game fowl with so called dual purpose breeds. There are some very good reasons for this which I'm not going to go into because with your experience you should already know why.
There are breeds with the characteristics you are looking for but they are not game fowl and one wouldn't start such a project with contained chickens.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

...and now, having had the chance to review your other posts, and to think further on this project you propose...

I find your claims of expertise and experience to strain credulity, the planning of this project to be poor (at best), the likely expense well in excess of any eventual cost savings (and thus, wasteful over any reasonable time scale), the results unverifiable, while your choices to both avoid critical details (like general location/climate) and to hide behind your faith to be boorish, if not simply trollish.

In brief, I think you are lying.

You are, of course, welcome to create a thread documenting your project efforts (as I have), and prove me wrong. I'm mature enough to admit error, and mature enough to seek input of the more experienced (as is well documented in the linked thread, and elsewhere).

Rather than doing you the courtesy of ignoring your posts, however - I'll either disregard or (if its on a topic for which I have relevant experience, education, or other expertise) correct it as I become aware of it.

In the words of Gene Wilder, as Willy Wonka (the original, not the Johnny Depp monstrosity), "Good Day to you Sir!"

 

[Christiancowboy]

If they are like mine, they will immediately hop to the 4' height and cross over - that's what they do with all my gates, and a couple will actually flap and "walk" up chicken wire to get a bit higher, so they can go over. I added stand off electric fencing to "discourage" that behavior.

Actually, game fowl should be better at it than mine, since my mutts are mostly from heavier bodied dual purpose breeds - Brahma, Wynadotte, "Rainbows" (Hoover Hatchery), and some spawn of Comets - my smallest birds.

Well, mine are going to be in several acre sections, with lots of room. So, they're not so apt to be trying to fly over an 8 foot high fence. I'm sure I'll have an occasional one get out, but that's part of it.

I'm going to give you the courtesy of a reply and then you're going on ignore as well.
Nobody who has been raising and breeding chickens with your intended goal would come onto BYC and ask for the advice you are asking for.
Nobody who knows the first thing about chickens would set about trying to achieve your aims with trying to cross game fowl with so called dual purpose breeds. There are some very good reasons for this which I'm not going to go into because with your experience you should already know why.
There are breeds with the characteristics you are looking for but they are not game fowl and one wouldn't start such a project with contained chickens.

No body would do it huh? Well I'm very sorry to spoil your perfect record of knowing it all. However, someone has tried it, and her breed was recognized in 1903. It's the Buckeye chickens. They are 3/4 duel purpose and 1/4 game. So, if I were you, I'd start being more careful about letting your alligator mouth overload your hummingbird backside...
Being ignored by you is an actual blessing. It means one less ignorant mouthy disrespectful drama person I have to deal with... blessings...

 

[MountainMarans2012]

I imagine that most people look at this heading, and think "What's the difference"? To me there's a huge difference! Think about it? What is a dual purpose chicken, and what is a free range chicken?
I grew up raising Game Chickens all my life. Our hens that we weren't breeding, just ran out and free ranged. I've seen game hens fly a block in the air to get away from predators. Plus, we didn't even feed them, except every once in a while I'd give them a little. To me, this is the definition of a "True Free Range Chicken". They can survive on their own, and are very good at avoiding predators. They're setbacks, are they're smaller body wise. A rooster weights 5-6lbs, and hen around 4lbs. There eggs are smaller, but actually richer.
As for a "Dual Purpose Chicken Breeds", there are many. They've been raised to produce lots of eggs, and be a decent size for meat. While they meet these needs, their abilities are limited in the free range self sufficiency department.
More and more people like myself are starting homesteading and raising our own food in an effort to be self sufficient. Chickens are a main source of food, and they pick a "Dual Purpose Chicken Breed" or breeds. However, they soon realize, that these dual purpose chickens require a lot of care and feed, even free ranging them. Thus, the goal of self sufficient is not as achievable as they thought with chickens.
This is were my experience with Game Chickens, has lead me to raising Game Chickens for the purpose of free ranging and self sufficiency. I'm also experimenting with crossing Game Chickens over Dual Purpose Chickens to add a little size. Are any of you doing any breeding of Game and Dual Purpose Crosses for the benefit of a self sufficient chicken?

I like your topic we're living in troubled times and feed costs have skyrocketed.
Glad someone is thinking outside the box.
I've been reading about the Gypsy Chickens that roam free in the Florida Keys.
They've existed for centuries since Spanish Conquistadors dropped the original chickens off by sailing ships
Game fowl is a good breed to work with as they are aware of predators and roost in trees at night like Guinea fowl or peafowl.
I wish I lived in a area not so close to neighbors and had greener wooded areas.
I live on 1-1/2 acres all down hill no brush as we have to clear by June 1st due to extreme fire danger.
Living at 3,000 feet in the California Sierras
Dry drought conditions with wild fires close by every year.
I will follow your progress as it's a great subject I'd like to learn by

 

[Christiancowboy]

I like your topic we're living in troubled times and feed costs have skyrocketed.
Glad someone is thinking outside the box.
I've been reading about the Gypsy Chickens that roam free in the Florida Keys.
They've existed for centuries since Spanish Conquistadors dropped the original chickens off by sailing ships
Game fowl is a good breed to work with as they are aware of predators and roost in trees at night like Guinea fowl or peafowl.
I wish I lived in a area not so close to neighbors and had greener wooded areas.
I live on 1-1/2 acres all down hill no brush as we have to clear by June 1st due to extreme fire danger.
Living at 3,000 feet in the California Sierras
Dry drought conditions with wild fires close by every year.
I will follow your progress as it's a great subject I'd like to learn by

There's a guy YouTube who has what you're calling Gypsy Chickens. He calls them Jungle Fowl. I've noticed that Cackle Hatchery is now selling Jungle Fowl chicks. When I look at them, they are basically game chickens.
We're working on getting our whole place fenced, and cross fenced, and predator proof. Meanwhile, I've been incubating eggs, and hatching in numbers. The plan is to place different breeding groups in each of the sub divided areas to breed and multiply. My crossing the game with dual purpose breeds, is an experiment to add a little more size, and still maintain the self sufficiency of the game chickens. I'm figuring on crossing them out to about 7/8 game, and 1/8 dual purpose. I'm still raising pure game chickens to fall back on.
Yes, my reason is I know and understand the times we're in, and being as self sufficient in every way is my goal.
Most people don't realize that game chickens lay a lot more eggs then they think. Mine lay 5-6 eggs per week. Plus, in comparison to the dual purpose eggs. The game eggs are smaller, but they are much richer in flavor. That's even with the dual purpose breeds free ranging. The game chickens eat many more things that are different than the dual purpose breeds do, which makes the eggs much richer, and what makes them able to self sustain.
Egg production, and meat production, aren't so important, if you have the quality of chickens to sustain you.
There are many people here in Missouri close to me who have moved here from California to homestead.