9-week old free-range birds attacking each other

[Miss Lydia]

My chickens free range well not so much right now we have a ft. of snow on the ground, but they go and come as they please. except at night everyone is locked up tight. I think think it's the nature of the bird. To me American games are more like the jungle fowl than any breed I have seen, My birds go out in the woods, they just seem more cut out for the type of mountainous living we have, I have 2 roos now Father and son and they coexist very well together, when I was deciding on the roos I wanted to keep, I chose the 2 of course at different times that were more mellow, didn't feel as though they had to prove anything, it has been great for our flock. Centracid why did you have so many game chickens at one time? I really like the breed, have you ever seen the wild chickens in Key west thats what they look like to me.

 

[BooBear]

The Op may have a more aggressive breed if they are fighting so young. Especially with the locals breeding them for fight stock. Makes me think of the Shamo breed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds like it for sure.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
We kept our games for naughty purposes. We did not employ more controlled breeding systems used by naughty people of today except with our best broodstock. Larger flocks enabled tri-purpose usage: fryers, eggs and naughtiness. Larger numbers also provided buffer against catastrophic losses associated with predators, barn burning down, theives etc..

Feral Key West chickens likely in part of game chicken origin, maybe large part. If they are truelly wild, then I think they are entirely derived from undomesticated red jungle fowl stock. I have not seen those but I am familiar with feral populations on the Hawian Island of Kawaii (sp?) which are of a gamechicken / mix origin. The Key West birds I suspect are much more capable of dealing with predators than are those in Hawaii.

Games (American and Old English) are much more capable of surviving feral to near feral conditions owing to smarts and physical capabilites. They are great and willing experimental subjects as well.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
The level aggessiveness reported does not require Shamo genetics, other game breeds also inclined to behave as such under some social conditions.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I really like my game hen, she is adopted out of that same kind of breeding stock you are talking about the latter, she is a little more on the nervous side as are some of her grand daughters who by the way look alot like her, but She really knows her stuff and has taught it well to her group. The sport is very popular around here thats why we process out roos instead of giving them away or selling them.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
I have found them to be extremely easy to condition for purpose of handling. They are the only breed I have seen where a free range hen with chicks will bring her bitties to me and allow me to weight the little guys without flogging. Their langauge also appears more complex although not as complex as my very flighty red jungle fowl.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don't think I ever enjoyed anything as much as watching my hen with her chicks, She would leave with them in the morning and come back in late afternoon, at 2 days old. I would worry so much that they weren't getting enough to eat, but finally I saw her bring them in every once in a while for food but mostly they just foraged. It was so cool, she did a great job, and when it was time for them to be on their own she wouldn't go into the coop with them but stayed out in a tree all night I just knew the next day I wouldn't find her or I would find a pile of feathers, but nope there she was, so we ended up making another coop for her and some of my other hens so her brood could be on the on.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Feather piles we had were caused by hogs catching sick birds on ground at night or roosters fighting (and caught by hogs). Come to think of it hogs ate as many chickens as we did in terms of numbers. Virtually all our brood fowl, excepting males, where not confined. Many either chose or had to roost in trees, otherwise rafters and hay ropes used as roosts. Hens with chicks settled at night either in mangers or even in dog house with dogs until chicks ready for elevated roost. For us breeding most reliable with free ranged birds. Chicks very vulnerable to social strife of cock yard where hens were greatest threat to each other offspring. Free ranging hens did not seem inclined to harm each others bitties so much.

Dogs seemed to have kept virtually all predators away. Did not have problems with predators until keeping chickens without dogs. Now having to do the Fort Knox thing with non-game breeds until dogs trained up. Dogs also interfered with fighting stags but resulted in slobber covered birds that were nasty to pickup.


Edit: Removed following owing to my poor attention "I never seen hen take food to chicks, she took them to the food. Once hatched never had hen leave chicks until at least 4 weeks post hatch and usually closer to 12 weeks with some going longer yet.

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[Miss Lydia]

no,no she didn't bring food to them.lol she would bring them into to eat off an on through out the day, but not near as often as I thought she should, but what do I know I'm not a hen, Boy mine couldn't stay out after dark here we have every predator there is I think, I have dogs but they don't stay outside so mine get locked up at night. How long have you been keeping chickens?