A new Serama-sized game bantam

[Florida Bullfrog]

The red junglefowl bantam cock is just a bit over 1.5lbs, a lot smaller than the wild bird.

 

[raingarden]

Hey, @Florida Bullfrog. Have you ever been up to Fitzgerald, Georgia to see their wild junglefowl. They have a really interesting story that is worth looking up. They even have a Wild Chicken Festival in the spring. From the photos, they have some junk hybrids roaming around that should be culled. But, they also have authentic-looking RJF. The prominent white earlobes and horizontal tail carriage are impressive.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Hey, @Florida Bullfrog. Have you ever been up to Fitzgerald, Georgia to see their wild junglefowl. They have a really interesting story that is worth looking up. They even have a Wild Chicken Festival in the spring. From the photos, they have some junk hybrids roaming around that should be culled. But, they also have authentic-looking RJF. The prominent white earlobes and horizontal tail carriage are impressive.

I have not been there. I almost reached out to their preservation society to see if I could get some of their birds. There are similar societies in Florida for the Key West and Ybor Cotypopulations that will makes birds available. The Ybor City group actually reached out to me and offered me birds and I respectfully declined.

Like the Fitzgerald birds, nearly all of Florida’s feral flocks are hybrids.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

The micro cock took ill during his molt and died last night after struggling for weeks with what I believe was severe coccidiosis. It is common for my Crackers to succumb to coccidiosis if they’re 1) very red junglefowl-like in appearance and movement and 2) they are not raised free range from chickhood. The micro cock never free ranged and wasn’t exposed to fresh grass until I dumped some in the coop right before he took sick. His BBR sister took sick at the same time and died of the same. Here is what he looked like while he was ailing:

Other than his sickly appearance, he was on his way to looking like a RJF. His legs were long but are not visible in the pic. A far cry from the tiny gamefowl he looked like as a stag.

As for his daughter (I’ll call her Micro-pullet for now), she was exposed to the same grass and is fine. I also have the Blue Red sister of his on free range. Here is is Micro-pullet:

Micro-pullet weighs 17oz as of tonight. She is laying.

I have placed Micro-pullet in the AGB coop with General Lee. I’ll let him breed her and see what we get. Lee is both her great uncle and her grandfather and he himself is a F1 cross between the Cracker brood cock Tyrant and an OEGB hen.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

For my own posterity, I am going to record Micro-pullet’s family tree here while I can still remember it.

Tyrant (Cracker) to OEGB hen
F1 red ears to F1 hen; brother and sister
F1 white ears (uncle) to F2 hen
F3 micro stag to F3 micro hen; brother and sister
F4 current Micro-pullet planned x F1 white ears (great uncle and grandfather to F4)

I am partially starting over on the AGBs, so those parts of the AGB line no longer relevant are going to leave my mind.

 

[raingarden]

I have not been there. I almost reached out to their preservation society to see if I could get some of their birds. There are similar societies in Florida for the Key West and Ybor Cotypopulations that will makes birds available. The Ybor City group actually reached out to me and offered me birds and I respectfully declined.

Like the Fitzgerald birds, nearly all of Florida’s feral flocks are hybrids.

I would take some if I could pick and choose which ones. There's a lot of junk mixed with some nice RJF-looking ones.

My sense is that the hybridization has been going on for a long time in all feral populations in the U.S. The ancestrial genes must be really strong because they keep showing up despite all the pressure. Modern geneticists tend to discount the concept of throw-backs and atavism. But, it's difficult to ignore what you see with your own eyes.

 

[NatJ]

My sense is that the hybridization has been going on for a long time in all feral populations in the U.S. The ancestrial genes must be really strong because they keep showing up despite all the pressure. Modern geneticists tend to discount the concept of throw-backs and atavism. But, it's difficult to ignore what you see with your own eyes.

I have another possible explanation for why the wild-type genes keep showing up: maybe they work better for feral chickens. If white chickens, or black chickens, or bigger chickens (etc) get eaten by predators, the only ones left to breed are the wild-type ones.

 

[Amer]

I have another possible explanation for why the wild-type genes keep showing up: maybe they work better for feral chickens. If white chickens, or black chickens, or bigger chickens (etc) get eaten by predators, the only ones left to breed are the wild-type ones.

There is a selection for the cryptic coloring of females and females seem to prefer more colorful males.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Micro-pullet with General Lee on the roost tonight.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Check this out. I was inventorying free range hens tonight. This one was roosting within reach:

She’s fully grown, having mothered several broods already. She is 14 oz.