american game

[floridachickenman]

Has anyone knowledge they can share of americam game chickens? The breeds kelso,hatch and blues are something completely new to me. the roos are stunning! I just got 5 hens and looking for a roo for them. But some of the run in the hundreds to thousands.

 

[cjeanean]

Wow, that's a lot of money!!! Good luck with that one!!! I don't know anything about those chickens, but I don't know who could spend that much money on a chicken!!!

 

[floridachickenman]

check out americangamefowl.org it is very informative and a truly american chicken. let me know what ya think

 

[prariechiken]

The "breed" is American Gamefowl; names like Kelso, Hatch, Allen, Brunner, etc. are breeders names attatched to strains or families developed and raised by these men. There are strains of blues too, whereas blue is the color and names like Koopman, Miner, etc. were the breeders. They are very hardy and disease resistant and do quite well freeranged with little but supplimental foodstuffs. They come in all sorts of colors and styles, (hen feathered, muffed, topknotted, etc.) Good luck with your new girls, would love to see pics....If you are having trouble finding a rooster, drop me a line, would be more than happy to help....

 

[floridachickenman]

thanks for the clarification, im truly impressed with this game fowl. I got mine from a an eldery gentleman in declining health. The young hens i got from him looks just like the pics in feathersite. He had some great looking roos but would not part w/them. Feather site shows grey pullets that are different colors, one sorta redish and one a brownish color. I have 3 browns and 2 reddish hens, could you clarify that for me?
I still am in awe that a hen has spurs. I hope to do my small part in keeping this breed going, so any help w/roo would be nice....tks, mark

 

[wclawrence]

You will find that the breeders of gamefowl are quite willing to help someone who wants to raise some, especially ones that are polite. Where I grew up we learned that the chickens and get togethers were more for enjoyment of company than the winners and losers. Maybe that was just my folks. Anyways we were taught that if we could not take as good care of the chickens as we did ourselves, then we shouldnt have them. We were taught to preserve them, and we were taught how.
Find someone who will show you HOW to preserve them, and do as they say. You will breed good game chickens like that.

 

[prariechiken]

Quote:
If they are greys, then they are from a line of silver or golden duckwing colored roos. What color was the hackles on his roosters? Were they red, yellow, white, or black? What color are their legs, white, yellow, green, blue, black? That would make it easier to tell what your hens may be. To be certain what families they are I would ask the gentleman who you purchased them from what lines he raises. I am sure that he would be more than happy to help. That way you could narrow your search as to what family of rooster to look for to compliment your hens to preserve the family line. Any roo will work, but if you want to keep a "pure" family of a certain strain, you'd want to know what your birds are. Hope this helps, feel free to ask me any questions you may have....good luck with your girls....

Also, I sent ya a pm.....

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

I know I'm reviving an old thread here, but how are these birds as layers? As far as frequency and size of eggs? And do they lay through the winter without a light? Just curious. I'm very fascinated by this breed!

 

[A-Texas-Man]

I know I'm reviving an old thread here, but how are these birds as layers? As far as frequency and size of eggs? And do they lay through the winter without a light? Just curious. I'm very fascinated by this breed!

I have raised American games on my farm for a few years. They are not the best layers, but they are also not the worst. I would describe them as being a very natural birds. By this I mean that they tend to have the instincts that you would expect a wild or non-hybrid bird to have. They are great foragers and very hardy in all types of weather. Just like wild birds, they will completely stop laying in the winter if you don't put a light in their coop. There are a lot of positives to owning them, but there are a few negs. Their biggest neg is the broodiness of the hens. These ladies like to hatch eggs. It is really hard break them when they go broody. And they can be mean when they are on the nest. The other neg is that they are the worst meat bird I have ever raised (if you are interested in meat birds). Their meat is dark and slimy, and they never seem to put on any weight no matter how much you feed them.

Contrary to what you will hear from many other people, in my experience with them, they are not as aggressive as they are rumored to be; if you let them run free, that is. When I first started raising them, everyone told me how mean they were and that you had to keep the roos tethered to keep them from killing each other. True to what I was told, the first two roos I bought (a Hatch and Grey), I had to put a sold wall between them to keep them from seeing each because they would not stop fight through the cage fence. They were not only aggressive towards each other, but the Hatch spurred his owner when I bought him and Grey actually attacked my hand and spurred me the next day. As long as I kept them caged, they were mean, but when I released them into large divided pens with several hens of their own, they calmed right down. Now they are totally free range with no pens at all and I never see them even squabble. In fact, now I have over twenty roos (all offspring from the two originals), that live in peace with each other. The older ones all have established their territory and their hens and as long as that is respected by the other roos, they never even bother each other. This is why I describe them as "Natural" birds. In my opinion, the reason that so many people have problems with Gamefowl roos being aggressive, is that they keep them caged or tethered which is not natural. In nature, all animals establish dominance through battle, even in a heard. Normally these battles are short and dominance is decided early on when the animals are young. But if you bring two adults from two different herds or flocks together all of the sudden you will get a much more intense battle. By keeping the roos tethered and separate, you just set the stage for huge battle if the roos ever meet. Of course, having an ample supply of hens for each roo also help to keep them calm. Hey, even roosters only have so much energy (if you know what I mean).