American Gamefowl

[ShannonR]

All of my stags except one are BBR. Some have spangles on them and some do not. The one who isn-t BBR has a lot of white and tons of spangle. What is the "proper" look for BBR?

 

[JShubin]

All of my stags except one are BBR. Some have spangles on them and some do not. The one who isn-t BBR has a lot of white and tons of spangle. What is the "proper" look for BBR?

BBR is a common thing. Its the original color. Red Jungle Fowl (from which all chickens come from) are BBR with Dark legs and straight comb...

BBR can vary a lot in color too... For example some are dark red hackle, some are golden (lemon hackle), some have white streamers in the tail (usually yellow leg birds have that).

 

[roosterhavoc]

When it comes to gamefowl they’re either game or not. There is no middle ground. Once mature they’ll either fight til their last breath or run. All roosters fight for territory and hens. Some are tougher than others but none are truly “game” like gamefowl.

 

[JShubin]

 

[roosterhavoc]

Too many people try to “improve” gamefowl into something they aren’t which is ridiculous. There’s tons of chicken breeds out there that fit the bill.

 

[JShubin]

@ShannonR This is my favorite rooster and what I want most of mine to look like, regardless of colors. I like him because of his Health, Size, Strength and he was the dominant among his siblings. His wings are long and he is balanced (medium-high station). And his feathering is nice and full.

Its not about colors or breeds or any specific trait, it about the selecting the overall best IMO.

 

[SOHC-FTW]

Ain't but one way to have fowl and that's with game in front of its name and all in its heart and mind. To many have tried to reinvent the wheel and lost this important quality and integrity and once it's gone well you'll likely be chasing your tail for many many years. To me that is the upmost important quality of gamefowl without that you just have sorta gamefowl almostgamefowl an pretendfowl. Ignore colors all together if you indeed care to have gamefowl.

The honest truth is if you do right by them they'll do right by you it don't matter if they are penned from the start or free ranged till they go to killing another none of which makes the bird, but it does help you see some things earlier on amongst other things and unless something is bad or obviously astray with em they'll grow out till 12-14months and be chosen then.

We all do things a bit differently but I'd be darn if I'll ever let anything over 9months still prance around other male birds period just ain't going to fly. I have my own set of requirements as do most but most things were gonna agree on in a round about way and I'd bet 98% agree with that last statement and it doesn't matter if you're from here, Mexico,Cuba or halfway across the world a duds a dud and they need not be kept or sold or given away.

 

[ShannonR]

@ShannonR This is my favorite rooster and what I want most of mine to look like, regardless of colors. I like him because of his Health, Size, Strength and he was the dominant among his siblings. His wings are long and he is balanced (medium-high station). And his feathering is nice and full.

Its not about colors or breeds or any specific trait, it about the selecting the overall best IMO.
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He is a pretty boy!

I've got one or two youngsters I've been looking at... one of them has obviously been scrapping with his brothers, might be time to put him into a pen.

What do y'all keep for hens? What's the criteria there?

 

[SOHC-FTW]

Watch for leg speed on hens I was told this by a man with 50years on his fowl and still going strong it'll carry over to the sons. Another thing I like to watch for is will that does not exactly mean they are the meanest birds, but not one that's gonna let another run over them regardless of it's "ranking". If you got birds on cords you can watch and learn from hens that way as well. With how I do it I've got way more time in watching pullets than stags till they grow out that is usually the gut and eyes are a good base to start with don't breed anything you aren't confident in and always single mate especially if it's new blood but just get into the practice of it anyhow it's easier to track down those who produce studs or duds.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

....a duds a dud and they need not be kept or sold or given away.

I’ve read that sorta statement many times, and I understand it and agree with it....

...but we were given gamefowl pullets/hens when I was a kid that were allowed to run loose and mix with our barnyard rooster... these came from a gamefowl man of some reputation that kept his own line for 50 years or so... I always assumed these were his culls? He probably had 300+ birds or so at that time...

So now I wonder, does the “though shalt not give away duds” rule apply to only males, or does it apply to females too?

Or were those we were given just extras but not truly culls? ...

... or maybe Mr. Archie just knew us and knew we weren’t ever going to pass them off as gamefowl (I barely understood what they were at the time)... I guess there’s no way to know for sure these days, just curious.