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LOL, Illia, I don`t know if you have had the opportunity to talk to, or read any writings by Julia Keeling (The Shamo Lady). She`s a sweetheart and based on the Isle of Mann. A quote from her that I think really sums up Shamos is, "they are big puddings until they reach a certain age". Indeed, most Shamo do not "Turn On" until around a year old.
To address Stacy`s question about aggression, I have to say that the term "game" does not apply to aggressive or mean. Game as a term applied to gamefowl simply means that the bird will not run from an opponent, even if he is losing. I`m sure all of us in this discussion realize that any rooster will fight a stranger. A game rooster is deemed to be agressive because he is an athlete and has the temperment and agility to deliver the mail, so to speak, without the inclination to run or fly over the fence to get away from an opponent. Often gamefowl are misconstrued as "mean", when just the opposite is true, especially when it comes to orientals. Asils and Shamo are extremely man friendly, but like any rooster, they cannot be kept with other roosters. The exception to the other rooster rule, being the wooses that most people keep in their flocks.
So, that leaves me with the statement that aggression cannot be bred out. Gameness, on the other hand, is a gonner after the first cross, in most instances. Manfighters are far more likely to occur in regular barnyard types, that in any game breed, simply because cockers do not tolerate manfighters. They are, almost wthout exception, culled as soon as they appear and are never bred. Orientals are gentle to handle and even those that are not used to handling calm down immediately when picked up. American, Spanish, Irish, etc. games are more flighty and take a little more willpower to subdue, but no manfighters are allowed. Hope this sheds a little light on the subject.......Pop
LOL, Illia, I don`t know if you have had the opportunity to talk to, or read any writings by Julia Keeling (The Shamo Lady). She`s a sweetheart and based on the Isle of Mann. A quote from her that I think really sums up Shamos is, "they are big puddings until they reach a certain age". Indeed, most Shamo do not "Turn On" until around a year old.
To address Stacy`s question about aggression, I have to say that the term "game" does not apply to aggressive or mean. Game as a term applied to gamefowl simply means that the bird will not run from an opponent, even if he is losing. I`m sure all of us in this discussion realize that any rooster will fight a stranger. A game rooster is deemed to be agressive because he is an athlete and has the temperment and agility to deliver the mail, so to speak, without the inclination to run or fly over the fence to get away from an opponent. Often gamefowl are misconstrued as "mean", when just the opposite is true, especially when it comes to orientals. Asils and Shamo are extremely man friendly, but like any rooster, they cannot be kept with other roosters. The exception to the other rooster rule, being the wooses that most people keep in their flocks.
So, that leaves me with the statement that aggression cannot be bred out. Gameness, on the other hand, is a gonner after the first cross, in most instances. Manfighters are far more likely to occur in regular barnyard types, that in any game breed, simply because cockers do not tolerate manfighters. They are, almost wthout exception, culled as soon as they appear and are never bred. Orientals are gentle to handle and even those that are not used to handling calm down immediately when picked up. American, Spanish, Irish, etc. games are more flighty and take a little more willpower to subdue, but no manfighters are allowed. Hope this sheds a little light on the subject.......Pop
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