Assil or Shamo? Hen or rooster?

[fluffycrow]

I rescued this guy when he was about a week old. Found him in my yard, scalped

Ope- turns out I'm really dumb. Do you happen to know of any chicken people in the area, that could potentially have bred/bought him before dumping him?

 

[HeathBar28]

He's a shamo. I'm highly doubtful it is human aggression OR play. He is most likely mistaking your crossed feet as another male, but I will entertain the idea of him being aggressive. You say you rescued him, what exactly does that mean? This will give us more insight as to what this behavior is

I woke up at 530 one morning and let my dogs out, kept hearing this loud chirping and went out to inspect and he was hiding between two rocks, screaming for his life lol. He was tiny, fit in my band, had just started growing wing feathers. I called my sister who raises chickens and she got me all set up for him. She estimated him at 1 week old. Like I said he was scalped, I got that stitched closed at 3 weeks. I thought he was a normal chicken until he started growing and looking different. I’ve done a lot of research and have him on low protein pellets. I still need help with best housing for him and anything else. And how to handle his “aggressive” behavior or whatever it is. I think he gets scared or feels threatened by my foot when it’s raised. Feel free to dm me

 

[HeathBar28]

Ope- turns out I'm really dumb. Do you happen to know of any chicken people in the area, that could potentially have bred/bought him before dumping him?

No I don’t know anyone. And I live downtown so was shocked to find a chicken in my yard lol

 

[HeathBar28]

Oh and any idea what kind of shamo? When he’s standing tall I think he’s about 20 inches now

 

[fluffycrow]

I woke up at 530 one morning and let my dogs out, kept hearing this loud chirping and went out to inspect and he was hiding between two rocks, screaming for his life lol. He was tiny, fit in my band, had just started growing wing feathers. I called my sister who raises chickens and she got me all set up for him. She estimated him at 1 week old. Like I said he was scalped, I got that stitched closed at 3 weeks. I thought he was a normal chicken until he started growing and looking different. I’ve done a lot of research and have him on low protein pellets. I still need help with best housing for him and anything else. And how to handle his “aggressive” behavior or whatever it is. I think he gets scared or feels threatened by my foot when it’s raised. Feel free to dm me

He might've been older. My working theory (which is totally up for debate) is: he was the smallest in the batch. They started fighting. His head got scalped in the process (I've seen it before). The "breeder" thought it would be too much of a hassle and dumped him. This theory does have a big problem however. This would be more stereotypical of an aseel "breeder" (you can't call them a true breeder if dumping their animals is how they handle things). Whatever the case may be, my theory on how he ended up on your property goes along well with the behaviour he's exhibiting now. Fighting from such a young age means that the gene is strong in him. With no other birds to interact with (which in his case could be for the best), the best replica he can find is your crossed feet. May I ask why the low protein feed?

 

[fluffycrow]

Oh and any idea what kind of shamo? When he’s standing tall I think he’s about 20 inches now

I'm pretty sure he's an O-Shamo if you'd like to categorise him somewhere

 

[fluffycrow]

Oh and as for the pm/dm, I find it much more helpful for you to do it in a public thread, that way many people visit, and wherever they disagree, they are free to weigh in and help even more

 

[HeathBar28]

He might've been older. My working theory (which is totally up for debate) is: he was the smallest in the batch. They started fighting. His head got scalped in the process (I've seen it before). The "breeder" thought it would be too much of a hassle and dumped him. This theory does have a big problem however. This would be more stereotypical of an aseel "breeder" (you can't call them a true breeder if dumping their animals is how they handle things). Whatever the case may be, my theory on how he ended up on your property goes along well with the behaviour he's exhibiting now. Fighting from such a young age means that the gene is strong in him. With no other birds to interact with (which in his case could be for the best), the best replica he can find is your crossed feet. May I ask why the low protein feed?

That makes sense. Does this mean he will always be aggressive? Or get worse? What do I do when he’s aggressive? Luckily he usually doesn’t do it too hard and I stop him easily with my hand but now I’m a little worried. All the research I read for shamos was around 16% protein for his age so he doesn’t get too heavy too fast

 

[HeathBar28]

I also think he may have been older now that I knows he’s shamo, they get feathers later than other chickens. So maybe he’s 13 weeks instead of 12?

 

[fluffycrow]

That makes sense. Does this mean he will always be aggressive? Or get worse? What do I do when he’s aggressive? Luckily he usually doesn’t do it too hard and I stop him easily with my hand but now I’m a little worried. All the research I read for shamos was around 16% protein for his age so he doesn’t get too heavy too fast

IMO he should stop this behaviour on his own. Oriental gamefowl are smart creatures, in due time he'll realise that your crossed feet are not another chicken. If not, then you'll have a problem on your hands. In the meantime, start thinking about some friends. Right now it's probably best he's alone, but in a few months he'll want females