Funny I haven`t run accross this thread before. Good idea Bee. I`ve had chickens since I was 11 years old and joined the 4-H. Now, in March, I`ll be 65, so maybe I qualify to comment, even if I haven`t read through the thread yet. After all these pages, most of what I have to say will perhaps be a confirmation of a prior post, but here goes.
Early on I learned that roosters will naturally fight. Any rooster will fight a strange rooster and so will most hens. After a few years with chickens, I developed a fascination for game chickens. Game fowl are, to me at least, more majestic in attitude and appearance, than most other types of fowl. The idea that most folks have, that game roosters are mean, or manfighters, is pure bunk. There seems to be a whole lot fewer mean gamecocks than regular barnyard cocks. There are 2 reasons I see for this. First, barnyard stock is largely inbred to the point the birds are "bird brained", to use a term that most will identify with. Second, probably 99% of the old cockers would not tolerate a manfighter, much less breed from him. Manfighters have always been culled immediately with no consideration of "he`s so pretty", or "I raised him from a chick and I love him", or "I just can`t bring myself to do it". All this crap I see daily on BYC pages daily. Nobody considered "rehoming" a manfighter. Therefore, that`s the reasons I see for gamefowl to be more man friendly than your typical RIR or other barnyard breed. Are they aggressive to strange fowl, you bet, just like any other fowl would be. The biggest difference, other than what I mentioned, is that gamefowl are true athletes and the will to win (gameness), is a trait that has always been bred for.
I glanced through some of the posts and one of the subjects was feeding corn. Cracked corn is usually in the 7% protien range. Whole corn is 11-12% for most types of corn. Chickens need 14- 18% protien to be healthy, and layers do better on the high end, up to about 20-21%. If you feed a chick over about 25% for very long, it will lead to joint problems as it will grow way too fast. After 8 weeks, it`s best to bring the protien down to around 20%.
To determine if a hen is laying, tuck her under your arm and feel the pelvic bones under her vent. If you can only lay one fingertip between the bones, she isn`t laying. Two or 3, even four, and she is laying, or about to be. My uncle was a county Ag agent when I was a kid and showing chickens while in the 4-H. He showed me this and I never forgot it. Just consider the size and age of the hen when doing this.
I always build single, moveable nest boxes. When I get a broody, I move her, box and all, to a maternity pen, where she can have privacy and hatch her brood. Since my passion is gamefowl and I seldom have more than one hen in a pen, this is not a problem, even when the chicks are weened and she rejoins the rooster. I move the hen at night by covering the opening with a piece of cardboard and moving hen and nest as a unit. She simply wakes up in the morning in her new surroundings and all is well.
While on that subject, I usually leave a couple marked eggs in the nest and remove the fresh ones daily. I also mark the fresh ones with date layed and store them in a cool place in the house. When I add a fresh, dated egg each day, or whenever, I turn all the eggs. When a hen begins setting, she is allowed 2 days to lock on the nest, then she and her nest is moved and another 2 days goes by before the 2 nest eggs are removed, at night, and the fresh ones from the stash replace them, also in the dark, so as to cause little stress on the hen. Because I single mate (one hen to one rooster) I can judge the quality of the offspring produced by each pair. Each pair, by the way, is banded with a numbered wing band. I prefer wing bands as they are permanent. In good breeding, numbered bands and pristine record keeping is a must. Any fool can throw a rooster and hen together and produce chicks. This is not "breeding".
Another word on the subject of culling. My goal is to produce better fowl. Probably most of us agree on this. However, in my opinion, when producing quality gamefowl, sick birds cannot be tolerated and are therefore culled. Not only are sick birds a threat to the entire flock, but a severe illness will not allow a bird to recover to the point of full strength and vigor. Far better to lose one bird, even a most valuable bird, than to infect the entire flock. Breeding from a less than a wholesome pristine specimen is also shunned.
If your goal is to just have a few chickens in your back yard and get some eggs, disregard all the above. Just an old man ventin his passion and not meaning to offend anyone. I`ll probably think of more to say as I read through all the posts, so hold on. I`m still learning after nearly 54 years with chickens and many of you have helped in that regard. If I don`t get back here soon, ya`ll have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Regards,
Pop
