Developing My Own Breed Of Large Gamefowl For Free Range Survival (Junglefowl x Liege)

[Florida Bullfrog]

The white legged, red, stag is probably my keeper. He was the only one from group #1 that maintained some meat on his breasts free range. I don’t like the white legs, but oh well.

The big grey stag in a couple of pics has very large wings and longer feathers, which is something I like. But he really struggled on free range and got very thin. He was the most domineering stag for many weeks.

There are some dark stags with short shrimp tails that have nice bodies. I don’t like the short tail, but it does look primitive. Something like a cassowary’s tail if they in fact remain that short. I may have a pic. I’ll watch them develop and consider them as they mature.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

No pic of the cassowary-looking birds on my phone. There are at least 2. I’ll try to get pics this evening. There is also one darn fine looking pullet from group 1 that was thick breasted on free range I’ll look for a pic of. I put her in the coop just because. Also I penned in their 3 Liege mommas/aunts. In a few months I’ll pick my favorite stag to go over the Liege and terrorfowl pullets, pick my next favorite to be a backup, then figure out whether I butcher or rehome the rest.

 

[Chicken Heel]

The terrowfowl are now divided into 2 groups, which roughly corresponds to the two groups I brooded in separate brooders. The older group were brooded and turned out on one side of the farmyard, while the younger group were brooded and turned out on the opposite side. Both groups eventually co-mingled, but stark behavioral and growth differences emerged.

The first group got much larger but depended on me for food. They stayed mostly isolated from the larger free range flock for weeks and apparently didn’t learn to forage well, or alternatively didn’t get what they needed nutritionally from the forage. Although they looked fine of feather, they were emaciated to the touch at the breast bone. They continued to coop roost at night and most roosted on the floor of the coop. I subsequently penned them about 2 weeks ago and have been fattening them up since on cat food. They are very large and growing. No sign of disease. Just thinness.


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The second group quickly integrated with the free-range flock and learned to forage behind my cows and among the blueberry rows. They stay out of view of the farmyard much of the day. Their bodies remain smaller but also fuller figured. They roost high in the trees. They remain on free range.


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The free rangers often follow my dogs and pick up their feces as soon as the dogs go. That’s what was happening in the above pic.

I culled one from the first group for stumbling and I lost one from the second group by leaving a coop roof open and it slamming on the pullet’s head and hanging the pullet. That’s my only confirmed losses. I’m sure some have disappeared that I haven’t counted. They all weathered the hurricane fine best I can tell. I had some mixed breed free range chicks not do so, for comparison.

Love the dogs and the chickens.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

There’s no scale in these photos, and I can’t offer precise difference in age. But its highly likely that the wheaten pullet on free range is the wheaten chick in post 1,173 and the wheaten pullet in the foreground in the coop is one of the wheaten chick in post 1,176. So there’s an age difference of about 3 weeks to a month between them.

The one in the coop is easily twice the size of the one on free range. IMO not enough age difference to justify the size difference.

Remember the free-ranger terrorfowl integrated early with the wider free range flock and took on their foraging and roosting habits. Body size is staying smaller but also healthier in terms of retained tissue.

The bigger birds currently in the coop free ranged for a couple of months and coop roosted. They did not integrate with the free rangers. When I pulled them off of free range they superficially appeared ok but were emaciated upon inspection.

These observations are suggesting that nurture can have a lot to do with the traits of the finished product. Parentage is the same between both groups.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I am very curious to see if the free rangers end up the same size, just much more slowly in how they grow. Or whether they stay significantly smaller upon maturity.

Any opinions?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

IMO several of these Sherman/Big Tom stags are looking great.

 

[Chicken Heel]

I am very curious to see if the free rangers end up the same size, just much more slowly in how they grow. Or whether they stay significantly smaller upon maturity.

Any opinions?

All things being equal and with their similar genetics, in my opinion the smaller birds will catch up at some point. And if not, you may end up down the road with bantam terror fowl. Sounds interesting.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

BTW, the tails are growing out on the cassowary-looking birds. All the birds have low tail carriage, and the main difference seems to be whether the tail is angled down in the “shrimp” configuration or not.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

All things being equal and with their similar genetics, in my opinion the smaller birds will catch up at some point. And if not, you may end up down the road with bantam terror fowl. Sounds interesting.

Although I didn’t design it this way, this circumstance with the genetically-same but differently-raised flocks will likely prove or disprove a common assertion against this project; that free-ranging will limit the size of the final birds.

I’ve already created some good free rangers through the 3-way blending of Cracker junglefowl hybrids, Liege, and Wahl aseel. The resultant birds simply aren’t any larger than any other typical American gamefowl. I assumed this was because the Cracker and aseel genetics have kept them small, and the larger ones died due to the Marek’s outbreak. These blended birds are fine free range fowl. But my goal for this project is to create a very large free-ranger. Something akin to a wild-turkey-type chicken.

Now I have a group of birds with the generally same genetics from only large parents. Will the nature of free ranging keep the group that thrives physically smaller?

I’ve often retorted against the prediction that free ranging will limit the size of my birds by using wild turkeys as an example of a large galliform that free ranges well. Yet wild turkeys roam. It can take 2-3 days for a turkey to walk across its home range. Chickens and their preceding junglefowl naturally live in areas measured instead by square yards instead of miles. Maybe that’s why turkeys are larger.

 

[Chicken Heel]

Although I didn’t design it this way, this circumstance with the genetically-same but differently-raised flocks will likely prove or disprove a common assertion against this project; that free-ranging will limit the size of the final birds.

I’ve already created some good free rangers through the 3-way blending of Cracker junglefowl hybrids, Liege, and Wahl aseel. The resultant birds simply aren’t any larger than any other typical American gamefowl. I assumed this was because the Cracker and aseel genetics have kept them small, and the larger ones died due to the Marek’s outbreak. These blended birds are fine free range fowl. But my goal for this project is to create a very large free-ranger. Something akin to a wild-turkey-type chicken.

Now I have a group of birds with the generally same genetics from only large parents. Will the nature of free ranging keep the group that thrives physically smaller?

I’ve often retorted against the prediction that free ranging will limit the size of my birds by using wild turkeys as an example of a large galliform that free ranges well. Yet wild turkeys roam. It can take 2-3 days for a turkey to walk across its home range. Chickens and their preceding junglefowl naturally live in areas measured instead by square yards instead of miles. Maybe that’s why turkeys are larger.

Very interesting. Your theory about wild turkeys being larger because of their range is even more so. I noticed Molpet has liked a couple of our recent posts. Molpet also posts on another thread about heritage turkeys and electric netting that I have been monitoring since I am raising them for the first time. They are 10 weeks old today. I am planning to pasture them during the day while getting them into a 12' x 16' shelter at night for roosting. I would love to let them run loose on my 2.5 acre wooded lot and let them roost in the trees but Molpet has me spooked about Great Horned Owls. In fact I already have one hanging around the grow out coop and pen.