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

[Florida Bullfrog]

Generally the chickens don’t eat acorns hard until late fall or winter. The water oaks around my farmyard will drop acorns heavy and they’ll pile up. Then overnight the chickens will start cleaning them up.

The water oaks are always reliable because their roots run into my front yard pond.

 

[Appalachian homestead]

I have white oaks by the coop,and plenty of reds on up in the woods. I've not seen any chickens eating acorns this is my first year with gamefowl ,so maybe they will later in the fall

 

[Molpet]

I have to smash the burr oak acorns so the birds can eat them. They pick the meat out. Mowed up black walnuts are a favorite

 

[AGeese]

I have noticed something similar with my 2 Liege stags. I kept one of my cockerels, and kept him penned with his mom, sisters, and father. Everyone got along great with no issues. I noticed he was not developing as he should have been with his height, weight, and the other physical traits of a maturing stag.

This lines up to what I've heard about raising a cockrell with sisters and mature hens. It's exactly my plan, but my goal with this is slightly different than all of yours.

 

[genesis1verse1]

View attachment 3250456View attachment 3250455

The difference nurture makes over nature.

The top bird is Lanky. The bottom bird is a full brother to Lanky that is one month younger than Lanky. Yet the bottom bird is significantly more mature.

The bottom bird was raised one state over and around 100-150 miles further north. He was raised in pens and coops with his brood mates but with no older chickens. Lanky was raised free range as a part of the Cracker brood cock’s flock.

I believe the difference mostly lay within the domination of a mature brood cock Lanky has been subject to. I believe his body retards his own maturity to keep him alive longer. If the bottom bird were to be turned out on my farm, the brood cock would kill him on sight.

This morning I cooped Lanky and relegated him to a far part of the farmyard with two Cracker hens. I predict he’ll now undergo a rapid maturity where his body will treat himself as if he is the dominant brood cock.

The test is not all that scientific. I cannot totally rule out differences in feed or climate that have lead to the second rooster outpacing the first in maturity. But it is consistent with my independent observation that Cracker stags sometimes effeminate themselves to avoid the wrath of the brood cock. I have seen them go in reverse where they start more like the second cock and revert to a form more like the first stag.

I have a feeling that part of it is the weaker stag just doesn't get access to the best forage areas, the more nutritious food, cleaner water, etc.

I have seen dominant brood cocks bully other stags to the point of keeping them away from any feed or forage that may present itself. Seeing how they are still developing and not fully mature, it makes sense that suddenly being removed from full access to the best available food and water sources would cause them to be stunted. This certainly seems to have the effect of giving them a longer life lease which overall is much more beneficial to the flocks ultimate survival.

This would seem to hinge upon the existence of a very strong mature brood cock keeping every stag in line. I had a bad experience with a weak brood cock from a layer line that let all the young stags get away with mating far too much. This caused the hens to stay cooped up away from food and water access during a very hot Texas heatwave. I realized what was happening as the young cockerels who were not being kept in check would simply guard the multiple water sources and wait for a hen to make her run for a drink. Upon realizing this, I immediately put all the excess cockerels into one coop pen and began culling. It would have been nice to have had a brood cock that actually did his job well enough that I could have had more time to observe and judge the cockerels better before culling them.

By comparison, I once had a brood cock that would never let another stag mate without making sure he took a vicious flogging. With him around I never had to worry about too many cockerels or rush any separations or cullings.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

One week later.

 

[Mugwumpgame]

Staggered growth in cockerels/roosters has to do with species preservation. It helps with keeping the testosterone level of aggression down to keep them from fighting and killing each other which in turns helps in the preservation of the future of the species. Cockerels/roosters have a very short lifespan when it comes to giving up their lives to protect the flock so they (the others) can run/fly to safety. Then the next cockerel in the pecking order will mature into his own, and take up the charge of protecting, and breeding. Etc etc etc. It's a continuous cycle. This is more noticeable in free range birds when allowed to live more of a wild lifestyle, and when keeping more then one cockerel/rooster together in the same coop with the hens.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Indo is coming out of molt.

 

[Yard Farmer]

Indo is coming out of molt. View attachment 3259112View attachment 3259113

He look amazing!

 

[Mugwumpgame]

Indo is coming out of molt. View attachment 3259112View attachment 3259113

Sure is a beauty