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

[troyer]

A few years ago my boss mowed over a turkey nest while cutting hay.He gave me the eggs and I stuck them under a broody hen. They hatched out fine, but when threatened, the poults self defense response was scatter and hide instead of "run to mamma". This caused quit a bit of stress for the hen. Do you think this would help or hurt clutch survival? It obviously wouldn't work well in a neatly mowed lawn, but if they have cover, I wonder how it'd work.
I do enjoy watching a hen caring for chicks rather than "keep up or die" like wild turkeys tend do.

It seems to me that scatter and hide would be better. That way there would be more possibility that the predator wouldn't find all of them. I used to have a Sumatra hen bred to a Cubalaya rooster and the chicks that she hatched would scatter and hide rather than run to mama. They had no trouble staying alive on completely free range conditions in southern Michigan. Someone took some of them, had them for a couple years and then sold the farm. They left the chickens to fend for themselves for two years and it seemed they had no trouble with it. Not only did they survive, they thrived and multiplied exponentially.
Edited to add, that the chicks flew very well by three weeks of age.

 

[Shadrach]

They do what the mother hen tells them.
For the first few days out with mum she'll call them to her. Get them underneath her and try to deal with the problem.
Once they are more mobile and cover spots have been established she calls them to hide.
They are two different calls.
Once hidden they will not come out until mum calls them the majority of the time.
The better mothers take the chicks on a territory tour, usually shortly after their rooster has imprinted them.
I've had a few broody hens back down a Goshawk.

 

[Appalachian homestead]

I don't have personal experience with guineas, but I think they scatter and hide as chicks. They are generally regarded as poor mothers. Or at least that's impression I get from other people.

 

[Appalachian homestead]

They do what the mother hen tells them.
For the first few days out with mum she'll call them to her. Get them underneath her and try to deal with the problem.
Once they are more mobile and cover spots have been established she calls them to hide.
They are two different calls.
Once hidden they will not come out until mum calls them the majority of the time.
The better mothers take the chicks on a territory tour, usually shortly after their rooster has imprinted them.
I've had a few broody hens back down a Goshawk.

Maybe with chicks she does, but the broody I had that raised a clutch of turkey poults would try to call them to her desperately,but to no avail. Maybe they had trouble with the language barrier .

 

[AGeese]

What do you all think of the Bruges Fighter in place of the Liege? too large?

 

[Molpet]

Maybe with chicks she does, but the broody I had that raised a clutch of turkey poults would try to call them to her desperately,but to no avail. Maybe they had trouble with the language barrier .

I have had chicken raising poults and there is a language barrier. Also the poults don't learn the difference between them and when grown, tend to hurt chickens more.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

What do you all think of the Bruges Fighter in place of the Liege? too large?

I think what Greenfire calls a Liege is actually more like a Bruges, even though they now offer both breeds. At the very least, the original generation Greenfire Liege have strong Bruges traits. I think the 3/4 Liege I have will end up more like traditional Belgium Liege.

I think the Greenfire Bruges-like Liege, as pure breeds, are poor survival birds for a few reasons, but I don’t necessarily county weight as a reason. They can fly but simply don’t like to. I also notice they wander a lot. My favorite Liege hen was killed by “my” bobcat back in June for wandering too far out into the north middle of the blueberry fields.

 

[AGeese]

Well I'm still thinking about the Liege myself. I had wondered if anyone had a Bruges. I'm questioning whether or not my Jerseys which I wanted for size have some Astralorp or something, they're not all that big nearly a year in, though I should weigh them.

I've got a couple of Buckeyes picked out specifically for their good health, spirit and forging skills. The plan is to cross them in with a Svart Hona cock (should my eggs produce one) and then introduce the Liege down the road.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

The biggest problem I seen with the American importrd Liege, whether they’re more like a Bruges or not, is a lack of hardiness against diseases and poor fertility. I believe its an issue with inbreeding or a genetic bottleneck.

American Liege crossed to other chickens seems to make good results. I think using them to cross is fine. I just wouldn’t rely on them in a pure state from the hatchery.

 

[Shadrach]

Maybe with chicks she does, but the broody I had that raised a clutch of turkey poults would try to call them to her desperately,but to no avail. Maybe they had trouble with the language barrier .

I've never put any eggs under a broody hen that she didn't lay.