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

[Florida Bullfrog]

As Azog grows, his wings are looking smaller in proportion for his body, which is not unusual for the genetic stock he’s coming from. I won’t be able to pronounce final judgment until his 18 month. Right now his main wing bones still look long, its just his feathers that seem too small right now. That could change after his adult molt.

Anyone have any pics of a Malay or other large oriental flapping its wings for comparison?

Edited to add a wild turkey gobbler for comparison. I will edit again later if I can get a pic of Lanky doing the same. He has large wings.

The wild turkey and Azog have comparable length of wing bone but the turkey has longer flight feathers.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I don't have any pics of my birds flapping. But I am wondering if Azog is covering hens yet.

 

[Mugwumpgame]

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As Azog grows, his wings are looking smaller in proportion for his body, which is not unusual for the genetic stock he’s coming from. I won’t be able to pronounce final judgment until his 18 month. Right now his main wing bones still look long, its just his feathers that seem too small right now. That could change after his adult molt.

Anyone have any pics of a Malay or other large oriental flapping its wings for comparison?

Edited to add a wild turkey gobbler for comparison. I will edit again later if I can get a pic of Lanky doing the same. He has large wings.

The wild turkey and Azog have comparable length of wing bone but the turkey has longer flight feathers.

I have never seen a pic of a Malay rooster flap its wings, or ever seen them do it in real life. From what I've seen in the past they hold their wings close, and tight to their bodies. But what I do know is a Malay roosters wings are much shorter in length then that of a Liege rooster. My Liege roosters wings didn't max out in size till he was around 3yrs old. Now Big Daddy's wings are bigger in proportion to his body. Azog is GORGEOUS! Give him some time (a couple of molts) as Orientals, Liege, and Asil's growth genetics are slower to mature then other breeds. I do have a couple wing photos of both my Liege, and my Asil to get an Idea of wing length, and a couple of side views of his wing tips length.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I don't have any pics of my birds flapping. But I am wondering if Azog is covering hens yet.

Yes he is.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Here’s my toe punch chart I began late fall to keep track of the bitties on the farm. So far they all pertain to the Cracker improvement side of the project and my American game bantam project. Green check denotes chicks that are still alive vs chicks that have wiped out. Each group may have both hen raised and brooder-raised chicks. So far cold snaps have been their enemy, wiping out 11 during the Christmas freeze and 9 during a freeze week before last. The 11 were brooder raised and I provided them no heat during the freeze, thinking they were old enough to survive it. But the 17F nights wiped them out. Then the next 9 were all hen raised. Seems like the mommas didn’t keep 8 of them warm during the day. The 9th was likely lost to a hawk. So far all groups have experienced some losses, except for the AGB group that are being hen raised. 8 chicks hatched by hen and 8 still kicking. There were some losses to the AGB group that were artificially incubated within their first couple of days of being brooded outside on the ground. That red eared Cracker hen is a good momma and I may move her to the Cracker improvement project. She is also my best Cracker hen overall in terms of build.

In total 26 chicks are left between the three groups.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

My red-eared Cracker x Blueface stag. He needs a name.

Lanky has settled into free range. He’ll bow up and march to Indo’s coop sometimes but I think the wavy chicken wire around the coop has learned him he can’t access Indo anymore. Lanky can now cover all of the free range hens, including several pure Cracker hens. I’m going to leave him out at let the hens rear their own as they see fit. We’ll see what rises to the top.

 

[NatJ]

My red-eared Cracker x Blueface stag. He needs a name.

Bluebeard? (He is not blue and he has no beard, but it sounded good to me anyway.)

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

One of the best pure Cracker stags I produced in terms of size and build was Ragnar. He was about the same frame as the half-Cracker stags and he too had a red ear. But alas he was no match for Number 1. This stag would be a half brother to Ragnar. Hei Hei fathered them both. So maybe a Viking-type name would be appropriate. Erik the Red?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Actually Ragnar did have a little white on his ears. But the comb type is very similar to this stag in question. I am going to name him Erik the Red. I try to avoid using human names, but I don’t currently know any Eriks.

This is Ragnar below:

I may call him Red for short. I think he’s actually a better looking stag than Lanky for a gamefowl. Good stance and physique.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Azog is 6lb, 5oz this evening. Last weight 24 days ago was 5lb 9oz. He felt right in the hand. His feathers have a nice texture and he has a decent amount of meat on his breastbone.

Azog is 6lb, 10oz this evening.