Games hens with laying hens?

[BookWorm243]

Can you have game hens with laying hens? I have a friend who has laying hens and has been offered some game hens. She was wanting to know before she takes them if they can be together.


Thanks

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I don't have game hens, but a local farmer gentleman that I chat with has both free ranging on his land. They seem to do okay. He has a lot of space for them though. That might be a factor.

 

[BigIslandChicks]

i have 1 game hen in with all my other chickens, she is the boss thats for sure. she is rough and tough and sneaky! i dont think she picks on anyone any more than anyone else. the only time i ever had a problem with her attacking another bird is when i brought my 3 EE's home she dragged one of them off the low roost by the neck and hopped on top of her! thankfully i was in the run with them at the time and quickly broke them up. since then i have not had any other incidents and it has been a few weeks since then and things have calmed down. seems like from other posts that this happens with all kinds of breeds. we had no blood and i read on a few that some peoples hens got a little torn up, so i would tell your friend to do whatever she thinks is right for her, if her other hens can hold their own and she wants the game hens then go for it! raising chickens is all about finding out what works for you! she has been tough getting her to go in the coop at night so i have not let her out in a while...she was roosting in a tree at night for about a week until i was finally able to catch her, your friend might be able to let the games just freerange and not really worry about them. im not sure where your at and what kind of predators you have but here we dont really have anything other than dogs that could kill a game chicken, they can take care of themselves mostly, they love to forage!! hope some of this helps!

goodluck and aloha

hereare some pics. of mamma (she had 5 chicks when she moved in with us, but we only have 1 left, darn cats)

 

[BookWorm243]

Thanks guys I am going to let her know.

 

[Illia]

That looks like a Campine, not a Gamehen.

Yes, you can have them together, however if they are sharing a small area, the gamehens may dominate the production hens.

But, if they're hatchery based, you won't have to worry about anything. The behavior has been bred out of them.

 

[Lollipop]

Gotta agree with Big Island and Illia. Once the initial pecking order is established, things will go smoothly. The game hens will dominate, but after a while the others will give them a wide birth and all will be well......Pop

 

[BigIslandChicks]

Quote:
im sorry illlia but i have to disagree with you, she is not a campine, she may not be FULL game but i am sure that she has some game or red jungle fowl blood. fighting birds roam this island and kauai everywhere...check out feathersite : hawaii im not sure of the exact breeds, but people raise all kinds of mainly fighting breed birds here (hatch, kelso, mcrae, etc.)... i see them all over and people list the birds on craigslist for breeding only, i hope thats all they are for

i love my birds none should be used for fighting but sadly thats not the case all the time. people here just let injured birds out at the dump

or the hens or whatever they dont want... or they escape sometimes or for whatever reason(hurricane ike) they are wild everywhere. im sure there could be campines here but i have never seen one in someones flock never mind roaming around wild- this hen was wild with her chicks and moved in with my BRocks coop, i guess she thought it was cozy

...i also have another post about her in what breed...1 other person said campine, but most said game hen

 

[BigIslandChicks]

Quote:
"the others will give them a wide birth and all will be well"

this is soooo true, the EE ladies just stay out of her way...the rocks have been with her the longest now so they dont mind and her and the leghorn are sort of friends, she is the only one who doesnt get pecked on

 

[Teach97]

I run games and regular birds together...the game hens rule w/o a doubt...a couple even run off males that aren't tough enough...I really like those...

 

[Supermommy486]

Like the PP's said it can work. I have one in my flock.