Karmachine
In the Brooder
- Mar 23, 2025
- 4
- 21
- 23
I live in Puerto Rico, I am personally new to keeping chickens, but I have helped my in-laws with their flocks. My father-in-law moved to a new house, and my wife and I took over the property, including his flock of chickens.
My father-in-law had free range chickens mostly Brahma and fighting bird mixes, one neighbor had fighting birds, leghorns, and something speckled, not sure of the breed... The third neighbor Ayam Cemani, laced chickens, and other exotics all cooped up nice and secure.
The second neighbor released all their birds when cock fighting was made illegal and stopped caring for them. Their entire flock merged with ours. I continued to feed and care for the flock. If I didn't all the chickens would have torn up my garden. Stray dog regularly kill off the hens, so I incubate eggs I find on my property, and regularly catch chicks to brood them until they are old enough to fly into the trees. The third neighbor is obviously releasing his coop overflow because a lot of the new chicks started showing up with black feet, beaks, and patches of dark grey skin under their feathers. There are quite a few zombie leghorns wandering the neighborhood. The second neighbor released 2 rescue dogs they had tried to take in, but the dogs kept killing birds. The dogs joined the pack of strays and the chicken killing increased.
Neither of our original flocks survived, so I raised all the birds in the current flock, is a mix of very large, speckled hens, some gangly looking brown long leg birds with 1 dark brahma mix and 1 buff brahma mix roosters all showing genetic influence from the thirds neighbor's overflow. The flock in our backyard usually averages 30 birds and 20 chicks that survive the hawks, but there is also regularly new chickens joining from random feral birds. It has created a nightmare of genetics, and whose birds are whose. Most of them aren't laying well, and they are really lean fighting birds, so the meat is tough and gamey. I wouldn't know but because of all the random crossing I doubt they could breed fighting birds out of them.
Discouraged about the stray dogs killing my birds, I decided to build new 24'x24' enclosure for my birds, I am building the enclosure with 6 sections and a covered run. I ordered chicks from a few different hatcheries, deciding to start over with the new birds. The old enclosure is being divided up for Bantams. The neighbor notices me clearing the land, prepping the area, regularly feeding the flock, and with the cost of eggs going thru the roof, and they accuse me of stealing their birds. There are no birds in the coop, there is no coop, just the cleared off area for me to build it. I am feeding the birds, so they don't destroy my plants...
My new flocks will hopefully consist of:
Bresse (White and Black)
Ayam Cemani
Brahmas (Buff and Dark)
Leghorns
Easter Egger
Austra White
Also building bantam flocks that will hopefully consist of:
White Sultan
White Japanese Bantam
Silver Duckwing Phoenix Bantam
White Phoenix Bantam
Silver Duckwing Old English Game Bantams
Kikirika
The questions I have are these: the eggs I found on my property, which I incubated in my equipment, and I am currently brooding the chicks that hatched, who is their rightful owner?
Who owns the flock that consists of the birds I raised?
The all-black brahma cemani mix looking hen with the black half black beak, black legs that end in yellow tipped toes, that I helped break out of a double membrane, and laying eggs with speckled chicks who owns her?
Is it my neighbor, did I steal her birds?
Hello from PR!
My father-in-law had free range chickens mostly Brahma and fighting bird mixes, one neighbor had fighting birds, leghorns, and something speckled, not sure of the breed... The third neighbor Ayam Cemani, laced chickens, and other exotics all cooped up nice and secure.
The second neighbor released all their birds when cock fighting was made illegal and stopped caring for them. Their entire flock merged with ours. I continued to feed and care for the flock. If I didn't all the chickens would have torn up my garden. Stray dog regularly kill off the hens, so I incubate eggs I find on my property, and regularly catch chicks to brood them until they are old enough to fly into the trees. The third neighbor is obviously releasing his coop overflow because a lot of the new chicks started showing up with black feet, beaks, and patches of dark grey skin under their feathers. There are quite a few zombie leghorns wandering the neighborhood. The second neighbor released 2 rescue dogs they had tried to take in, but the dogs kept killing birds. The dogs joined the pack of strays and the chicken killing increased.
Neither of our original flocks survived, so I raised all the birds in the current flock, is a mix of very large, speckled hens, some gangly looking brown long leg birds with 1 dark brahma mix and 1 buff brahma mix roosters all showing genetic influence from the thirds neighbor's overflow. The flock in our backyard usually averages 30 birds and 20 chicks that survive the hawks, but there is also regularly new chickens joining from random feral birds. It has created a nightmare of genetics, and whose birds are whose. Most of them aren't laying well, and they are really lean fighting birds, so the meat is tough and gamey. I wouldn't know but because of all the random crossing I doubt they could breed fighting birds out of them.
Discouraged about the stray dogs killing my birds, I decided to build new 24'x24' enclosure for my birds, I am building the enclosure with 6 sections and a covered run. I ordered chicks from a few different hatcheries, deciding to start over with the new birds. The old enclosure is being divided up for Bantams. The neighbor notices me clearing the land, prepping the area, regularly feeding the flock, and with the cost of eggs going thru the roof, and they accuse me of stealing their birds. There are no birds in the coop, there is no coop, just the cleared off area for me to build it. I am feeding the birds, so they don't destroy my plants...
My new flocks will hopefully consist of:
Bresse (White and Black)
Ayam Cemani
Brahmas (Buff and Dark)
Leghorns
Easter Egger
Austra White
Also building bantam flocks that will hopefully consist of:
White Sultan
White Japanese Bantam
Silver Duckwing Phoenix Bantam
White Phoenix Bantam
Silver Duckwing Old English Game Bantams
Kikirika
The questions I have are these: the eggs I found on my property, which I incubated in my equipment, and I am currently brooding the chicks that hatched, who is their rightful owner?
Who owns the flock that consists of the birds I raised?
The all-black brahma cemani mix looking hen with the black half black beak, black legs that end in yellow tipped toes, that I helped break out of a double membrane, and laying eggs with speckled chicks who owns her?
Is it my neighbor, did I steal her birds?
Hello from PR!
