Historic Presence of Jungle Fowl in the American Deep South

[Florida Bullfrog]

I feed the games crushed acorns as a treat. But endured me to them was simply the fact I fed and watered them as chicks. They’ve never been flighty with me.

Such simple gestures of care does nothing to impress the OEGBs.

 

[centrarchid]

I’m covered up in great horned owls. All of my chicken roost in covered and fenced coops except my guineas. The guineas sleep in the open on top of a small coop. Why a great horned howl hasn’t popped one yet, I cannot say. Unless the group of them together is intimidating. Last night in the light of the full moon I watched one fly into the top of the closest pine to the guineas. Thought for sure he was lining up on a run on them. But I still had all 5 today. I do know the owl would have to deal with my dogs if it couldn’t fly off with a guinea. The guineas roost about 20 yards from where my dogs sleep. I am not sure that the owl can reason that out though.

Dogs below shut owls down for me. I have observed many times an owl back off when dogs come into picture. Multiple times tonight my dogs start barking. If like past, I can spotlight area dogs are barking at to see an owl parked in a tree.

 

[centrarchid]

I feed the games crushed acorns as a treat. But endured me to them was simply the fact I fed and watered them as chicks. They’ve never been flighty with me.

Such simple gestures of care does nothing to impress the OEGBs.

Do you have access to live meal worms?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I could get some from a pet store. I can get fishing worms from several bait stores near me. And I was digging in the compost pile this evening and saw several big white grubs.

 

[Don 27]

Just a few minutes from my wife's home (which was just a few more minutes from my home) there was a fellow that every knew to raise "fighting roosters." He raised them openly in his front yard with a few rows of huts and staked ropes. Back then there were still states were it was legal and our understanding was that he raised them in Florida and traveled with them to wherever it was legal for him to do his thing with them. His roosters didn't look like our homestead games. What I remember most about them is lots of different colorations and plumage shapes. Although I liked and raised chickens since childhood, I never took an interest in his for reasons I don't know so I never walked among them or studied them hard in passing. I may (or may not ) have had a great uncle who was hard-core into that aspect of raising them late into contemporary times who probably could have told me lots about the traditional lines when I became interested in figuring out what they were and where to get some from, but considering I'm a state prosecutor he never seemed too keen in talking to me about what he knows about game fowl .

I got some pics of Hei Hei. Sorry for the ugly red background in what otherwise would have been good shots. I recently turned the momma and her bittes out of the brood pen and I didn't think about it being in the background with its red cardboard windbreaks. All of my flock is currently penned until my bitties get a couple more weeks of growth on them, then I'll turn them all out together. Maybe by then I'll know what to do with my guineas (my guineas killed chicks in a previous batch if I didn't mention that previously).

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I've never noticed that he carries himself with a protruded breast until now. I also never noticed that he's now basically the size of the white leghorns. I think all of the games have grown since and filled out since I switched to 30% protein feed for their morning feed. I don't feed them in the evenings, and I give them less than half than a normal allotment of feed per chicken when I feed them in the mornings. I want them to forage for much of their food yet I don't want them to have nothing this time of year where the insect population has been beat back by some freezes.

Last pic below is another one of the brothers that I gave away. Picture is up to date as of yesterday although its not bright or clear. Of the 8 cockerels I started with and minus the 3 that died (2 killed by the 3rd which was culled), 3 of the remaining 4 all became human aggressive. Those three all look similar with the white earlobes and more robust build. Hei Hei is the only one that isn't human aggressive and his build and stance is noticeably different than the other 3 and he has a red ear. Also, Hei Hei is the dominant rooster over Raptor in spite of Raptor's more robust build. Hei Hei has a quiet confidence that I like. I just wish he had the beauty of the other 3.

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Too bad he didn't talk to you about what he knew on game fowl . If he did you could share the knowledge with us. The legal stuff of course. ... .. I'm Always thinking about myself... Beautiful birds by the way.. I'm not the best at telling how pure they are but I can tell if they look nice!

 

[centrarchid]

I could get some from a pet store. I can get fishing worms from several bait stores near me. And I was digging in the compost pile this evening and saw several big white grubs.

Meal worms keep better than grubs. I get the mealworm from wild bird stores for a much lower price than you can get from a pet or bait store. Cheaper yet to order in bulk from meal worm farmer.

 

[Don 27]

Just to show how tame my games are, here’s a hen that surprised me by flying up on my shoulder.

The only birds I have that act wild are the OEGB. They go nuts when I’m near their run and won’t tolerate me at all. When they get out they fly all over and it takes a butterfly net to catch them. I had to put the hound on one hen that flew to the top of the house then across the yard into a 5 acre field of wiregrass. The hound scent trailed her down a creek bed and flushed her, then found her in the field and held her down unharmed until I retrieved her. And the little self blue rooster that’s the size of a large soda can flogs me mercilessly but he has no spurs so its impotent rage. I hand raised him after he was given to me so I have no idea why they’re so flighty. I’d call them wild before my so called “RJF.”

Good hound dog! That hen did not like you calling her pretty. ... Do you make wiregrass hay with the field.? Sorry when I hear field I get interested . Guess it's just kinda my thing.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

If wiregrass can be made into a hay, I cannot say. Its generally not (thought to be) fit as a field grass for normal livestock. Some Florida adapted breeds can live on it like Cracker cows and Cracker horses (sorry we just slap “Cracker” in front of everything to denote that its a Florida heritage breed). I grew up helping my grandpa with his side business cutting and bailing costal hay for the horse farms around the Ocala area. What we call wiregrass is usually found in the woods. Some people call it broom sage, but I don’t think its the same plant people call broom sage out west. I let that field grow up in the fall to give cover for wildlife during the hunting season. Deer are more apt to utilize the field if its grown up. Quail like it too.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Cracker_cattle

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Cracker_Horse

In the context of other Florida heritage breeds, you can maybe understand my interest in our traditional chickens. Florida animals tend to end up different than similar kinds found in the rest of the US both in form and habit. This it true both of domestic and wild animals. Florida’s vegetation is diverse and green for much of the year but a lot of it is tough and of low nutritional value. Horses and cattle had to adapt to browsing Florida woods. The Cracker animals can digest things that might kill or malnourish others. Thus an ability to digest tough wild grasses and woody browse is a common trait of Florida adapted livestock. Clearing the land was hard with pre-20th century technology so most famers survived on what crops they could grow in small clearings and what livestock could free range with little human intervention.

As the land was terraformed and developed more traditional breeds died out and was replaced by other breeds from other parts of the country better suited for man-made pasture. People only recently realized the traditional breeds were worth saving. People didn’t even know what a “Cracker” was until recently. The culture died off with the animals. Crackers didn’t even call themselves such for a long time. They were just the pioneers of Florida. It took an influx of new people immigrating to the state for their to be an understanding that Florida had developed a unique woods-living culture.

As for the “Cracker” game chicken, it was never recognized as such when they were still around in number. They were just “game chickens” just like the Cracker cows and Cracker horses were just “cows” and “horses” to the Crackers. No one thought about them as specific breeds different or unique to Florida.

The factors driving Florida selection would have been heat, high predator pressure, little human intervention or presence, and living in thick woods, as well as abundant insect prey and browse most of the year, with that abundance increasing the further one moves down the peninsula.

 

[Don 27]

If you are in Ohio, then you will have issues with owls at some. When we kept games in larger numbers, we culled owls. That approach not legal and when you have only a small number of birds, not practical either.

Be watching for headless birds in the morning.

I hear them at night..

Looks more like 40 acres. Where are the birds ranging?

well it's about 6o. Acres but I only a 25 portion. the birds rang in the lower left corner near the equipment barn and in the woods that is is up against the road. The woods near the road is about 3acres. So overall they forage in about 4acres. Possible more when I'm not around.