Jungle Fowl Thread!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ntsees]

...This is one of my Indian Red Jungle Fowl. He's a hatchery bird, they were an unexpected gift, but I think he's beautiful. I thought they were supposed to be skittish but this boy follows me around trying to get me to pick him up.

They are supposed to be naturally skittish. Don't let the name "Indian red jungle fowl" from hatcheries fool you into thinking that it is the actual species. If at all, maybe it might have a little bit of Indian red junglefowl genes, but it is already far removed from the real specimens that it could be considered a chicken. Pretty bird non-the-less.

 

[City farm]

I am going to have to catch up on this thread.. Our prettiest girl just started laying. I was excited.. As of today she has decided to sit on her egg.. I went to check on how many she was on, one.. She was not happy with me checking in on her.. While she was off I put some of our barnyard mix under her.. I have a few photos, however they do not sit still long enough for my phone to get a clear photo.. The 2 hens we got were from a feed store. I was hoping to get a pair, but the other person ended up getting all the roosters.. When I went back to get something else, the manager said she had all but 1 hen.. So 17 roosters.. You can tell them apart. Our broody has larger tail feathers..

 

[City farm]

jungle fowl are not breeds except maybe the Saipan breed that is called a jungle fowl. The red jungle fowl is the same species as the barnyard chicken .They are not a mean or fighting breed they are the chicken evolved for survival in nature. get a wheaten or BB red and you basically have the red jungle fowl. There are a couple breeds that i was just looking at that even retain the tail feathering and the posture of the wild type RJF. Other jungle fowl like the green and the grey are not different breeds but different species neither of which will you find as a pure species available for the backyard . you may find high percent wild blood hybrids though for a lot of money, they are wild birds so don't expect to free range them or to coop them in the avg coop and yard dimentions and have them be happy. here's my RJF pet with his ladies

I must say, the two hens that we have come and go from the run.. I see them in the front yard all the time.. None of our other chickens can fly like them. One is not as flighty "tiny" she will let me pass by.. She tought the other girls to eat the flys.. She has never let our front yard..

 

[childressj]

I once checked on a very well known hatchery's "Red Jungle Fowl" and they put me in touch with the individual who provided their eggs and chicks. The individual did not even know the basic characteristics of Red Jungle Fowl. As I recall they were not even all slate shanked although as I recall they were straight combed gold duck wings with "partridge" hens (the dark body with salmon breast) which are typical of the wild ancestor.

 

[Old Rando]

These are my hatchery red jungle fowl. I have three pullets and one rooster. These pictures were taken at about four months, they have matured since then. Two of the females are leggy and look close to actual jungle fowl, their color is good with slate legs. The females combs are too large at the time they started laying which was at about six months. They didn't lay very long as they days were shortening by that time. These are not skittish. I bought them at a local farm store and they were advertised as "Indian red jungle fowl", The employees did not know what hatchery they came from but Ideal is the only one I found that called theirs "Indian Red Jungle Fowl". They are certainly a high percentage of domestic chicken but they do look reasonable close to Jungle Fowl.They are an interesting addition to my backyard flock.

 

[childressj]

As I recall the supplier I spoke with said his came blue and green legged. I was surprised that he did not know green shanks which are due to the yellow skin gene is not seen in RJF. If you selected only the blue legged individuals for breeding, it would be interesting to know how long it would take to get only slate shank individuals. The experts say you have to single mate in order to know who is throwing the green ones, otherwise it is nearly impossible to eliminate the green shanks. Some people are interested in that sort of thing and some could care less. I say, to each his own and enjoy them however you like.

 

[Old Rando]

Yes childressj eliminating a recessive gene can be a breeding challenge. It isn't actually hard to eliminate but the problem is knowing it has been eliminated. Breeding parents that are both heterozygous for a particular recessive gene still gives a 25% chance of young not carrying that gene, but they will still look like any heterozygous chicks produced. No matter the breeding strategy used hatching large numbers of young is still the key. If the recessive gene never appears then you can hope and assume it isn't there but still never be sure. If it does appear then one can be sure it is there.

With my own small group of hatchery jungle fowl I intend to breed the male with the female that best represents what I feel a jungle fowl should look like. I can only handle small numbers but as long as nothing unforeseen crops up genetically then I will just assume it isn't there and continue with that line of breeding. I hope for them to look much like a red jungle fowl but just not act like it.

 

[childressj]

A good photo of RJF seems to me about all you need in addition to having some idea of what a proper chicken body should feel and look like. The geneticists say the e+ color is gold and of course they mean what we call lemon. They claim that darker red hackle is due to "red enhancement" by human intervention and they call them "red" rather than "gold". So you are looking for gold (lemon) rather than red particularly the lower the feathers on the neck, they all get darker and redder up high. You might compare your hens for the lemon color. If some are brighter yellow than others that will help you get the gold you are looking for. Your hens appear to all have the wild type body coloration and you might notice some have well defined darker salmon breast than others which is a good thing. I take it they are all straight combed. Presumably all the cocks will have solid black breast with the other typical "duck wing" feathering. I think I saw some green shanks among them but I'd bet if you select only slate shanks for breeding you can get mostly slate shanks as you have suggested. I think all of your chicks will be the "chipmunk" striped chicks and I doubt you will see otherwise. Any lighter chick with less defined stripes or light stripes should be culled as it is indicative of the wheaten color variety. You should select for minimum sized combs in hens as you will notice is typical in the RJF. I would try not to breed from cocks that have larger combs than pictured in RJF cocks. I like the looks of yours because I have developed an appreciation of the wild type characteristics.

 

[Old Rando]

The internet is full of Red Jungle Fowl pictures and videos and I have seen lots of them. I previously stated all of these have slate legs. The photos may be misleading on this. I have in the last 6 decades bred several breeds and a number of color varieties for show and to satisfy my personal whims. Some of these have been of a wild type black breasted red varieties. I am sure if I choose to dabble with this project for a while I will be able to achieve my goal.

 

[City farm]

These are my hatchery red jungle fowl. I have three pullets and one rooster. These pictures were taken at about four months, they have matured since then. Two of the females are leggy and look close to actual jungle fowl, their color is good with slate legs. The females combs are too large at the time they started laying which was at about six months. They didn't lay very long as they days were shortening by that time. These are not skittish. I bought them at a local farm store and they were advertised as "Indian red jungle fowl", The employees did not know what hatchery they came from but Ideal is the only one I found that called theirs "Indian Red Jungle Fowl". They are certainly a high percentage of domestic chicken but they do look reasonable close to Jungle Fowl.They are an interesting addition to my backyard flock.

Your flock looks so happy.. Thanks for posting photo's

These are my hatchery red jungle fowl. I have three pullets and one rooster. These pictures were taken at about four months, they have matured since then. Two of the females are leggy and look close to actual jungle fowl, their color is good with slate legs. The females combs are too large at the time they started laying which was at about six months. They didn't lay very long as they days were shortening by that time. These are not skittish. I bought them at a local farm store and they were advertised as "Indian red jungle fowl", The employees did not know what hatchery they came from but Ideal is the only one I found that called theirs "Indian Red Jungle Fowl". They are certainly a high percentage of domestic chicken but they do look reasonable close to Jungle Fowl.They are an interesting addition to my backyard flock.

Your flock looks so happy.. Thanks for posting photo's