Keeping American Games / American Gamefowl as Yard Ornaments

[centrarchid]

I do have experience with white rocks raised by games and game hen x white rock cock. Latter I like better and they do produce pretty good. Even the cross too heavy to fly up on a roost 6' above ground.


The young one do not act male, rather they can wean prematuraly where bond with hen breaks before chicks mature enough to see to their own needs in inclement weather. That is a problem I have with pure American Dominiques where chicks go off on their own when only two weeks old which can be a disaster in a cold heavy rain event.


Game strains can differ markedly with respect to behavior, especially with those reared in walk (free-range) compared to confined settings. Most these appear to be confined where breeders employ some combination of incubator and brooder and where juveniles on up are kept in more protected environments. Selective changes can be rapid. Differences I have seen are not exclusively between strains, some behaviors can be variable even within a strain. In my experience. the more important behavioral variations subject to manipulation based on how you keep the birds. Internet sourced birds are not something I can comment on as outside my experience. Those from commercial hatcheries like near me are already being changed by hatchery selection where egg production takes precedence of everything else.

 

[Weehopper]

What a shame about the hatchery birds. Did not know that they are losing the very qualities we desire in our birds. My husband raised games, so that's the only experience I have with them. He would never, ever, allow laying type chickens on the place. Such was his fear of degrading the games, he was taking no chances. After his death I kept a cock and a hen, and gave the rest to my sister-in-law. Then I got the laying hens. Anyway, knowing that about hatchery birds, kinda makes me want to go back to the sister in law and get another cock to breed to my two daughters out of my original cock...sheesh, on and on it goes.

 

[RKG1]

I'll have to learn some more about the black copper marans, I've heard of the breed but never thought of them as meat birds. Did yours come from a private breeder?

The game hatching eggs I bought came from a place that, as far as I can tell, deals with only gamefowl. So I'm hoping they're a small enough breeder to still value quality and reputation over sheer production volume.

 

[Weehopper]

Black Copper Marans are an old French breed, apparently coming from the Marans region of France. They are valued for their dark, chocolate brown eggs, and their doubling as a meat chicken when their laying days are over. I have read that their meat is particularly tasty. (Leave it to the French). Mine are hatchery chickens. So far I have only one cock and one pullet. Actually, the cock is a stag still. Not even a bull stag, and probably already weighs close to 8 pounds! The pullet, who just started laying, I would guess, is around 6 pounds. (Only guessing..can't find my husbands scale yet). The point being that they grow fairly fast. There are other BCM breeders here on Backyard Chickens.
Another, which I am wanting to try, is the Buckeye breed. They are an American breed, and have gamefowl in their background. They are the only breed created by a woman, and are considered a heritage breed. If you go with gamefowl without crossing them, which is fine, just know that you will be eating something very close to pheasant, which, again, is fine. They have almost no fat on them. So you just have to adjust your cooking method. And if they get too old before you process them, they can be so tough, you will never get it tender.

 

[RKG1]

I don't really have any interest in games as meat producers, and i don't want to cross them either. What i want to end up with eventually is a small flock of meat birds from which I can get eggs to give to the game hens to hatch, and raise the chicks to slaughtering age. Hopefully the hens with their superior foraging skills will save me some money on the feed bill, instead of having to throw bag after bag of feed at the latest batch of meaties.

Thanks for reminding me of the buckeye breed, I'll have to consider them too

 

[Weehopper]

Gotcha. Well you couldn't pick better than a game hen for taking care of babies

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[RKG1]

Have 8 game eggs to set tonight. 4 are going under my faithful broody banty (cause that's about as many as she can cover) and the rest in the incubator. Now I just have to wait 3 weeks, lol

 

[centrarchid]

Consider feeding chicks live mealworms starting day 1. Then you can train them to come when called later which can be really helpful with broody hens.

 

[RKG1]

An excellent idea. Many thanks to both of you for all the experience based input.

I hope you're available for more questions as they occur to me, lol. And I hope no one thinks I'm hijacking the thread? I've tried to keep on topic

 

[centrarchid]

An excellent idea. Many thanks to both of you for all the experience based input.

I hope you're available for more questions as they occur to me, lol. And I hope no one thinks I'm hijacking the thread? I've tried to keep on topic

Consider what I write as experience based opinions.