Keeping American Games / American Gamefowl as Yard Ornaments

[RKG1]

Wow. Not that I don't believe you, but I'm having a hard time picturing a hundred plus yard flight made by a chicken. I'm used to regular barnyard breeds, which can hardly be bothered to hop up onto a roost, much less take actual flight

 

[Weehopper]

They fly just like pheasants.

 

[centrarchid]

American Games can be fairly strong fliers. They are not as strong / fast on wing as pheasants but they can fly through wooded areas like a wild turkey where they have to dodge things and be able to land on a branch. I was conservative in post above on flight capabilities of birds that are conditioned for it. I can drive a group of flighty birds into a woods where they will launch and by the time they have flown 200 feet horizontally they will be up in the canapy flying horizontally back to barn. '

A few years back I made speed estimates for short flights in yard where they barely trimmed out before starting to slow. Average speed in flight ranged 18 to low 20's. Averaged. When pressed to fly over a field in trimmed out flight I estimate they can exceed 30 mph easy.

 

[varidgerunner]

Here is one of my Asil Hatch cross hens with some chicks. She is one of my free range chick raisers. The chicks are just random layers from the layer flock. They usually do pretty good about seeking out their own nesting spot, if they are far enough apart and have staggered hatch dates, they do OK. In confinement, with two young broods of chicks, you can loose some in the crossfire. I've had yard raised Asils that would let you reach down and scoop them up after weaning off the hen, with very little time spent working with them before hand. I just like the nature of them better, but the Americans have more cold hardiness. This girl slept in a tree with her sisters all winter, sometimes they set tight for two or three days, before the snow is firm enough to walk on, or gets trampled down close enough to their tree to pick out a LZ.

 

[RKG1]

So in regard to foraging-

Do you find games spend more time in the woods and overgrown pastures, fence rows, etc, than the dual purpose breeds?

My brown egg layers seem to head right for the lawn when I let them out, even though the woods are right behind the coop.

 

[centrarchid]

So in regard to foraging-

Do you find games spend more time in the woods and overgrown pastures, fence rows, etc, than the dual purpose breeds?

My brown egg layers seem to head right for the lawn when I let them out, even though the woods are right behind the coop.

When out continuously they like to work edges / boundaries. Boundaries between wooded and pasture, pasture and stream, hill and flat, short grass and tall grass, and fence rows, They foarge other areas as well especially when insects are abundant. Mine will venture out in to a 20 acre field for insects but they often and some need to be flighty to get back to cover. Most other breeds have an inclination to do similar. The games like to move about in smaller social groups that are often antagonistic to each other causing them to spread out.


My games when confined also bee line to quality planted forages after being confined for a while. They appear to really like eating at least some greens. Sometimes greens can be a the single most obvious part of diet.

 

[RKG1]

Anyone here tried comfrey as a forage crop? I've read it's great stuff. Any opinions?

 

[RKG1]

Do you find American games to be more disease and parasite resistant than most chickens?

 

[centrarchid]

I am done here.

 

[RKG1]

Thanks to all for the valuable information provided.

Hope I didn't upset anyone