Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

[Florida Bullfrog]

How much of a chicken's flight ability is based on wing length/mass/muscle, and how much on experience? My birds fly at most two feet off the ground, regardless of breed, and seldom try to get up into trees. Not even as chicks. Their "flight" down is more of a controlled plummet.

Their muscles should be able to support flight, and at least as chicks they're not too heavy. As adults, technically their bone mass and muscle structure should support limited flight.

Do they not do it because they've never seen it done?

There are larger galliformes that fly well. The wild turkey being one we’re probably all familiar with. They have large wings.

I notice some if my large oriental gamefowl crosses that inherited larger wings relative to body size from the bankivoid side still prefer to run. They’ll try to copy the bankivoids when the bankivoids fly to me but they look like albatrosses trying to take off.

As where they have difficulty even when their wings are larger, I think its part instinctual and part their weight in their legs. I bet if one had the will to constantly do it, they’d build up the strength to fly greater distances. Yet they lack the will

 

[MysteryChicken]

I was looking at my roosters, and they have those massive pectorals, just made for flying. But even as chicks, they never fly.

They're probably just not that flighty.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Recently some of my improved cracker pullets escaped their coops due to the hurricane collapsing said coops. This particular group was with a cracker x aseel x liege cross stag my dogs hate and try to catch. So with that flock roaming, my dogs tried to catch him. That sent the cracker pullets in a panic and they effortlessly launched higher than my house and 100 yards into the woods. They came back at dark and I was able to recoop them. They’re much more lightly built than a terrorfowl pullet at the same size of frame.

 

[LaurenRitz]

There are larger galliformes that fly well. The wild turkey being one we’re probably all familiar with. They have large wings.

I notice some if my large oriental gamefowl crosses that inherited larger wings relative to body size from the bankivoid side still prefer to run. They’ll try to copy the bankivoids when the bankivoids fly to me but they look like albatrosses trying to take off.

As where they have difficulty even when their wings are larger, I think its part instinctual and part their weight in their legs. I bet if one had the will to constantly do it, they’d build up the strength to fly greater distances. Yet they lack the will

I wonder about putting the little ones up in trees at 3-4 weeks and see how they do. Since none of my birds have even gone over a 4 foot fence, I suspect it's habit rather than inability. They've never seen it done, so they don't even try. (I may be starting something I can't control).

 

[MysteryChicken]

Some of my heavier Indian Malays can fly up onto the rafters in their coop to roost, & that's about 20ft give, or take, & their wings aren't exactly the biggest as they're a stockier breed.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I wonder about putting the little ones up in trees at 3-4 weeks and see how they do. Since none of my birds have even gone over a 4 foot fence, I suspect it's habit rather than inability. They've never seen it done, so they don't even try. (I may be starting something I can't control).

My oriental crosses will tree roost (this generation being the first). They learned it from watching the bankivoids. Which is all I really want them to do. I’m confident they can either outrun or turn around and smack down a hawk. But I need them to tree roost. Earlier iterations of my terrorfowl wouldn’t tree roost no matter what they observed. I credit @Bigtom Turkey ’s genetics as adding that to them.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

At this moment two of my king-sized terrorfowl stags are eyeing tree roosting. They have not done it before.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Nope they thought better of it. They marched off to the coop that they normally roost on top of.

 

[MysteryChicken]

This is one Indian Malay that loves roosting on the rafters. He's 4 months, going on 5 months.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

This is one Indian Malay that loves roosting on the rafters. He's 4 months, going on 5 months.
View attachment 3954534

Look how much he looks like my Thai x aseel x Liege cross:

The more I see, the more convinced I am of the theory that as you cross orientals, you get them returned to a proto-breed form that orientals descended from. The Malay being the center of that original form.