Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

[BlindLemonChicken]

I tried something else tonight and physically moved two of the game hens into the tree. I didn’t put the Flarry Eye Gray up there because she is the smallest and cost the most money lol. But I figure since one of the Hatch games has already gone straight feral the other two Hatches have a good chance of surviving up a tree. They immediately evacuated the tree and opted for the lean-to but maybe after a few nights of this they will start following the rooster.

 

[LaurenRitz]

When I put my birds in the rafters it generally took 3 days to a week of putting them up there for them to start doing it themselves.

After two or three days they know this is their new "house" and start heading for it automatically.

Mine may have taken longer because they had to learn to navigate a ladder. That took a few days. Ladders simply are not natural for birds.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

When I put my birds in the rafters it generally took 3 days to a week of putting them up there for them to start doing it themselves.

After two or three days they know this is their new "house" and start heading for it automatically.

Mine may have taken longer because they had to learn to navigate a ladder. That took a few days. Ladders simply are not natural for birds.

I will keep trying. The night I locked them out the games flew right up into the tree so I can only assume that the rooster already being up there makes them disinclined to fly up. Only one of the two really hangs with him during the day—the other usually does her own thing with a couple of the older hens. That is the hen who has been the boss hen during the time with no rooster. So maybe she isn’t keen to leave the other hens but she really is the best candidate for tree sleeping. She was up so high last time I was surprised.