Landrace/adaptive breeding discussion

[peepsnquacks]

I take the view that tree roosting is optimal for the reasons I discuss in the book, but I understand why people prefer to coop roost them. It just makes them fish in a barrel if a predator does raid them in the coop.

My “terrorfowl,” which are high percentage oriental gamefowl with only indirect bankvoid blood in them via the Liege, overwhelmingly prefer to coop roost when given the option. But it may also be nurture over nature. They pretty consistently tree roost when removed from my farm and distributed onto new properties.

I’m fully free ranging all of my chickens. I have three hens who wandered out of the woods with biddies this week, in below freezing temps. They are all fine, I also have a yard full of cats and neighbor dogs on both sides. Chickens are metal.

 

[Appalachickens]

I’m fully free ranging all of my chickens. I have three hens who wandered out of the woods with biddies this week, in below freezing temps. They are all fine, I also have a yard full of cats and neighbor dogs on both sides. Chickens are metal.

I love hearing this. I’m about a month away from getting my forest chickens and I plan to let them roost in trees.

 

[Hablo]

I love hearing this. I’m about a month away from getting my forest chickens and I plan to let them roost in trees.

As I have some chickens which I keep with a family in my house, they aren't fully free ranging yet. It was about a year ago when I watched the first video of Florida Bullfrog. Since then, I've experimented with different breeds. I thought, an old landrace from Serbia, the Sanjak Longcrowers would be fine, but all of the chicks of them died last year. They didn't survive the life and the hawks here.
I also tried out Altsteirers, a landrace from Austria. There is one hen remaining from last year's chicks.

As all of the chickens are used to go to the coop and I think the family I keep the chickens with wants to keep on locking them up, my chickens also roost there.
But if my chickens wanna roost in the trees, they can. Some weeks ago, my guinea fowl hen slept two nights in the walnut tree in freezing temperatures. She was fine.

As I wrote, I bought some Liege Fighters, as I could't find any hatching eggs near my home last year. Now I have a breeder that is going to sell me eggs in spring.

One day, when I have my own property and house, I wanna keep full free ranging chickens. Until then, I'm experimenting which chickens survive the countless hawk attacks here best. Guinea fowl have proven to be very resistant to hawks here! So I'm on my way to free ranging chickens.

My guinea hen used to have a male partner. He died 3 months ago. I think he was too old. In about one month, I wanna buy one guinea cock and one guinea hen. If they wanna roost in the walnut tree, I don't care. Two years ago, when I bought my first pair of guineas (my current hen is from back then), they slept many weeks in the trees and survived it.

Greetings!