New gamefowl thread

[Chickenosauurs_RexNo54]

I take the view that American gamefowl are one breed, and within the breed are different bloodlines. The bloodlines can have physical or performance traits that vary between the lines and sometimes that causes people to consider a line a “breed” instead.

Historically, American gamefowl were the Old English gamefowl (a singular breed through much of history until recently) brought to the American colonies and adapted to North America. Well into American history, oriental and Spanish gamefowl, and some other groups, were also mixed into American lines. However, the Old English traits remained dominant via human and/or natural selection.

I think its most accurate to consider American gamefowl a singular breed that is an offshoot of Old English gamefowl (today Americans would be closest to the Oxford type Old English gamefowl). If one wished to draw breed divisions between American gamefowl, those divisions should likely be made where genetics from outside the breed were introduced and them normalized into that line. But then perhaps such a bird wouldn’t be a true American gamefowl at all, but some other new created type or an American x other breed to simply make a mutt the first generation. However, because outside blood almost always gets watered down back into the typical Old English gamefowl or “bankivoid” body type and traits, I personally wouldn’t carve out breeds between American lines. An American gamefowl is an American gamefowl, regardless as to comb type or leg color or any other superficial trait.

I do think most of the bloodline labels attached to American gamefowl today are marketing myth designed to fetch higher prices among cockfighters.

Oh, interesting. I understand now, thanks.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Sorry, my mistake.

@Vanakrishna if you need more eggs, just buy twice as many gamefowl hens.

Out of all my chickens so far, my American Gamefowl have universally been the most perfect for homesteading

Right now I have an Indio Gigante and a Cubalaya breeding the AGF, and AGF/RJF hens of my flock

I wonder if I can improve upon the initial perfection

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Out of all my chickens so far, my American Gamefowl have universally been the most perfect for homesteading

Right now I have an Indio Gigante and a Cubalaya breeding the AGF, and AGF/RJF hens of my flock

I wonder if I can improve upon the initial perfection

You’re basically on a breeding plan that created a lot of the homestead duel purpose breeds of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Does anyone know how chicken predation changes along with chicken size? Also does anyone know which breeds make superior predators? I'm curious if these genes are inherited separately from the usual stuff we see in chicken breeding. Perhaps gameness and predation are the same thing, perhaps not

My Indio Gigante rooster seems docile and never expresses interest in predation despite his size. I also have an Asil hen and she's a voracious predator, constantly catching animals, and even attempting to kill squirrels

Despite superficial similarity in their appearances, their behavior is like night and day

 

[Charlie Wooster]

Hatch Kelso and Tombstone.. shoot redbird !!! Call 25, 20..

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

Hello, everyone! I have five gamefowl roosters, all approximately 1 year old, in my free-range flock. I have had them for 6 months and they were approximately 6 months old when I got them. It appears they were raised together from hatch and so far, they are living together in harmony, at times even roaming the farm in their own mini flock. I've always heard that cockerels need to be separated at around 6 months of age or they'll fight to the death, and that is why it took me years to muster the courage to give these amazing creatures a try. As you can imagine, the behavior of my roosters has been a complete surprise, albeit a pleasant one. And for the record, yes, they are most DEFINITELY gamefowl!

That being said, here are my questions: 1) Is this good behavior likely to change at some point, and 2) If I choose to hatch or buy more gamefowl chicks in the future, is this likely to create problems with any established gamefowl roosters I may have?

Any thoughts from experienced gamefowl owners are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

 

[Red Mangrove]

Hello, everyone! I have five gamefowl roosters, all approximately 1 year old, in my free-range flock. I have had them for 6 months and they were approximately 6 months old when I got them. It appears they were raised together from hatch and so far, they are living together in harmony, at times even roaming the farm in their own mini flock. I've always heard that cockerels need to be separated at around 6 months of age or they'll fight to the death, and that is why it took me years to muster the courage to give these amazing creatures a try. As you can imagine, the behavior of my roosters has been a complete surprise, albeit a pleasant one. And for the record, yes, they are most DEFINITELY gamefowl!

That being said, here are my questions: 1) Is this good behavior likely to change at some point, and 2) If I choose to hatch or buy more gamefowl chicks in the future, is this likely to create problems with any established gamefowl roosters I may have?

Any thoughts from experienced gamefowl owners are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

My first chickens were 13 American Gamefowl chicks a friend gave me. Then I also bought some RIR and "red junglefowl" from Tractor Supply

For a long time I had 3 AGF and 1 RJF males living together in harmony

If you introduce new pubescent males they absolutely will fight though. New males must enter the flock before puberty or they'll be violently driven off

 

[Red Mangrove]

How much should I sell 18-22 month old AGF hens for? I have way too many chickens outside. I think they're mostly Hatch and Kelso bloodlines, and a mix of these two

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Hello, everyone! I have five gamefowl roosters, all approximately 1 year old, in my free-range flock. I have had them for 6 months and they were approximately 6 months old when I got them. It appears they were raised together from hatch and so far, they are living together in harmony, at times even roaming the farm in their own mini flock. I've always heard that cockerels need to be separated at around 6 months of age or they'll fight to the death, and that is why it took me years to muster the courage to give these amazing creatures a try. As you can imagine, the behavior of my roosters has been a complete surprise, albeit a pleasant one. And for the record, yes, they are most DEFINITELY gamefowl!

That being said, here are my questions: 1) Is this good behavior likely to change at some point, and 2) If I choose to hatch or buy more gamefowl chicks in the future, is this likely to create problems with any established gamefowl roosters I may have?

Any thoughts from experienced gamefowl owners are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

I can't do this with 16 week stags. I don't know what you have, but assuming they are gamefowl, what you have now is a huge coincidence. At a year you might have a slow maturing line. Either way you have a ticking time bomb.

 

[sdm111]

I can't do this with 16 week stags. I don't know what you have, but assuming they are gamefowl, what you have now is a huge coincidence. At a year you might have a slow maturing line. Either way you have a ticking time bomb.

Or they may not be any good. If one were to challenge the other they will prolly have problems, if they were to fight neither should give up