New gamefowl thread

[centrarchid]

Oh, ok I am struggling a little with some of my biddies. They are oriental so not known for their wintering abilities. And it does get cold here.

My son is having similar issues with his that are now about 12 weeks old. They have been moved into garage connected to house where they are dry and shielded from the wind. They did fine with mother but when weaned she quite covering them. They are showing signs of stress when temperature drops down to around freezing. If temperatures drop further then I will have him setup a heat lamp.

American Games are a lot tougher. I have raised chicks even during the harshest winters although that was done with birds in manger part of barn surrounded by occupied pens with livestock (cattle) that produced heat. Broods were actually large since did not have to tangle with cocci and rain that can be a problem in spring.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

These chicks are being brooded in a brood pen I brough into the barn. The hen covering them is also oriental and was unable to keep them warm enough, so I separated them.
The issue I have with American games is how scrawny they are compared to other chickens. I am considering crossing some Americans onto my birds though.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

My sonatol aseel struggled with humidity and thunderstorms. Both pure breds to their line and Liege crosses. I have to produce 1-2 dozen to get one that shrugs it off in a free range setting. The rest wash out after heavy downpours. Like the old farmer’s adage about turkey poults drowning after a thunderstorm.

I have the impression that orientals are far more specialized to the environments they were created in than bankivoids are. And very inbred.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yeah, after reading all this and am seriously considering getting some Americans to give my birds a little boost.

 

[centrarchid]

These chicks are being brooded in a brood pen I brough into the barn. The hen covering them is also oriental and was unable to keep them warm enough, so I separated them.
The issue I have with American games is how scrawny they are compared to other chickens. I am considering crossing some Americans onto my birds though.

American and certainly Orientals should not be scrawny. Something is up.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Orientals aren't at least not mine. I am saying Americans are by comparison which is why I am hesitant about adding them to my line.

 

[sdm111]

These chicks are being brooded in a brood pen I brough into the barn. The hen covering them is also oriental and was unable to keep them warm enough, so I separated them.
The issue I have with American games is how scrawny they are compared to other chickens. I am considering crossing some Americans onto my birds though.

You may want to look at getting different blood American gamefowl. I wouldn't call them scrawny ordinarily. You may have blood that's not too good to be quite frank

 

[sdm111]

Mine are heavy tight footballs. Nothing scrawny about them
All are not equal

 

[sdm111]

Or it may be the way you're feeding them.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Orientals aren't at least not mine. I am saying Americans are by comparison which is why I am hesitant about adding them to my line.

The fellow I get my Blueface and Hatch Americans from breeds huge birds, huge relative to my Cracker junglefowl hybrids. His brood cocks are in the 6lb range. That’s why I’m using them to cross into my Crackers to improve my Crackers’ size.

Historically Old English gamefowl and old American strains ran 4-5lbs, with the trend being towards them being bred larger as the decades go by based on reported weights in old cocking publications. Although few people breed them to be larger than 6lb.

Spanish-type bankivoids are a bit more junglefowl-like in build and run on the light side. 3lb-4lbs.

As an example, here is a spread of genetics:

The smallest hen is one of my mature Crackers. She’s tiny, probably not even 2lbs. To her right is a half-Blueface half-Cracker stag, not quite a year old. He weighs 3lbs, so only 1/2lb more than a mature Cracker cock, but his frame is twice the size of the same. To the left is a half-Blueface half-aseel pullet. She is 4lbs at near a year old. The aseel used in her breeding was small, her size comes from the American side.

You can have lightly built bankivoids or heavily built ones.