New to Gamefowl.....need desperate help!

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Hello!
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Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC.
 
Newby123 said:
Hello I acquired some gamebirds today thinking I was getting just regular chickens to add to my flock. The guy I purchased them from was moving out of state and needed to sell them. Being fairly new to chickens I wasn't aware of all the breeds and was unable to find information on this specific one. He stated they are "red legged hatch" but I'm not sure that even exists as I have found zero information! We currently have a few RIR, barred rocks, and a rooster who is a Wyandotte. All of these birds grew up together and the rooster is definitely in charge. We separated the gamebirds. We have a pallet pen that we're using on a temporary basis for them as we didn't want to integrate them into our flock and have anything happen. There is a mother hen who I was told is about a year old and 7 chicks who are 4 months old. The guy told me that the mother hatch them all out herself and is very protective of them. She did allow us to pick her up and them without any problem but they are all very skittish. I don't believe they were ever really handled or socialized. We went to feed them but they literally, well all but 2 would not touch the tray....they instead scratched around the pine shavings looking for food so we sprinkled it on the ground and they seemed to like that better. They also wouldn't touch the waterer either which will be a problem if they refuse to drink. We were told that at least one of them is a rooster but since they all have those fan tails we can't really tell. So as you can imagine I have loads of questions and need help. We wanted to add to our flock to get eggs to eat. We have a large family and go through a bunch of eggs. We have no desire to breed or get hatch eggs. So firstly how do these birds differ from the others we have? Can we integrate them into our flock or should they be kept in a separate coop? We mostly free range our birds, can we do so with these ones as well? Is there any risk of disease or anything that a gamebird may have that "regular" chickens don't? Can we even eat their eggs? If needed to cull a rooster, can we then eat it? Do the game hens need a nesting box and privacy just like the other birds? If needed I can take and post pictures of them tomorrow. They are all on the small side, even the hen is very thin to be about a year in comparison with our other birds. Any and all help or answers would be so great! Any additional information would also be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading this super long message and for trying to help in any way you can!
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Do you have photos so I can tell what type of gamefowl they are? And the care for most game fowl is not the same as other domestic poultry. I have Shamo game fowl birds from Japan. They are my pets and as long as I'm alive my birds will never see a cock fight. But because that's what they have been breed to do for hundreds of years and most all other chickens have been breed for egg laying or meat they are very different birds.
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This is my rooster Siddharthá ,9mts old ,30in tall and 10lbs. Still has another year of growing before he is an adult. very intelligent,much more so then any other chickens I've ever seen. With me he is more like a puppy then a rooster but he would kill another rooster or fight until he was killed. He just chased two very large pit bulls out of my yard today.
 
Newby123 said:
Hello I acquired some gamebirds today thinking I was getting just regular chickens to add to my flock. The guy I purchased them from was moving out of state and needed to sell them. Being fairly new to chickens I wasn't aware of all the breeds and was unable to find information on this specific one. He stated they are "red legged hatch" but I'm not sure that even exists as I have found zero information! We currently have a few RIR, barred rocks, and a rooster who is a Wyandotte. All of these birds grew up together and the rooster is definitely in charge. We separated the gamebirds. We have a pallet pen that we're using on a temporary basis for them as we didn't want to integrate them into our flock and have anything happen. There is a mother hen who I was told is about a year old and 7 chicks who are 4 months old. The guy told me that the mother hatch them all out herself and is very protective of them. She did allow us to pick her up and them without any problem but they are all very skittish. I don't believe they were ever really handled or socialized. We went to feed them but they literally, well all but 2 would not touch the tray....they instead scratched around the pine shavings looking for food so we sprinkled it on the ground and they seemed to like that better. They also wouldn't touch the waterer either which will be a problem if they refuse to drink. We were told that at least one of them is a rooster but since they all have those fan tails we can't really tell. So as you can imagine I have loads of questions and need help. We wanted to add to our flock to get eggs to eat. We have a large family and go through a bunch of eggs. We have no desire to breed or get hatch eggs. So firstly how do these birds differ from the others we have? Can we integrate them into our flock or should they be kept in a separate coop? We mostly free range our birds, can we do so with these ones as well? Is there any risk of disease or anything that a gamebird may have that "regular" chickens don't? Can we even eat their eggs? If needed to cull a rooster, can we then eat it? Do the game hens need a nesting box and privacy just like the other birds? If needed I can take and post pictures of them tomorrow. They are all on the small side, even the hen is very thin to be about a year in comparison with our other birds. Any and all help or answers would be so great! Any additional information would also be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading this super long message and for trying to help in any way you can!
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HI!!! Did you ever integrate them? I just got one little gamefowl and am about to join her wiht my 3 other hens but am worried they won't get along because she's like half the size. How did it all go? How is egg production, etc?
 
Newby123 said:
Hello I acquired some gamebirds today thinking I was getting just regular chickens to add to my flock. The guy I purchased them from was moving out of state and needed to sell them. Being fairly new to chickens I wasn't aware of all the breeds and was unable to find information on this specific one. He stated they are "red legged hatch" but I'm not sure that even exists as I have found zero information! We currently have a few RIR, barred rocks, and a rooster who is a Wyandotte. All of these birds grew up together and the rooster is definitely in charge. We separated the gamebirds. We have a pallet pen that we're using on a temporary basis for them as we didn't want to integrate them into our flock and have anything happen. There is a mother hen who I was told is about a year old and 7 chicks who are 4 months old. The guy told me that the mother hatch them all out herself and is very protective of them. She did allow us to pick her up and them without any problem but they are all very skittish. I don't believe they were ever really handled or socialized. We went to feed them but they literally, well all but 2 would not touch the tray....they instead scratched around the pine shavings looking for food so we sprinkled it on the ground and they seemed to like that better. They also wouldn't touch the waterer either which will be a problem if they refuse to drink. We were told that at least one of them is a rooster but since they all have those fan tails we can't really tell. So as you can imagine I have loads of questions and need help. We wanted to add to our flock to get eggs to eat. We have a large family and go through a bunch of eggs. We have no desire to breed or get hatch eggs. So firstly how do these birds differ from the others we have? Can we integrate them into our flock or should they be kept in a separate coop? We mostly free range our birds, can we do so with these ones as well? Is there any risk of disease or anything that a gamebird may have that "regular" chickens don't? Can we even eat their eggs? If needed to cull a rooster, can we then eat it? Do the game hens need a nesting box and privacy just like the other birds? If needed I can take and post pictures of them tomorrow. They are all on the small side, even the hen is very thin to be about a year in comparison with our other birds. Any and all help or answers would be so great! Any additional information would also be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading this super long message and for trying to help in any way you can!
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and by 3 other ones I mean my buff orpington, cream legbar and easter egger.
 
rosieoreoandpancake said:
HI!!! Did you ever integrate them? I just got one little gamefowl and am about to join her wiht my 3 other hens but am worried they won't get along because she's like half the size. How did it all go? How is egg production, etc?
Click to expand...
:welcome OP has not been on site in 4.25 years - zombie thread.
 

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