Nurture Right 360 temp fluctuating

[Coop-de-doop]

Think of them as chickens in natural state before man did much to corrupt them. The primary changes man made to gamefowl from wild junglefowl was cementing year-round breeding and selecting roosters that will endure the pain of prolonged fights with artificial spurs. Other than those changes, gamefowl are tamed-up wild animals. Docility among chickens is very unnatural.

So will it be safe for me to collect eggs and feed and water these birds? Yikes, sounds like raptors.

 

[fluffycrow]

So will it be safe for me to collect eggs and feed and water these birds? Yikes, sounds like raptors.

Yes. It's safe for you to be in the same space with these birds. Just please keep each bird separate. The males always separate, always. As for the females, I don’t keep Americans. For the Oriental gamefowl females we keep them in groups of three max. Even then, some females need to be kept separate as well. The other peeps here will be able to tell you about your birds

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

So will it be safe for me to collect eggs and feed and water these birds? Yikes, sounds like raptors.

Yes, they’re fine. They’re not avian monsters. They just retain a degree of natural feistiness that has been modified a bit by man and is generally directed between mature males.

Using a dog analogy, pretend that a wild junglefowl is a wolf and a normal coop chicken is a golden retriever. Gamefowl are like malamutes, huskies, and other wolf-like dogs fresh from the far north. They’re tame. They can be fine pets. But they retain a hard edge that can let them survive in semi-feral conditions. They’re made for living in a pack. But the packs have a pecking order that is enforced by tooth and claw. They’re not cold blooded killers like wild wolves, but they aren’t soft goldens either. They’re in the middle.

Your gamefowl flock will have a natural pecking order. At the head is a mature rooster. Under him will be 12-20 hens or however many hens you keep. The hens will have an order among themselves. Chicks will grow up and male chicks will live under the domination of the mature rooster until they get close to maturity. Then they’ll move to the edge of the flock (if free ranging). They’ll finish maturing out of the view of the dominant rooster. Among themselves, a stag will become stronger than the rest. At the right time, it will challenge the mature cock and either kill him or die. Either way, life will go on for the hens.

Its just a natural order. Nothing more. Same thing whitetail deer, turkey, lions, gorillas, and many other species where a dominant male controls a territory and a harem of females until a new, stronger, male replaces him. The game drive, that fight instinct, is just a tweaking of that natural instinct by man to make the males stronger and fiercer fighters. But it doesn’t make them indiscriminate killing machines.

I’ve kept bulldogs for years of various breeds and lines. Some are crazy killing machines, made that way by centuries of selective breeding. Gamefowl are NOT the pitbulls of the chicken world. They aren’t drastically modified from nature to be sometime they wouldn’t be otherwise. Man’s selection just refined an animal that was already naturally aggressive so as to make the aggression last year round (which is, by the way, why domestic chickens lay eggs much of the year and not during just a breeding season, the same modification that made roosters fight year round likely made hens lay year round), and for the aggression to be more enduring.

 

[Coop-de-doop]

Yes, they’re fine. They’re not avian monsters. They just retain a degree of natural feistiness that has been modified a bit by man and is generally directed between mature males.

Using a dog analogy, pretend that a wild junglefowl is a wolf and a normal coop chicken is a golden retriever. Gamefowl are like malamutes, huskies, and other wolf-like dogs fresh from the far north. They’re tame. They can be fine pets. But they retain a hard edge that can let them survive in semi-feral conditions. They’re made for living in a pack. But the packs have a pecking order that is enforced by tooth and claw. They’re not cold blooded killers like wild wolves, but they aren’t soft goldens either. They’re in the middle.

Your gamefowl flock will have a natural pecking order. At the head is a mature rooster. Under him will be 12-20 hens or however many hens you keep. The hens will have an order among themselves. Chicks will grow up and male chicks will live under the domination of the mature rooster until they get close to maturity. Then they’ll move to the edge of the flock (if free ranging). They’ll finish maturing out of the view of the dominant rooster. Among themselves, a stag will become stronger than the rest. At the right time, it will challenge the mature cock and either kill him or die. Either way, life will go on for the hens.

Its just a natural order. Nothing more. Same thing whitetail deer, turkey, lions, gorillas, and many other species where a dominant male controls a territory and a harem of females until a new, stronger, male replaces him. The game drive, that fight instinct, is just a tweaking of that natural instinct by man to make the males stronger and fiercer fighters. But it doesn’t make them indiscriminate killing machines.

I’ve kept bulldogs for years of various breeds and lines. Some are crazy killing machines, made that way by centuries of selective breeding. Gamefowl are NOT the pitbulls of the chicken world. They aren’t drastically modified from nature to be sometime they wouldn’t be otherwise. Man’s selection just refined an animal that was already naturally aggressive so as to make the aggression last year round (which is, by the way, why domestic chickens lay eggs much of the year and not during just a breeding season, the same modification that made roosters fight year round likely made hens lay year round), and for the aggression to be more enduring.

This is very informative! Thank you! I feel so much better. We actually have a husky!

 

[Coop-de-doop]

Yes, they’re fine. They’re not avian monsters. They just retain a degree of natural feistiness that has been modified a bit by man and is generally directed between mature males.

Using a dog analogy, pretend that a wild junglefowl is a wolf and a normal coop chicken is a golden retriever. Gamefowl are like malamutes, huskies, and other wolf-like dogs fresh from the far north. They’re tame. They can be fine pets. But they retain a hard edge that can let them survive in semi-feral conditions. They’re made for living in a pack. But the packs have a pecking order that is enforced by tooth and claw. They’re not cold blooded killers like wild wolves, but they aren’t soft goldens either. They’re in the middle.

Your gamefowl flock will have a natural pecking order. At the head is a mature rooster. Under him will be 12-20 hens or however many hens you keep. The hens will have an order among themselves. Chicks will grow up and male chicks will live under the domination of the mature rooster until they get close to maturity. Then they’ll move to the edge of the flock (if free ranging). They’ll finish maturing out of the view of the dominant rooster. Among themselves, a stag will become stronger than the rest. At the right time, it will challenge the mature cock and either kill him or die. Either way, life will go on for the hens.

Its just a natural order. Nothing more. Same thing whitetail deer, turkey, lions, gorillas, and many other species where a dominant male controls a territory and a harem of females until a new, stronger, male replaces him. The game drive, that fight instinct, is just a tweaking of that natural instinct by man to make the males stronger and fiercer fighters. But it doesn’t make them indiscriminate killing machines.

I’ve kept bulldogs for years of various breeds and lines. Some are crazy killing machines, made that way by centuries of selective breeding. Gamefowl are NOT the pitbulls of the chicken world. They aren’t drastically modified from nature to be sometime they wouldn’t be otherwise. Man’s selection just refined an animal that was already naturally aggressive so as to make the aggression last year round (which is, by the way, why domestic chickens lay eggs much of the year and not during just a breeding season, the same modification that made roosters fight year round likely made hens lay year round), and for the aggression to be more enduring.

I just read this to my husband. SUCH an interesting read. Thank you for taking the time!

 

[Faraday40]

To say a game is"game" means it will continue to fight till it or the opponent dies even while being cut or stabbed by a knife or gaff attached over its natural spur. Gamefowl is another term for fighting chickens. If someone doesn't have the means to house them individually even the hens or can't just have pairs it will end up in a bloodbath eventually. And no you can't stop what has been bred I yo them for thousands of years . No amount of hugs and talking to will do it. That's why games get a bad rap. If you can't house them correctly then don't get any

Very informative side info.

What about bantams? specifically Old English Game and Modern Game?

Was the fiercest aggression bred out of the game banties raised for exhibition? I doubt they were used for fighting. (Of course my fearless serama rooster thinks he's king and will charge at my 14lb rooster if given the opportunity. LOL He's OK within his yard because the other cockerels know he's boss. The other males are sold before full maturity anyway.)

 

[fluffycrow]

Very informative side info.

What about bantams? specifically Old English Game and Modern Game?

Was the fiercest aggression bred out of the game banties raised for exhibition? I doubt they were used for fighting. (Of course my fearless serama rooster thinks he's king and will charge at my 14lb rooster if given the opportunity. LOL He's OK within his yard because the other cockerels know he's boss. The other males are sold before full maturity anyway.)

OEGB have the game part taken out, so for the most part those are fine. As for modern games, they were never bred for fighting