I'm not a show person (yet) but I do believe in the SOP. Yes, a bird doesn't have to be Miss (or mister) Chicken of the Country, but one at least should adhere to the standard of the breed. If not, then what is it? A mutt? An unrecognized fowl? There is a difference between a Silver Laced hen and a Silver Laced Wyandotte.
And that of course also goes for behavior - As said before, there's a definite difference between a Pumpkin "Fowl" and a Pumpkin Hulsey.
Anyway, for those curious of Oriental Gamefowl tolerating the cold. . .
Shamos in the snow and ice.
For the lurkers:
Shamos, along with all other gamefowl, are naturally a heat-hardy breed, and with their hard feathering added in, it can make them prone to cold climates. Now, Shamos are actually the less likely of them to give into the cold though. They're of Japanese origin, and although we provided our first pair with heat lamps in their coop, they spend majority of the day out in the cold atmosphere of their free ranging environment. It does not get very cold here, but it rains a lot, and lately we've been getting some heavy frost and snow. They occasionally shiver, but the pullet has not stopped laying eggs, and neither have shown signs of weakness.
I am really enjoying this breed and think a lot more people should widen themselves into a different variety of chicken such as American and Oriental Gamefowl. They are not for beginners and males will actually kill each other if together, but otherwise, gamefowl are indeed an ancient and rare chicken with a lot of natural instincts that thankfully have not been bred out. They do not make the "egg song" call after or before they've laid an egg, they are not as flighty or shy as a lot of other breeds, they're very broody and protective, and many of the breeds are also very adaptable.
My pair here is very young, and still have a lot of filling out to do. They still have a lot of pounds to put on, a lot of muscle to build up, even some color to still grow in, and of course some height to reach. These Shamos are of the O-Shamo variety, meaning they're the larger version, reaching over 28 inches tall at full growth.
Anyway, for those curious of Oriental Gamefowl tolerating the cold. . .
Shamos in the snow and ice.
For the lurkers:
Shamos, along with all other gamefowl, are naturally a heat-hardy breed, and with their hard feathering added in, it can make them prone to cold climates. Now, Shamos are actually the less likely of them to give into the cold though. They're of Japanese origin, and although we provided our first pair with heat lamps in their coop, they spend majority of the day out in the cold atmosphere of their free ranging environment. It does not get very cold here, but it rains a lot, and lately we've been getting some heavy frost and snow. They occasionally shiver, but the pullet has not stopped laying eggs, and neither have shown signs of weakness.
I am really enjoying this breed and think a lot more people should widen themselves into a different variety of chicken such as American and Oriental Gamefowl. They are not for beginners and males will actually kill each other if together, but otherwise, gamefowl are indeed an ancient and rare chicken with a lot of natural instincts that thankfully have not been bred out. They do not make the "egg song" call after or before they've laid an egg, they are not as flighty or shy as a lot of other breeds, they're very broody and protective, and many of the breeds are also very adaptable.
My pair here is very young, and still have a lot of filling out to do. They still have a lot of pounds to put on, a lot of muscle to build up, even some color to still grow in, and of course some height to reach. These Shamos are of the O-Shamo variety, meaning they're the larger version, reaching over 28 inches tall at full growth.
