Old English game fowl

[Mo_fawaazzz]

I am interested in getting English game fowl or junglefowl because o want a bird that is ok with roosting in trees overnight and a bird that is capable of flying away from foxes.

Since they roost in trees, will they sing their egg song in the morning like coop birds? Are they super loud?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am interested in getting English game fowl or junglefowl because o want a bird that is ok with roosting in trees overnight and a bird that is capable of flying away from foxes.

Since they roost in trees, will they sing their egg song in the morning like coop birds? Are they super loud?

Where are you located in the world?

How much land/space do you have?

While Junglefowl, Old English Game Fowl, Game Fowl and even regular 'ol "chickens" will roost in trees, they can also live and roost very comfortably in a chicken coop.

If you set your birds relatively free, they will be roaming, so how do you plan on keeping them? Fencing?

While Gamefowl, OEGB and Junglefowl (regular 'ol chickens too) can fly, they are probably not going to take flight as you imagine when a Fox, Coyote or other predator is after them. They run and hide.

Probably not what you want to hear, but truth.

YES! They are loud, just as loud as any other chicken. Gamefowl can be quite noisy. Yes, they can and will cluck, make noise and a racket just like chickens.

Perhaps, chickens may not be what you are looking for?

I live in a close-knit suburban neighborhood and I have 4 teenage turkey poults, quail, 4 ducks, and two guinea keets.

I had to get rid of my chickens once because my neighbors did not like them clucking at 5AM.

 

[McChooky]

They're descendants of jungle fowl like domestic chickens .They basically act the same.The only difference is they need more space so most people free range them during the day and lock them up at night to protect them.You'll have to train them to go to the coop at night if you want them to lay eggs in the coop during the day.They may not use the coop to lay in if they roost in trees

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

Where are you located in the world?

How much land/space do you have?

While Junglefowl, Old English Game Fowl, Game Fowl and even regular 'ol "chickens" will roost in trees, they can also live and roost very comfortably in a chicken coop.

If you set your birds relatively free, they will be roaming, so how do you plan on keeping them? Fencing?

While Gamefowl, OEGB and Junglefowl (regular 'ol chickens too) can fly, they are probably not going to take flight as you imagine when a Fox, Coyote or other predator is after them. They run and hide.

Probably not what you want to hear, but truth.

YES! They are loud, just as loud as any other chicken. Gamefowl can be quite noisy. Yes, they can and will cluck, make noise and a racket just like chickens.

Perhaps, chickens may not be what you are looking for?

Located in Virginia, I have about an acre of fencing and tons of forest in the back where my birds favor to roam.

All my birds are somewhat quiet. My neighbors were fine with even the chickens until that "egg song" came along. They did not like clucking at 5 in the morning.

All my birds free range and hop over the fencing (except the ducks, which stay near their food bowl). They love to spend time in the forest instead of my yard.

There are a few foxes in my areas, but they are terrible at hunting chickens. I think that they are just lazy hunters because people feed them kitchen scraps. Even my Rhode Island reds easily got away from them, so I am assuming that old English game are definitely able to fly away from them. My rhode Island reds were quiet at all times except during their egg song. I thought that chickens that roost in trees will not sing the egg song since they are not stuck in a coop.

If you know that old English game are unable to escape the foxes, then can you suggest a good-flying breed?

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

They're descendants of jungle fowl like domestic chickens .They basically act the same.The only difference is they need more space so most people free range them during the day and lock them up at night to protect them.You'll have to train them to go to the coop at night if you want them to lay eggs in the coop during the day.They may not use the coop to lay in if they roost in trees

My area is somewhat predator-free except for ground-predators (foxes). My plymouth rock roosted fine, and so do my turkeys, so I am assuming that it is safe for old English game to roost as well.

I only plan on cooping up the ducks at night, since they do not roost. I plan to have my guinea keets roost up in the trees as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I thought that chickens that roost in trees will not sing the egg song since they are not stuck in a coop.

Not all hens sing the egg song when they lay an egg. There is some disagreement between experts as to why they sing it. One popular theory is that the flock moves around while they are on the nest laying an egg so that call is a way to say "Where are you?" so they can rejoin the flock. I've had a rooster that would leave the flock, go to the hen, mate her (if she is laying her eggs need to be fertile), and then lead her back to the flock. Most of my roosters don't do that but a few do.

I have not read any theories about them singing the egg song because they are stuck in a coop. Even if they are laying in nests outside of the coop some sing the egg song, some don't. In my opinion it has nothing to do with roosting in trees.

My area is somewhat predator-free except for ground-predators (foxes). My plymouth rock roosted fine, and so do my turkeys, so I am assuming that it is safe for old English game to roost as well.

Most of dad's chickens roosted in the hen house but several roosted in trees. We had hawks and owls as well ground predators. I can remember only two predator attacks while growing up, a dog and a fox. The dog showed up one afternoon and killed several. The fox would show up at daybreak every day and take one from ambush until Dad figured out what was going on and shot the fox. An uncle was visiting when the dog attacked. Dad was at work so the uncle shot it for us. Dad's flock had some New Hampshire and Dominique in it but also a lot of game chickens. The game birds better ability to fly did not protect them in either case. It was random slaughter.

One summer after I moved away a skunk sprayed under a neighbor's front porch. Those boys and my brothers declared war on skunks. Over that summer 25 skunks were killed. We practically never saw a skunk until they were actively hunted. Obviously we were not predator free but were lucky in some respects. Some people would be wiped out immediately if they let their chickens roost in trees.

I'm not going to criticize you for your poultry sleeping in trees. I grew up where that was a fairy common occurrence. But don't get the idea that they are "safe" because a predator has not found them yet. You may go years without a problem, you could have a problem tonight.

 

[Penpal]

A friend of mine had jungle fowl. They were beautiful. But, be prepared to keep every rooster away from every other rooster. They fight. Sometimes they fight to the death.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hope things work out for you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-raise-poultry-with-neighbors.1619251/