Oriental Gamefowl Thread!

[gallo4319]

Quote:
I see you using your hens to hatch chicks.
How do you do with those chicks with this crazy weather do you keep them penned ?
I'm hatching small numbers in a small Bator after that they go to a 56 gals aquariumun till they are strong enough to go
To another pen.
They stay there until they are feathered enough to be released to be free range.

Do you not have a problem with hawks? I would imagine you would with such small birds runnin' around.

Nate

my biggest problems are raccoons ,skunks and some others egg eaters .

 

[OkChickens]

On my Floor less coops and pens I either bury Heavy duty Chicken Wire or Roofing Tin. Which ever is handy or cheaper. I bury it about 16-18" keeps the coons out.
It is much cheaper to build coops with out a floor and bury something around the base for security.

Nate

 

[josh44]

Quote:
I see you using your hens to hatch chicks.
How do you do with those chicks with this crazy weather do you keep them penned ?
I'm hatching small numbers in a small Bator after that they go to a 56 gals aquariumun till they are strong enough to go
To another pen.
They stay there until they are feathered enough to be released to be free range.

Do you not have a problem with hawks? I would imagine you would with such small birds runnin' around.

Nate

My only and biggest problem predator weise
Are the opssums and just about everone of my neighbors dogs .

I lined my pens with garden wire/rabbit wire to keep the.chicks in & To keep Opssums, cats,racoons etc. Paws out and from reaching in.

Planning on fixing the problem soon as far as dogs

I love to free range, but now am having to limit their time out in the yard for their protection from mainly the dogs.
Hawks are not usually a problem for me.. they're usualy more interested in getting into my pigeon house.

 

[Gresh]

Quote:
Do you not have a problem with hawks? I would imagine you would with such small birds runnin' around.

Nate

My only and biggest problem predator weise
Are the opssums and just about everone of my neighbors dogs .

I lined my pens with garden wire/rabbit wire to keep the.chicks in & To keep Opssums, cats,racoons etc. Paws out and from reaching in.

Planning on fixing the problem soon as far as dogs

I love to free range, but now am having to limit their time out in the yard for their protection from mainly the dogs.
Hawks are not usually a problem for me.. they're usualy more interested in getting into my pigeon house.

LOL, by "fixing" the dog problem, do you mean gunnin' them down?

 

[D3invertebrates]

Possums have been bad for me also, I lost alot of quail to them this year. I had A 6.5' ratsnake get in and eat so many it couldnt get back out, before it got stuck though it killed alot of quail. But that was all in summer now that its getting colder the hawks seem to be getting worse, I had one waiting on the fence before sunup this morning thats pretty unusual for a hawk to be out at night I think but its the second time in a couple of weeks and Ive had hawks come after my birds everyday now for a little over a month. Its stupid how everyone says you cant shoot them cause its illegal, I dont care if the queen herself flys into my backyard if she kills my birds Im gonna kill her.

 

[Yessur Ebob]

thanks for the info. My dad is interested in the thai game birds, and i just wanted to know what the differences were. Are the thai's good layers? How big do they get? Are they aggresive?

 

[gallorojo]

None of the orientals are bred for laying, so, don't get them if your primary purpose is eggs! They tend to go broody a lot, and are very much seasonal layers. A lot will depend on the strain within the breed, too. Some Asil are supposed to be good layers when not broody, same with the Thai. Not good like production birds, but, good for orientals. I have Cubalayas, and they are very good layers when they are not broody. Also remember all the orientals are slow to mature, and the big ones eat a lot!! If you like the look, but want decent egg production go for Cubalayas, Kraienkoppes, Sumatras, even hatchery Cornish. They would all be fairly good layers when not broody. The Thai, Asil, Malay were bred for gameness, not laying. They are more of meat birds than they are layers, but, they really aren't production birds any more than a silkie or a cochin is-All chickens lay eggs, you can eat them all, but, don't think these birds will pay for their keep in egg laying alone! I don't want you to be disappointed. There are lots of great reason to keep the breeds you listed, beyond egg production.

Thai seem to be roughly 6-9 pounds for cocks, and smaller for hens. I've seen them larger and smaller, though. Remember, these are not APA show chickens, size will vary. They should be aggressive with other males, yes. They should never be at all aggressive or flighty with people! My Thai cockerel will eat out of my hand from day one, right out of the box, and will stay calm when handled nicely. Breeder birds will be better at having the correct attitude and temperament. The hatchery version of Thai are good layers, but, they are not pure Thai.

 

[GotGame]

The family of brazilians i started with, the hens lay very well. From April till now, ( still laying ) my hens average six eggs a week ( with a couple short breaks of course). This is not the norm but some do lay very well.

 

[josh44]

Another Asil

 

[gallo4319]