We rescued this hen from an industrial complex near work. There are no homes around, so nobody knows how she got there. She was living in some bushes and a giant spruce in front of an empty building. Some people were feeding it and with the freezing Michigan winter and snow, we thought it would be better to give her a nice home with plenty of food and attention. I've been looking online to try and figure out what breed she is, or if she's a mix. Not sure the age, but she has fully developed spurs (I've never seen on a hen before). I can try to snap more pictures if these are not good enough.
Rescued Chicken, what breed?
- Thread starter Patrick M
- Start date
Wow. The head shape looks like a red sex link of some kind, as well as the feathers but that tail! And the head carriage!
and spurs?
She's cute anyway. Glad you found her. I don't know, but bumped this up for you, maybe someone will figure it out.
Bet she's happy to have a new home for Christmas.
and spurs?
She's cute anyway. Glad you found her. I don't know, but bumped this up for you, maybe someone will figure it out.Bet she's happy to have a new home for Christmas.
She's a game hen, I think wheaton in color.
Game birds are wonderful at survival--good rangers, scrappy, and great mothers. They're also one of the more likely breeds for hens to have spurs. She'll make a nice bird for you!
- Thread starter
- #4
Holy cow, donrae! I Google'd "wheaton game hen" and I found several pictures that match up perfectly! Good call! So, are game hens a subset of typical chicken breeds? I've never heard of them, but from the name and images, I gather that they're for eating (not that we plan to eat her).
Yeah...Donrae knows her birds...I could tell you its a game bird (body build and tail) and say it looks like an Old English Game...but not down to the correct color term of Wheaton.
As to game birds...they are a distinct chicken breed. Originally bred in England during the Middle Ages for gaming...cock fighting. Cock fighting has been illegal in England since the 1850's, so they are now kept for ornamental decoration and for showing. Most are not good for eating (not much meat on them).
The hens (which you have) are usually very good broodies.
Games are good at foraging for food and especially good at flying (over fences) so you'll likely want to clip her wings.
I have had several game mixes (EE/game)...they are pretty to look at, flighty, and so-so layers. I keep them as my 1 or 2 ornamental grain eaters. My game/EE is also especially intelligent...you can see the wheels turning behind that little beak.
Lady of McCamley
Well thank you!
Lady's told you about their history--fighting birds. That's why they're so scrappy! I don't know if it's a correct term, but I think of them as a more "primitive" breed of chicken, one that hasn't been fussed with and bred to only lay eggs and be confined and never raise chicks like most hatchery birds. Thus the hens having spurs, also.
Spend enough time on these boards and you'll see that when someone finds a bird living on it's own there's a HIGH probability it's a game bird.
I actually had a wheaton game hen, almost the same story as you. Friend of ours was working at the local fairgrounds and there was a "wild chicken" that had been there for months. Fair was coming and the powers that be didn't want a loose bird running around, so my friend finally caught her and brought her to us. She was the best momma bird I've had! I lost her to a fox--she survived the initial attack and hatched her clutch she'd been setting on, then died when the chicks were a few days old. I'd take more like her in a heartbeat!
Cornish game hens--the tiny eating birds you're thinking of-- are regular meat birds, just processed much younger. Not these birds!
Lady's told you about their history--fighting birds. That's why they're so scrappy! I don't know if it's a correct term, but I think of them as a more "primitive" breed of chicken, one that hasn't been fussed with and bred to only lay eggs and be confined and never raise chicks like most hatchery birds. Thus the hens having spurs, also.
Spend enough time on these boards and you'll see that when someone finds a bird living on it's own there's a HIGH probability it's a game bird.
I actually had a wheaton game hen, almost the same story as you. Friend of ours was working at the local fairgrounds and there was a "wild chicken" that had been there for months. Fair was coming and the powers that be didn't want a loose bird running around, so my friend finally caught her and brought her to us. She was the best momma bird I've had! I lost her to a fox--she survived the initial attack and hatched her clutch she'd been setting on, then died when the chicks were a few days old. I'd take more like her in a heartbeat!
Cornish game hens--the tiny eating birds you're thinking of-- are regular meat birds, just processed much younger. Not these birds!
- Jul 24, 2013
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Looks like a Wheaten Old English Game or another gamebird mix.
- Jul 24, 2013
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She's a pretty Wheaten Old English Game, or a game mix.
- Dec 26, 2013
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game hen
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