I hatched 3 shamo chicks which are 3 days old now I read they were friendly and made good pets if handled everyday.I know they are fighting birds and wondered if their behaviour is normal,From 2 days old they seem to be very aggressive,they are in with some silkie chicks hatched the same time and are fine with them no aggression whatsoever but when I put my hand in the brooder they rush over to attack pecking like mad and really strutting,the other chicks are very gentle,I can only see this behaviour increasing as they get older is this normal for shamo?
LOL, thats not aggression...thats the gameness of the gamefowl. They are coming to you, "momma hen" and pecking/investigating what you have for them. Much the same way a baby puts everything in their mouth to test the waters, these guys are pecking to see and understand the world around them. Unlike barnyard birds that have been bred to eat, sleep, lay eggs, and die, these guys still retain some of the wild instinct that comes from their wild ancestors. They are looking to you to teach them the ways of survival in their new world. This is the reason I greatly encourage anyone venturing to take on a game breed to do research, research and more research. Carrying misconceptions like "fighting breed" and having fears already of them being these horrible people attacking monsters tells me a little more book time and/or conversation with authentic shamo breeders could of and should of been done. Anyone with questions or concerns about any gamefowl breeds as well as those interested in possibly raising them need do no more than pm me for info or direction to find it. Good luck with your new babies, I'm thinking that in time these little shamo are gonna grow to be some of your favorite birds, even though they do tend to require a little more special care than say...a silkie...
Most of the "game" varieties are far more inquisitive than other breeds. They tend to explore more, and can be very apt to get themselves into situations where they might be hurt or killed. Case in point---one of my Whitehackles took on a large coon, and before I could rescue him, he got badly bitten. However, the coon also got quite a few whacks on his masked face, and I suspect that he wondered whether he had bitten off more than he could chew.
