Show Off Your American Gamefowl and Chat Thread!!!

[centrarchid]

Hen with spurs. Recessive trait in mine with about 1 in 10 showing it. All in one line. She has 10 chicks about three weeks old.

 

[centrarchid]

Raising all these chicks penned up is costing me about 3 times as much when it comes to feed and even more in labor. That coupled with chicks not likely to be as good means this is not something I will be doing on a regular basis with games. Rearing chicks in cockyard with hens all bunched up has been aggravating enough. Next year I am going to have some walks. Loosing some adults with that approach OK as part of the bargain.

 

[B123]

Hen with spurs. Recessive trait in mine with about 1 in 10 showing it. All in one line. She has 10 chicks about three weeks old.

Cool pic Centra. Are you sure it is a recessive trait in your line? I always like spurred hens! Hutt reported on some of the early work with spurred hens and found there was a genetic basis for them, but it did not appear to be simply recessive. He also summarized that there were no apparent differences in egg production between spurred and non-spurred females. They were using Mediterranean egg layers as they most commonly showed spurred hens.

 

[centrarchid]

Yes, recessive. Multiple loci could very well be involved. I have never had a brood of pullets were even one in 4 had spurs. Always fewer. Just because a hen has spurs does not mean any of her daughters will. That is a function of cock she is bred to.

Egg production is not a concern with spurs. Hatch rate and survival rate of chicks more of concern.

Spurs may provide advantage against other hens. Not significant weapons against predators.

 

[B123]

Yes, recessive. Multiple loci could very well be involved. I have never had a brood of pullets were even one in 4 had spurs. Always fewer. Just because a hen has spurs does not mean any of her daughters will. That is a function of cock she is bred to.
Meaning he is carrying the alleles for spurred hens too?

Egg production is not a concern with spurs. Hatch rate and survival rate of chicks more of concern.
It was initially thought that spurred hens carried too many male hormones to lay as well as their non-spurred counterparts.

Spurs may provide advantage against other hens. Not significant weapons against predators.

 

[B123]

Mid-upper 40's feels great but the way the birds look you'd think it was in the teens.

It is all relative. lol The ice in the water cups has been getting thicker the past couple of mornings, so I dumped them tonight and fired up the wood stove. Winter is coming!

 

[roosterhavoc]

Turkeys are bullying my peacock

 

[sdm111]

Do u ever get a couple to eat? They seem plentiful around there

 

[roosterhavoc]

Do u ever get a couple to eat? They seem plentiful around there

i don't hunt them much because the season runs at the same time it's best for trout fishing. I usually pick fishing over turkey hunting. Plus I'm not that good of a turkey hunter.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Wild turkey does not taste like the butterball from the store either.