If i may be bluntnt, JE' As a hunter I am surprized you don't find them a quality meat bird....I don't mean quanity, which is what most people expound on, as in - jee my bird was 10 pounds! But more as in, sure tastes like pheasant to me. I've found one bird more than enough for two people. However mine are naturally lean, and those legs are bigger than most regular chickens. But i prefer dark meat anyway. I've found they cook better if handled gently, as in lightly browned and simmered...or long and slow as in crockpot. Roasted, I cover with foil until the last 15 minutes as they are lean. My birds totally free range so those tendons are very tough, but I keep sharp knives and certainly you can trim your own meal. The other thing I've found is they don't gorge themselves on feed, but rather forage for their own, they always walk away from the table after 5 minutes or so, not the case in most breeds, so in that respect, they are so cheap.
I get what you mean, most people seem hung up on the stygma of game birds...as difficult bloodthirsy critter, etc...and I don't believe they are good for the average Joe., mostly because I think they suffer from confinement. And no, you can't keep a ton of roosters in one yard...it gets messy. But you can't keep too many cocks of any breed together. You can't keep two stallions together, two bulls, two rams....on and on.
Colors are important, but, I would not eliminate a physically better cock to replace it with one just because I like his color better. (I can still keep the feathers) where I live, alot of people keep games, because they are easy keepers. And they can be tamed up as well as the family dog, making them great pets. ( I should say, family parrot) eventually that stygma of pit fighting will be replaced....as it is illegal...so hopefully you can even talk about them without being censored. As in I let my stags naturally decide who is the fittest, strongest, without being cruel about it...meaning, I step in and remove who is loosing before he gets hurt badly. Shoot, even the hens fight. All chickens do. Who is dominent is who I want to breed. The colors they throw are just a fascinating aspect. If i didn't have games, I would probably choose buckeyes, but I've heard they can be even worse.
I've never had a game cock try to flog me...never. sure I've had them bite me, if I snatch a wild one off his roost, but that is normal I would think. I guess I would like to convince you they are great dual purpose birds, but then, I eat squirrel too. Nice black walnut oil, little garlic...gently saute...yum!
I get what you mean, most people seem hung up on the stygma of game birds...as difficult bloodthirsy critter, etc...and I don't believe they are good for the average Joe., mostly because I think they suffer from confinement. And no, you can't keep a ton of roosters in one yard...it gets messy. But you can't keep too many cocks of any breed together. You can't keep two stallions together, two bulls, two rams....on and on.
Colors are important, but, I would not eliminate a physically better cock to replace it with one just because I like his color better. (I can still keep the feathers) where I live, alot of people keep games, because they are easy keepers. And they can be tamed up as well as the family dog, making them great pets. ( I should say, family parrot) eventually that stygma of pit fighting will be replaced....as it is illegal...so hopefully you can even talk about them without being censored. As in I let my stags naturally decide who is the fittest, strongest, without being cruel about it...meaning, I step in and remove who is loosing before he gets hurt badly. Shoot, even the hens fight. All chickens do. Who is dominent is who I want to breed. The colors they throw are just a fascinating aspect. If i didn't have games, I would probably choose buckeyes, but I've heard they can be even worse.
I've never had a game cock try to flog me...never. sure I've had them bite me, if I snatch a wild one off his roost, but that is normal I would think. I guess I would like to convince you they are great dual purpose birds, but then, I eat squirrel too. Nice black walnut oil, little garlic...gently saute...yum!
