Show Off Your Games!

[sdm111]

It amazes me how you (shubin ) have fully feathered fowl free ranging together. I tried that in the past and it went ok till one day they decided they hated each other the hens too. I guess they were about 6-8 mo old. It's been 18 or so yrs. but remember it vividly.

 

[maranfarmer563]

My game free range together til the snow melts in the spring. Then its breeding season and look out.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Most of mine didn't last 4 months before they had to be separated. No way that would work for me.

 

[JShubin]

It amazes me how you (shubin ) have fully feathered fowl free ranging together. I tried that in the past and it went ok till one day they decided they hated each other the hens too. I guess they were about 6-8 mo old. It's been 18 or so yrs. but remember it vividly.

yeah I like to keep them free range as long as possible to promote health and proper growth. I feel like cooped up chickens dont get the same exercise and nutrition (from foraging). All of them grew up together free ranging so they have an established pecking order that wont be distrupted until maturity.

I have a fairly small flock (wife would disagree), so I know the pecking order really well and only let out the ones I know wont fight eachother. But like I said before all my full grown cocks will fight so I rotate them out one at a time.

Once the young stags start fighting, I know that they cant free range with any other cock ever again. I would say at about 8 months old this happens. Sometimes a year old if they are already free ranging with an older cock.

 

[sdm111]

Gotcha

 

[sdm111]

this 2014 stag I was gonna cull he got overrun with cocci early on but the wife wanted to treat so I did and he recovered. Me and him never clicked for some reason. And if u notice he's been almost white on his exposed skin since birth. Ugly to me but well see what he's like as a cock

 

[JShubin]

Once you seperate/pen them away from the flock they loose the pecking order and may start fighting early. So I only pen them apart after they start chasing/fighting/kicking the fence. This gives them the longest time possible to free range.

I have been trying to keep all of my chickens penned up during the day so they dont get eaten by dogs. and let the young ones out each afternoon along with one full grown cock and his hens.

 

[JShubin]

this 2014 stag I was gonna cull he got overrun with cocci early on but the wife wanted to treat so I did and he recovered. Me and him never clicked for some reason. And if u notice he's been almost white on his exposed skin since birth. Ugly to me but well see what he's like as a cock

This ones seems different than the others...

I see pale skin as a negative.. I like to see flush red faces

 

[sdm111]

Free range hands down better for them but I don't have the physical area to do it. I used to let a hen out just to do it and a couple days later she'd be gone cause of the foxes and hawks. The blue chicks I had would jump from pen to pen and nobody messed with them and at night they'd go back to their parents. Most adults had a who are u look when they visited lol

 

[sdm111]

This ones seems different than the others...

I see pale skin as a negative.. I like to see flush red faces

Yeah he was suppose to be a cull now the wife ownes 4 he won't be bred