Show Off Your Games!

[cwc362]

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Just to let you all know- I went out this morning to feed and my Madagascar Rooster was dead. He hadn't appeared sick and he was in the shade and had plenty of water and feed. Don't know what happened unless the move took a toll on him or somthing. I really hate it but I know this happens sometimes .

 

[DTchickens]

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Just to let you all know- I went out this morning to feed and my Madagascar Rooster was dead. He hadn't appeared sick and he was in the shade and had plenty of water and feed. Don't know what happened unless the move took a toll on him or somthing. I really hate it but I know this happens sometimes .

Sorry to hear that cwc.. I know what it is like to lose a rooster and not be able to find a cause, had it happen a couple months back with a roundheadXwhitehackle cock.. We checked and never could find anything. I didn't like him too much in his last days, he turned into a manfighter a little.. But I still don't like to just watch a bird die like that, especially when I have to finish 'em off.

-Daniel

 

[chickenlover54]

Here is a link to my American game auction
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=366720

 

[cwc362]

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Just to let you all know- I went out this morning to feed and my Madagascar Rooster was dead. He hadn't appeared sick and he was in the shade and had plenty of water and feed. Don't know what happened unless the move took a toll on him or somthing. I really hate it but I know this happens sometimes .

Sorry to hear that cwc.. I know what it is like to lose a rooster and not be able to find a cause, had it happen a couple months back with a roundheadXwhitehackle cock.. We checked and never could find anything. I didn't like him too much in his last days, he turned into a manfighter a little.. But I still don't like to just watch a bird die like that, especially when I have to finish 'em off.

-Daniel

Thanks Daniel It's always a big disappointment when you lose an animal but guess that's just part of it.

 

[pride&joy]

Quote:
Just to let you all know- I went out this morning to feed and my Madagascar Rooster was dead. He hadn't appeared sick and he was in the shade and had plenty of water and feed. Don't know what happened unless the move took a toll on him or somthing. I really hate it but I know this happens sometimes .

Sorry for u'r loss

 

[cicene mete]

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster. You too, Daniel, I know you've had a few losses recently. It's always sad when that happens, and I know how hard it is to have to finish them off yourself. I've had to do that four different times. It's always hard, but when I had to put down my favorite rooster (Mille Fleur Cochin named Charles, who was good to his girls, great with people; just the perfect little rooster), it stayed with me for quite a while. All part of having chickens, I guess.

 

[MashburnRanch]

Hello, Thank You all for comments made on our behalf. Yes most of our game fowl are yellow legged as originally breed with exceptions of the greys and our Butchers which are white legged. you can see more of our fowl at..... www.MashburnRanch.vpweb.com ..... btw Chickenlover 54 you have some super good looking fowl posted on your site, keep up the good work !! yf, Mashburn Ranch

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I just wanted to say it appears that they all have Yellow legs, they are supposed to have White legs(atleast I have been told that by numerous people).

 

[operator16]

These may be the silliest questions you all have heard...

I don't know a thing about games. I've just started with my first traditional chickens in the last few months. I'm intrigued by these beautiful game birds. Can you tell me what their purpose is? Are they meat birds? I know they look an awful lot like the pheasant my dh hunts... Are they hunted? Are they for show? Do you eat the eggs they produce? Do folks keep a flock of them or just a few for show? Do they get along with other birds? Are they aggressive by nature?

Here's another question for you. A friend of mine has this darling bird that made me fall in love with chickens to begin with. He's tiny. I think he's a game bird. He hangs out in her kitchen and is the most social guy. He meets all the visitors that come in the door. Anyone can pick him up. I carry him around with me the whole time I visit with her. He coos and clucks. Here are two pictures of him. Can anyone tell me what kind of bird he is? Sorry for the nasty editing. I stole his picture from her site and there was a little girl in the pic. I didn't know so felt I should take her out. His name is Coq au Vin. I'm guessing he cannot be more than 2 pounds.

 

[upthecreek]

He's an Old English Game Bantam(variety is Black Breasted Red)

Standard size American gamefowl were originally bred for fighting and some are real gentle others are Not !! Most are not so gentle with each other ....... roosters will fight each other once they are mature , hens can stay together if raised together ,
they are now considered Show Birds in the USA



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[DTchickens]

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Games were originally bred for cockfighting, this is a pretty well known fact, in some countries they still are used in cockfighting there. Now that it is illegal in the US most of the breeds are going towards show fowl, or some breed them just for their history. You can look into the American game individual strains, or even just the breed itself and tell that these birds are a large part of our culture. They were raised by all, or most of the former presidents and statesmen and in the book Oriental Gamefowl it even mentions that the American Gamecock almost became the national seal of the United States and only lost to the Eagle by one vote.

Then there is all of the history involved in these birds from all over the world, the time spent in breeding them and selecting for individual traits that I and many others are just wowed by all of the time, effort, and history involved in these chickens. They were the first domesticated poultry, and many of the games especially Orientals like the Asil and Malay went into all of the game and production breeds.

They're aggressive by nature to the same sex, meaning cocks will fight other cocks when they come of age (varies by breed, typical age for American gamee cockerels (stags) 7-10 months.) And hens can sometimes be aggressive to other hens, though usually OK if raised and kept together at all times, then may fight over feed, nests, chicks, etc. You can eat the eggs too if you want.

You know, a lot of people want to ban the birds because they don't know exactly how gentle and priceless they can be. I'll tell you this- my family has been around gamefowl for four generations counting me, I grew up around them, and I wasn't always that good in school. I was told how to sound out words, and I taught myself to read reading gamecock magazines called Grit&Steel, Gamecock, and the Featheredwarrior. One of my main "pass-times" is reading up on the breed and gathering all of the old history for them. These birds even taught me fractions at a young age, and basic genetics in the breeding process

.

So basically, to me they are not "just chickens". I have been told by someone before (it was here on the forum actually) that "There are plenty of other breeds you can already show" but just the thought of getting rid of my birds for those breeds makes me sick to my stomach literally. Even if I only have one cock and one hen, I will always have a game chicken stashed away somewhere.


Edited since I missed a few of your questions: No, they're not hunted. They're called gamefowl, instead of game birds, and the game for them refers to the desire to fight until death by nature (literally) instead of hunting. Game owners do tend to keep a lot of chickens, more than any other breeders actually- it's not unheard of for most game owners to have upwards of a couple hundred or thousand roosters not even counting hens. You can look up a lot of game farms and ones with pictures will show ya what I mean.. But they're not exactly kept in flocks because of the aggressive nature and most people believe single mating is better than breeding one cock over five or more hens. I am the same way really, or at least single mate for one year to see what your hens throw then if they prove good and match up with their sisters or whatever then you can put them together in groups (if it isn't a line so aggressive you have to single mate).

Since you're new to chickens, I'll state what I mean by single mating (one cock and one hen) being better. Even if from the same family/parents, and same bloodlines, at times a hen(or rooster) will throw worse offspring than the rest and if you had them together in a flock you would never be able to tell which threw the bad ones and which the good ones.

Also, you will see a lot of chickens being called a "game". But those people only base it off of looks, without the desire to fight being there in my opinion, they are not a game. And if they're not a game, then they are useless and there is no point in even calling them that. Even if not fought now, I believe the gameness is still a key characteristic to the attitude(Proud, confident, courageous) that makes them the best breed (in my opinion, I know they're not everyone's cup-o-tea) of chicken and It shouldn't be lost like it has in the Old English Game Bantams, and many others like the Sumatra, Kraienkoppe, Malay (in most lines, some are still intact), etc.

-Daniel