Sumatra Thread!

[chickletteSarge]

well when ya live in the open wild does better than "domesticated" thats what some people need on their yard... not everyone is a show breeder. so how bout some eye candy? enough of the wild/domesticated argument....everyone has their own preferance

 

[stonykill]

Sarge my way is wildly unpopular. Show people do not understand my ways. I'm fine with that. BUT I don't like to be told that my way can't be as good as someone else's, as I was told. That is wrong. Especially if they have no idea what my way even is.

 

[chickletteSarge]

yea, it sucks that in a place that is supposed to be all about "backyard chickens" has a TON of show breeders... this is a place for the multitudes of techniques of rasing chickens... this is now the 2nd thread that has had an arguement about how one side thinks their raising techniques are better than the others... the 1st thread that argued went on bashing breeders and sellers... it was ugly!!!
i never thought id ever see that here on this thread!

 

[trailchick]

To each his own, I also have never shown
any of my animals, but either way is not a bad
way, and we can respect all the diverse methods
of husbandry and learn from others that do show,
nuff said,,,

Stony, I would love to have a "wild" type flock
living on their own.
Can you tell a little about the kind of environment your
birds have & how they came to be "feral" so to speak?
And how you started 'em off and/or your help to get
them to gain their indepenedncy?

I have a large area, 80 acres & no neighbors very close,
& I seem to get alot more predators coming in with this drought.
And I also have gotten a young komondor x gp to help with the ;yotes
but I am looking for another to help her.
And there are trees here for roosting.
My 2 sumatra hens are in the hackle pen because I just
dont want to lose them.....

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I prefer the sumatras to be more feral than tame. We let ours free range all summer and most of the fall/winter and they do great. Sure, they do the death scream when you get too close or try to hold them, but it makes them show better. When you take a bird that is too tame into a show, they tend to be droopy and not show well. When the bird is crazy and cocky, they show amazingly for the most part. In the new line of birds we got, the roosters are calmer than my buckeye and they tend to be more droopy. I think a sumatra should be more wild because of their ancestry, they were said to be more pheasant like than a chicken. We hatch in incubators and show our birds but when possible, we'll let a broody hatch and raise her own chicks. Sure, some get carried away by hawks from time to time, but the ones that survive are a sight to see. They always seem more sleek and streamlined, very majestic. Their gait seems to be more flowing than the 'normal' sumatras. When looking over the birds we kept from last year, we have a few pullets that were hen raised and they stand out every time to me.

That is just my thoughts/experience with this whole situation

 

[stonykill]

yea, it sucks that in a place that is supposed to be all about "backyard chickens" has a TON of show breeders... this is a place for the multitudes of techniques of rasing chickens... this is now the 2nd thread that has had an arguement about how one side thinks their raising techniques are better than the others... the 1st thread that argued went on bashing breeders and sellers... it was ugly!!!
i never thought id ever see that here on this thread!

that tends to happen when I give my opinion. Someone always tells me how wrong I am. Whatever. What works for me works for me. I actually raise "Backyard Chickens" , have more than 70 Sumatra's, 24 chickens of other breeds and ducks,. Over 100 birds on average all of the time. Been doing it for a while now. I know what works for me.

 

[stonykill]

To each his own, I also have never shown
any of my animals, but either way is not a bad
way, and we can respect all the diverse methods
of husbandry and learn from others that do show,
nuff said,,,

Stony, I would love to have a "wild" type flock
living on their own.
Can you tell a little about the kind of environment your
birds have & how they came to be "feral" so to speak?
And how you started 'em off and/or your help to get
them to gain their indepenedncy?
feilds,
I have a large area, 80 acres & no neighbors very close,
& I seem to get alot more predators coming in with this drought.
And I also have gotten a young komondor x gp to help with the ;yotes
but I am looking for another to help her.
And there are trees here for roosting.
My 2 sumatra hens are in the hackle pen because I just
dont want to lose them.....

When I 1st got this flock 5 plus years ago they were already feral. I still have a few of that original flock and the only time I touched some of them is the day I caught them to bring them home. I did not make them feral, they werealready that way. What I have been working towards is somewhere in the middle. Feral, yet will sleep in a coop. Unlike my 20 something Sumatra's who for the last 5 years have slept in tree's. I have gotten many to coop at night. Without holding them, chasing them ,or any of that nonesence.
We have open land, tree's, brush, water, cover etc. 30 acres of our own. Typical upstate NY former farm land. Hills, apple tree's, great wild bird territory with lots of Woodcock, Grouse, wild ducks etc. Makingit the perfect place for Sumatra's to be Sumatra's.
I kill a lot of predators. If you are going to free range your birds you had better be prepared to do that.


BBL I have to go to that DREADFULLY awful place NYC today.

 

[stonykill]

I prefer the sumatras to be more feral than tame. We let ours free range all summer and most of the fall/winter and they do great. Sure, they do the death scream when you get too close or try to hold them, but it makes them show better. When you take a bird that is too tame into a show, they tend to be droopy and not show well. When the bird is crazy and cocky, they show amazingly for the most part. In the new line of birds we got, the roosters are calmer than my buckeye and they tend to be more droopy. I think a sumatra should be more wild because of their ancestry, they were said to be more pheasant like than a chicken. We hatch in incubators and show our birds but when possible, we'll let a broody hatch and raise her own chicks. Sure, some get carried away by hawks from time to time, but the ones that survive are a sight to see. They always seem more sleek and streamlined, very majestic. Their gait seems to be more flowing than the 'normal' sumatras. When looking over the birds we kept from last year, we have a few pullets that were hen raised and they stand out every time to me.

That is just my thoughts/experience with this whole situation

well said. The only thing I would add is "Normal" for Sumatra's is acting Pheasant like and slightly feral. Read the literature from the mid to late 1800's. That is "normal" for Sumatra's. My goal is to keep my birds more how they originally were when they were "discovered". Not turn them into something else.

 

[championsumatra]

I don't like it when my sumatras are as wild as you say flyingmonkypoop. only because at are shows they take lots of points off if the bird is the bird is not tame. I show a lot and my birds are really friendly.they seen to show off in front of the judge. the way to make them do that is to train them with some cheese it dose not matter how tame the bird is. if you coop train them to strut their stuff front of the judge. it works very time.

 

[ramirezframing]

I can't free range mine, like I would love to, but I make do. I don't handle mine, unless needed. I handle my sumatras no different than any other bird of mine and that includes the turkeys and red golden pheasants I have. Now, if you have had birds for a few years , we all know that there's them odd balls that no matter what, insists on being a "pet". I have one sumatra that likes to be petted, is under foot when I am in the pen (which is not very often) and when I water with the hose, this bird likes to stand so the water splashes them. Most of mine scream and flap wings when I do have to catch them. Some even bite a few times and that's it, I can than do what I need to do to the bird, whether its a sumatra or not. But, end the end it all comes down to what works for you and your birds.