What are game hens?

[nccountrygirl]

Will game hen get along with my other hens? Any info appreciated.

 

[newbeechickens]

i kinda dout they will i have a oeg hen she tryes killing my rir and golden comet

 

[wegotchickens]

Game chickens kinda do their own thing. They are almost wild, kinda mean, and prefer roosting in trees to living in a house. We had some on the farm as a kid and they were really kind of a pain. They taught my sweet New Hampshire reds some bad habits...

 

[nccatnip]

nccountrygirl. I am not sure what a game hen is. I have been meaning to look it up. I have heard some banties being described as game, and I know that quail, pheasants are describes as game.
Would my OEBB's be considered game hens? If so, they get along fine with my big birds.

 

[LeghornGuy]

A lady gave me a gamecock (He was rescued) He is calm and tame. I placed him in a pen with two RIR.
The rooster is very tame and he is used to being handled. I was very surpised! My leghorn hens are more hyper and active than the gamecock. I thought he would be aggressive and hurt my hens.
I am not sure about game hens. I have 15 leghorn hens and 2 RIR hens. I let my leghorn hens and leghorn rooster free range for two hours a day.
They all seem to get along fine.
The rescued rooster is in paradise!

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

I have OEGB and they get along fine with my big ones.. but I will say the larger games that I see being sold at the flea market and around are NOT like OEGB.. they are a bit more "high strung". They are more expensive too.. one game roos will run ya anywhere from $25-$50..

Isnt that the kind of chicken that was used and bred for fighting??

 

[wclawrence]

So many things I would like to say here, but I am a little new to BYC.
the term "game" can mean ALOT of different things.

1) Game-- one of the breeds of chicken bred for pit-fighting, for example, Hatch, Roundhead, Kelso, Claret, Whitehackle, etc. This is usually called "dead game" or "pit game" meaning that the roosters will fight to the death (but not all of them, some will quit, they cant stand the pain.)

2) Any of the breeds of chicken that can survive and thrive running out.
Loosely speaking, you can actually call any of the landrace breeds "game" because of their survivor instincts, and ability to raise with very little help from us. The hens set eggs and raise babies very well.
You can say that any of the following are games.... Fayoumi, Sumatra, Buckeyes, Old English Game Bantam(which do not fit the above category), even Silkies fit into this category, ignore all the fluff and glamor and you will see it.
I have hens that are very mixed up that I call "game" They are from an Asil X Sumatra hen and a Phoenix rooster, some are from Denizli X Ohiki rooster and an Asil X Pitgame hen. it is the mindset of the bird.

Leghorns dont qualify They lay too many eggs and never set them
RIRs dont qualify, they dont LOOK the part, and set to rarely
Pure Aracaunas DO qualify. They are a landrace breed.

3) Wild-Type fowl, like: Any of the Junglefowl, any F1 crosses from them, any Pheasant, etc (Gamebirds)

I wanted to add that all games are not mean.
In fact, all Pit Games are not overbearing. Some of my most loyal and productive and gentle mothers are birds I got from Cockers. If they werent good mothers, they wouldnt reproduce so well running out in the yard. I have two hens that have raised THREE batches of babies so far this year, and I expect at least one more before cold weather gets here.


Hope this helps