wild game fowl

[farley redfield]

I thought it might be neet to raise wild chickens. Kinda strange I know but I have a 150+ acre farm and some really nice treesand have goats and cattle and woods .so I just thought it would be neet to have wild chickens in addition to my regular bantys and all the rest.

Anyone have a suggestion as to what breeds or special needs to start such or if I should just forget it. I also have coons, coyotes, and hawks.

 

[Michael OShay]

With those kind of predators, that's a tall order for any breed of chicken, but if there is any breed that can do it, it is the Red Jungle Fowl. This is the wild chicken from which all other chickens have been bred over the centuries, and they are the best equipped physically and instinctual to survive in the wild. They are able to thrive in areas where predators would have quickly wiped out other breeds. If they cannot manage it, no breed can. Some hatcheries such as Cackle Hatchery (http://www.cacklehatchery.com/rdjunglfowl.html) and Purely Poultry (http://www.purelypoultry.com/indian-red-jungle-fowl-chickens-p-869.html) breed and sell them.

 

[Old Rando]

Feral chickens exist any many locations around the world. Most have certain things in common, they live in tropical or subtropical climates just like their wild jungle fowl ancestors and they usually live in or near human communities. Humans inadvertently provide more food opportunities and manmade objects often provide shelter from predators. Also the ones that survive need to be able to run, hide and fly reasonably well.

I have some hatchery jungle fowl and they are not real jungle fowl. No hatchery could provide those for several reasons. If you chose to try this project use whatever you think might work and is easily available to you. Personally I think you should allow them to become feral gradually , don't just throw them out there to fend for themselves. Let the newer generations become feral.

I saw a documentary a few years ago of a naturalist who did something similar at his home farm on an island off the northwest coast of North America. He had a guard dog to help protect them and he had very few land predators anyway. He simply used an group of assorted chickens and allowed them to breed with nature and successive generations changing them into a typical feral group of chickens.

If you choose to try it good luck.

 

[Michael OShay]

I think Old Rando is right on this. There are lots of wild, feral chickens in Hawaii, and they manage to survive some predators, including mongooses (no easy job, especially on the big island where they are so abundant that I had to raise my domestic chickens in enclosed runs or I would have lost them all), owls, hawks, cats, dogs, and wild pigs. These feral chickens look like their Red Jungle Fowl ancestors and are fast and alert, but even in Hawaii, they face a host of other predators such as coons, coyotes, opossums, foxes, etc., and the climate is tropical (although I suspect they could be acclimated to your Oklahoma climate as feathers are very efficient insulators). If you do decide to try it, good luck.

 

[Old Rando]

Here I a portion of an article on survival rates of released pheasants which are pen raised wild birds. I would not expect domestic chickens to do better.
What kind of survival rate can be expected from pheasants stocked in the summer or fall at 8-14 weeks of age?

On average, only 60 percent will survive the initial week of release. After one month, roughly 25 percent will remain. Over-winter survival has been documented as high as 10 percent but seldom exceeds 5 percent of birds released.

Michael OShay mentioned in his previous post that they would acclimatize to your Oklahoma climate. I agree with that but your climate is like mine here in Southern Indiana, when the leaves fall off the trees are no longer a safe haven from predators. Owls love a chicken in a bare tree.

 

[Michael OShay]

but even in Hawaii, they face a host of other predators such as coons, coyotes, opossums, foxes, etc.,

Sorry, I have a typo. I meant to type, in Hawaii, they don't face a host of other predators such as coons, coyotes, opossums, foxes, etc. My goof. Unquestionably the worst predator they face in Hawaii is the mongoose (although there are owls, cats, dogs, and on the big island, hawks). You will have a lot more predator threats in Oklahoma.

 

[Old Rando]

I knew Hawaii had too many introduced fauna but I didn't think it included those extra you mentioned.

 

[Ok12346]

I thought it might be neet to raise wild chickens. Kinda strange I know but I have a 150+ acre farm and some really nice treesand have goats and cattle and woods .so I just thought it would be neet to have wild chickens in addition to my regular bantys and all the rest.

Anyone have a suggestion as to what breeds or special needs to start such or if I should just forget it. I also have coons, coyotes, and hawks.

I know this post was 7 years ago but id get gamefowls like yellow leg hatch but make sure the gamefowl rooster can’t get to another rooster there fight to the death normally so you want to have 1 rooster with a flock of hens if you want them to be free range 24/7 but id get a extra rooster or 2 and extra hens in separate cages like one rooster got a few hens in his cage and the other rooster got a few hens in his cage but the extra roosters will be just incase if the rooster you let free range 24/7 and be wild which they will be if you don’t mess with them or nothing and let them survive off your land just make sure they got access to water tho but if you haven’t already and you get the gamefowls id keep them in a cage outside around the area you want them to be around basically and just slowly get them use to watching out for hawks and the cage id make it 8 foot tall and put the roosts at 6 foot so they can get use to flying up and build there wing muscle but have the cage one side wire fencing on the top also so they can get use to watching for hawks you’ll probably lose a few hens the first few weeks just after a few dies the others learn to watch out for predators but having one or 2 extra rooster same breed as the one your letting be wild but keep the extra 2 roosters away from each other less you get just one extra but the extra gamefowl rooster id try to make sure there all brothers so you can keep there genes in the flock your letting free range 24/7 and the extra rooster and few hens same breed as the roosters just keep them in a pen I mean just throw there food in the cage on the ground and make sure they got water but if you want those ones also to be wild that you got in the cage don’t mess with them or nothing if I was you but you gotta make sure the roosters can not fight thru the wire or nothing cause gamefowls got so much of the jungle fowl (fully wild chickens) of there genes which is why the rooster fight tho and if you get 2 extra roosters so you have 3 you can sense you got 150+ acres you can put one flock on one side of your property and one on the other side and I mean I would especially during winter just have a deer feeder or you go out and feed them and just feed them corn sense there finding all the food there need and the corn will be just to make sure there eating enough during winter especially tho but the water source for them id make sure it’s shallow on the sides or something cause the hens will have chicks in the spring and having it shallow on the sides or something will help make sure the chicks don’t drown