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Post by mackeralsnatcher on Jan 26, 2024 18:01:51 GMT -5
They are some really pretty birds. I know it takes a lot of work and i for one appreciate your posts My son in Inverness has a coup with around 15-18 chickens and he is constantly bitching about what a hassle it is. I can't even imagine what you go thru. Good on ya!!
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Post by bullfrog on Jan 26, 2024 18:11:40 GMT -5
They are some really pretty birds. I know it takes a lot of work and i for one appreciate your posts My son in Inverness has a coup with around 15-18 chickens and he is constantly bitching about what a hassle it is. I can't even imagine what you go thru. Good on ya!!
That’s the secret. The free range flock isn’t much work at all. The work comes from doing the selective breeding with the cooped flocks.
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Post by mackeralsnatcher on Jan 26, 2024 18:19:46 GMT -5
Thats what i was thinking. it's gotta be a lot of work to do what you are doing. The breeding you are doing is awesome. Very cool
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Post by bullfrog on Jan 26, 2024 18:20:40 GMT -5
Mr BF, you mentioned that you had Marek's disease go through your flock. Is it possible that Marek's may be responsible for the declining wild turkey numbers in the southeast? Very possible. The first time Marek’s was confirmed in wild turkeys came from Florida in 1970. It was long thought to not be a major factor in turkey disease either wild or domestic, but it recently caused very high mortality in domestic turkey flocks in Europe and Israel. Marek’s has always been around. Historically it, along with botulism, was called “range paralysis” as farmers noted it afflicted free range birds. In the case of botulism, it was the free rangers finding botulism toxins in decayed organic matter, which the viral cancer of Marek’s was caused by the stress of free ranging, where the chickens were infected in the confines of s coop and the physical exertion of free ranging caused the virus to kick into high gear. Marek’s is mostly the product of genetic weakness. There are many studies showing that chickens with robust genes will have immunity to it. The more highly inbred a bird, the easier it is for Mareks to take hold. Thus the reason my three-way crosses seem to be immune.
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Post by bullfrog on Jan 26, 2024 18:22:31 GMT -5
(I’ve highly inbred my birds to define their traits. Had I left my original Cracker gamefowl in their varied form, they probably would have avoided the issue.)
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Post by luapnor on Jan 28, 2024 11:12:32 GMT -5
Very cool thread BF.
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Post by ferris1248 on Jan 29, 2024 10:27:12 GMT -5
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Post by bullfrog on Apr 4, 2024 12:23:30 GMT -5
I culled Indo, the black mouse eater, a few weeks ago for showing signs of Marek’s. This is Sherman, Indo’s replacement in the project. Different blood line that I am hopeful is more resistant to Marek’s:
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Post by gardawg on Apr 4, 2024 12:35:20 GMT -5
Don't mess with those Hell's Chickens ...
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Post by swampdog on Apr 4, 2024 12:46:21 GMT -5
How old is Sherman? Big Ol rooster.
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Post by bullfrog on Apr 4, 2024 13:06:07 GMT -5
How old is Sherman? Big Ol rooster. About a year and a half. I obtained him last April and he was about 6 months old then. His bloodlines are old-school oriental gamefowl of Thai and Indian heritage. His kinds are slow maturers. He probably won’t be fully grown and mature until he’s 3. He can produce chicks now, and I have several chicks off of him that are growing out. When mature, he will likely be able to kill a bald eagle. His is of the kind that beat down golden eagles in Asia. When his spurs are fully in, he will probably be dangerous to my dogs.
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Post by biminitwisted on Apr 4, 2024 13:14:12 GMT -5
How old is Sherman? Big Ol rooster. About a year and a half. I obtained him last April and he was about 6 months old then. His bloodlines are old-school oriental gamefowl of Thai and Indian heritage. His kinds are slow maturers. He probably won’t be fully grown and mature until he’s 3. He can produce chicks now, and I have several chicks off of him that are growing out. When mature, he will likely be able to kill a bald eagle. His is of the kind that beat down golden eagles in Asia. When his spurs are fully in, he will probably be dangerous to my dogs. Do you clip the spurs, or is that not a thing?
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Post by bullfrog on Apr 4, 2024 13:47:18 GMT -5
About a year and a half. I obtained him last April and he was about 6 months old then. His bloodlines are old-school oriental gamefowl of Thai and Indian heritage. His kinds are slow maturers. He probably won’t be fully grown and mature until he’s 3. He can produce chicks now, and I have several chicks off of him that are growing out. When mature, he will likely be able to kill a bald eagle. His is of the kind that beat down golden eagles in Asia. When his spurs are fully in, he will probably be dangerous to my dogs. Do you clip the spurs, or is that not a thing? I do not clip spurs. For reasons I’ll explain below. Naturally, the spurs come in as bumps that slowly develop dull points, then become long and sharp as the bird matures. The longer and sharper they are, the older the bird is. If you are familiar with wild turkeys and how their spurs fill in, its the same process. Gamefowl and turkeys are almost the same animal. Just separated by time and the Pacific Ocean during their developmental periods. The first reason I don’t clip spurs is because spurs are their natural weapons for both insuring the most mature and strong males do most of the breeding. In that regard, they fill a similar role as a deer’s antlers. Spurs are also what will kill a predator. One good stab to the head can kill large birds of prey and smaller mammals. Second, cutting spurs is a sign of cockfighting. In Western Europe, North America, and the Pacific Islands, tradition dictates that the roosters are fitted with blades or gaffs. The weapon has a sleeve that fits over the natural spur, which has been cut to a stub. A sure fire way to spot a cockfighter is observing the person having lots of mature roosters on hand that have had their spurs so squared off. These days, usually only mainland Asians cockfight with their roosters’ natural spurs in place. That kind of fighting is called “naked heel.” Historically, the old Spanish Empire usually favored naked heel fighting and they produced a small, wild, flighty, gamefowl for it. My Cracker birds are more or less old Spanish style gamefowl. The Asian naked-heel birds are large and reptilian. Thus the reason I’m using them for my dino project. To my knowledge, there are no major naked-heel fighting rings in the US. By not clipping my birds’ spurs and raising them in old-fashioned free-range flocks, I’m demonstrating to the gamefowl community that I don’t fight my birds and they ought not hit me up for my breeding stock. Most of those guys don’t want birds that haven’t been fought in a few generations.
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Post by biminitwisted on Apr 4, 2024 13:49:30 GMT -5
Do you clip the spurs, or is that not a thing? I do not clip spurs. For reasons I’ll explain below. Naturally, the spurs come in as bumps that slowly develop dull points, then become long and sharp as the bird matures. The longer and sharper they are, the older the bird is. If you are familiar with wild turkeys and how their spurs fill in, its the same process. Gamefowl and turkeys are almost the same animal. Just separated by time and the Pacific Ocean during their developmental periods. The first reason I don’t clip spurs is because spurs are their natural weapons for both insuring the most mature and strong males do most of the breeding. In that regard, they fill a similar role as a deer’s antlers. Spurs are also what will kill a predator. One good stab to the head can kill large birds of prey and smaller mammals. Second, cutting spurs is a sign of cockfighting. In Western Europe, North America, and the Pacific Islands, tradition dictates that the roosters are fitted with blades or gaffs. The weapon has a sleeve that fits over the natural spur, which has been cut to a stub. A sure fire way to spot a cockfighter is observing the person having lots of mature roosters on hand that have had their spurs so squared off. These days, usually only mainland Asians cockfight with their roosters’ natural spurs in place. That kind of fighting is called “naked heel.” Historically, the old Spanish Empire usually favored naked heel fighting and they produced a small, wild, flighty, gamefowl for it. My Cracker birds are more or less old Spanish style gamefowl. The Asian naked-heel birds are large and reptilian. Thus the reason I’m using them for my dino project. To my knowledge, there are no major naked-heel fighting rings in the US. By not clipping my birds’ spurs and raising them in old-fashioned free-range flocks, I’m demonstrating to the gamefowl community that I don’t fight my birds and they ought not hit me up for my breeding stock. Most of those guys don’t want birds that haven’t been fought in a few generations. Very cool. TY
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Post by mackeralsnatcher on Apr 4, 2024 16:21:13 GMT -5
Very pretty birds.
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