Developing My Own Breed Of Large Gamefowl For Free Range Survival (Junglefowl x Liege)

[Bigtom Turkey]

It does seem to be something they are eating.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

It does seem to be something they are eating.

Yes. If it was a communicable disease, I don’t see how re-penning them would cause them to recover. I do think exposure to new gut parasites contributes, but recovery is more connected to deworming and re-penning than deworming alone. All of the terrorfowl were dewormed after their first week out. I think they may be gorging themselves on dog fennel because its readily available, and must taste good. Probably harmless in reasonable doses but the new free rangers are likely relying on it because they don’t know how to forage for other available food sources at a time in their life they’re growing the most. Which, I do give them a lot of food compared to the other free rangers. I was giving them 4-5lbs of commercial feed a day in the mornings and they all seemed to get a fair share.

BTW, Sherman has shown no sign of the free range sickness. He’s not free ranging, but his coop is has a spacious floor plan and he has a variety of yard grass to eat. He eats very little green material. He gets commercial chicken feed in the morning and meaty dog food in the evenings. There is no dog fennel in his coop.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Yes. If it was a communicable disease, I don’t see how re-penning them would cause them to recover. I do think exposure to new gut parasites contributes, but recovery is more connected to deworming and re-penning than deworming alone. All of the terrorfowl were dewormed after their first week out. I think they may be gorging themselves on dog fennel because its readily available, and must taste good. Probably harmless in reasonable doses but the new free rangers are likely relying on it because they don’t know how to forage for other available food sources at a time in their life they’re growing the most. Which, I do give them a lot of food compared to the other free rangers. I was giving them 4-5lbs of commercial feed a day in the mornings and they all seemed to get a fair share.

BTW, Sherman has shown no sign of the free range sickness. He’s not free ranging, but his coop is has a spacious floor plan and he has a variety of yard grass to eat. He eats very little green material. He gets commercial chicken feed in the morning and meaty dog food in the evenings. There is no dog fennel in his coop.

This is just speculation, but I’m wondering if some sort of viral disease could be causing an autoimmune deficiency that results in more deaths than would normally happen? Perhaps the stress of parasites and the poisonous plants triggers the disease, or it’s something they would normally be able to survive except that their immune system is already weaker due to a virus.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

This is just speculation, but I’m wondering if some sort of viral disease could be causing an autoimmune deficiency that results in more deaths than would normally happen? Perhaps the stress of parasites and the poisonous plants triggers the disease, or it’s something they would normally be able to survive except that their immune system is already weaker due to a virus.

Could be. All options are on the table.

The biggest cause and effect type correlation that I can see is that chicks that start on the ground from day one don’t seem to get it or get it in small enough numbers as to be a non factor. Prior to late fall of last year, the only chicks so raised were hen-hatched. I’ve since raised two broods with a chicken tractor and heat plate type setup where I put the chicks on the ground no more than 24 hours of hatching and their resistance to the condition appears to be high.

I think either their immune systems get an extra boost being exposed to the ground conditions of the farm early (if its a communicable disease or parasite), or else they’re used to eating various greens from day one and they aren’t desperate to gorge themselves on things they ought not (if its toxins from a plant).

I am finding myself more biased against permanent coops and grassless environments. Early and constant exposure to grass is correlating to good health in my eyes. That’s relevant now because I have some teacup Cracker bantams I need to
move to a large dirt coop, but it will take them from the grass they’ve been on with their mother since they hatched. I hate to do it but practically have to in order to continue to grow them out.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

BTW, Sherman has shown no sign of the free range sickness. He’s not free ranging, but his coop is has a spacious floor plan and he has a variety of yard grass to eat. He eats very little green material. He gets commercial chicken feed in the morning and meaty dog food in the evenings. There is no dog fennel in his coop.

Yeah, my Orientals seem to prefer Commercial food to free ranging. If he ever gets turned out he will learn.

 

[drangle]

Awesome. Aside from thriving in your free range environment what are you looking for in the future breeders?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Awesome. Aside from thriving in your free range environment what are you looking for in the future breeders?

The most straight-forward physical performance traits are large wings relative to body size, and overall large, muscular, bodies. Long, thick, legs as well. Camouflaged colors, so natural BBR, partridge, wheaton, or black broken up by other colors.

More superficially, I like long, low, tails and thick, full, long, feathers. Those traits are important enough to me I’ll cull to get them. Less important (meaning I won’t cull for these, just prefer selecting for them) are bright eyes and small to no combs and waddles. Supposedly the “Saipan jungle fowl” had no waddles or combs in their pure state and I would like these birds to end up like that.

I started this project imagining a bird that would be a shamo-sized red junglefowl. As it has evolved over the years and I split the project in two, I now envision the final “terrorfowl” bird as having the wings and feathering of a Sumatra, except without all the extra tail sickles, but a body plan more like an Indo Gigante, and the disposition of an aseel.

 

[Red Mangrove]

I just googled "dog fennel" for the first time. I have this stuff everywhere but I've never seen a chicken of mine eat it before. Maybe this is because all of my chickens are born outdoors to broody hens. My chickens love eating bamboo and even yaupon sometimes, but never this dog fennel

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I just googled "dog fennel" for the first time. I have this stuff everywhere but I've never seen a chicken of mine eat it before. Maybe this is because all of my chickens are born outdoors to broody hens. My chickens love eating bamboo and even yaupon sometimes, but never this dog fennel

The literature says its highly toxic to birds and cattle. My mother recalls her grandmother boiling the root and using it as a dip to cure mange, but it was a last resort as the treatment often killed the animal.

Yet all my poultry eats it, as do all the local cows of various breeds and cross breeds. I suspect how much damage it does is a matter of how much is eaten. Most of my experienced free rangers browse it lightly, while the turkeys relish it. It seems to only be new free range chickens that consume a lot of it.

 

[Red Mangrove]

The literature says its highly toxic to birds and cattle. My mother recalls her grandmother boiling the root and using it as a dip to cure mange, but it was a last resort as the treatment often killed the animal.

Yet all my poultry eats it, as do all the local cows of various breeds and cross breeds. I suspect how much damage it does is a matter of how much is eaten. Most of my experienced free rangers browse it lightly, while the turkeys relish it. It seems to only be new free range chickens that consume a lot of it.

Back when I had goats they absolutely loved the stuff and they would excitedly run to it whenever the opportunity arose. It must genuinely taste good to ruminants

My chickens ignore it though. Again, I'd wager because they have a hen teaching them from hatch