Detailed Explanation of Key Points in Gamefowl Breeding and Management Techniques

In China, the raising of gamefowl has always continued the folk methods of dispersed feeding by individual households and separate training. Generally, each household keeps only 1 to 2 roosters and 4 to 6 hens. This raising method can ensure the purity of the offspring's bloodline and is also conducive to the separate training and management of roosters.

The feeding and management of gamefowl has a very important impact on their future fighting ability. One must achieve “careful feeding, patient management”; only in this way can the quality of the gamefowl be improved, laying a good foundation for future fights, and it also has a direct impact on the laying performance of hens after adulthood. The feeding and training methods for gamefowl are not entirely the same and mostly vary from person to person. The following are some conventional methods.

1. Feeding and management of chicks  This is the most critical link in gamefowl domestication. Newly hatched chicks must be placed in a suitable rearing environment. Generally, the room temperature for 1-2 days of age should be 35-36°C, then reduced by 0.5°C each day, and kept constant when it reaches 25°C. In the early stage, the indoor humidity should be 60-70%, gradually decreasing to natural humidity. First, feed clean warm boiled water with some white sugar or glucose added, and after 1-2 weeks gradually transition to drinking tap water. Do not feed on the first day after hatching; on the second day, feed a little sesame soaked in boiled water, then feed steamed millet or cooked eggs; from the third day, start feeding cooked eggs, millet soaked in boiled water, and fresh green vegetables as the main feed, and appropriately feed a small amount of insects and coarse grains. At this time, attention must still be paid to keeping warm, appropriate exercise, and sunlight, which are beneficial to their growth and development. They should be fed small meals several times a day. After half a month, noodles and coarse grains can be fed. After one month, for roosters, increase the supply of protein feed, such as chopped egg pieces and minced meat, and appropriately feed green vegetables.

2. Feeding and management of growing chickens  At 45 days of age, chicks can reach a weight of 0.5 kg, and female chicks are already easy to distinguish. At this point, males and females need to be raised in separate groups, which is beneficial to growth. Starting at 75 days of age, chicks grow rapidly, and especially for bone growth, mineral feed (bone meal) and insects need to be added to the feed. Folk custom is to feed cicadas, ground beetles, and locusts. At this time, male chicks begin to enter the growth stage. To avoid injury from fighting affecting growth, they need to be raised individually in cages. Folk practice mostly uses relatively wide and large cages woven from chaste twigs for confinement. Every day at fixed times in the morning, noon, and evening, a total of 3-4 times, they are released from the cage for free activity, but strict control must be exercised to prevent mating with hens, and stronger fights among roosters must also be prevented. During this stage of rapid growth, nutrient-rich feed should be supplied. Energy feeds mainly include corn, wheat bran, millet, and sorghum; protein feeds include eggs, tofu, beans, and meat. In addition, note that green vegetables, sunlight, exercise, and clean drinking water are all indispensable.

3. Feeding and management of adult chickens  After 3-4 molts, when the old wing feathers are fully grown, they are adult chickens, generally at 9 months of age. Throughout the four seasons, cold and heat differ, and corresponding feeding and management measures should be taken according to the season. The key points are: from the beginning of spring, meat food should be removed, that is, artificial fat reduction, to make the chicken's fat firm so as to fight. In the hot summer, heatstroke prevention and cooling measures should be taken, less meat should be fed, vegetables and grain should each make up half, and beans or bean products can be appropriately fed. Autumn is when the heat gradually ends and the cold comes, adult chickens molt, and chicks reach body maturity, so feed with higher protein content should be given; this is a very critical period. In winter, the main work is cold protection and warmth keeping, feeding more cooked food and good food, and quickly building up fat to help them through the winter.

Selection of breeds

1. Breed selection: Male gamefowl should have a large body and strong bones, a thick and powerful neck, thick and tall legs, well-developed chest muscles, a bright red comb in a flat tumor shape, large and spirited eyes, feathers close to the body, and a majestic posture, with a body weight above 3.5 kg. Female gamefowl should have a well-proportioned structure, good development, be lively and active, with large and spirited eyes, and a body weight above 2.5 kg.

2. Pay attention to epidemic prevention: Only by keeping gamefowl in a healthy physical condition can domestication and breeding be facilitated. Therefore, disease prevention and control work should be done well in spring. The coop must be kept clean. Spray disinfection can be done once a week with Baidusha or Miejunling (1:1000 dilution); the disinfectant can be sprayed onto the gamefowl themselves. Feeding troughs and water troughs should be scrubbed once a day with 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, and vaccination against Newcastle disease should be done well.

3. Scientific formulation: Gamefowl grow and develop quickly, have strong activity ability, and consume a lot of energy, so the nutritional composition should be comprehensive, with crude protein above 23%, and essential amino acids should be complete. The feed formula for young gamefowl is: corn 5%, soybean cake 16%, sorghum 5.5%, fish meal 8%, shell powder 2%, bone meal 1.5%, salt 0.5%, additives 0.5%, and paired with some vegetable leaves and other green feed.

4. Feeding and management: Supply water and food at fixed times every day, and always maintain sufficient clean drinking water. Train running and fighting at fixed times. When training running, sandbags of 50-100 grams can be tied to the legs. Persist in training fighting for 2 hours and training running for 1 hour every day; only in this way can gamefowl with agile movements and tenacious combat ability be trained. If you mainly want to use them for food, then skip tying sandbags.

1. Select and breed good stock: Male gamefowl are required to have a large body and strong bones, a thick and powerful neck, thick and tall legs, well-developed chest muscles, a bright red comb in a flat tumor shape, large and spirited eyes, feathers close to the body, and a majestic posture, with a body weight above 3.5 kg. Female gamefowl should have a well-proportioned structure, good development, be lively and active, with large and spirited eyes, and a body weight above 2.5 kg.

2. Do a good job in epidemic prevention: Only by keeping gamefowl in a healthy physical condition can domestication and breeding be facilitated. Therefore, disease prevention and control work should be done well in spring. The coop must be kept clean. Spray disinfection can be done once a week with Baidusha or Miejunling (1:1000 dilution); the disinfectant can be sprayed onto the gamefowl themselves. Feeding troughs and water troughs should be scrubbed once a day with 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, and vaccination against Newcastle disease should be done well.

After preventive immunization, observe the reaction of the chicken flock after immunization at any time. If Newcastle disease-infected chickens still continuously appear after Newcastle disease vaccine immunization; or if respiratory symptoms worsen after infectious bronchitis immunization, this indicates that immunization has failed. The cause should be found from many aspects as soon as possible, and active remedial measures should be taken.

3. Scientific formulation: Gamefowl grow and develop quickly, have strong activity ability, and consume a lot of energy, so the nutritional composition should be comprehensive, with crude protein above 23%, and essential amino acids should be complete. The feed formula for young gamefowl is: corn 5%, soybean cake 16%, sorghum 5.5%, fish meal 8%, shell powder 2%, bone meal 1.5%, salt 0.5%, additives 0.5%, and paired with some vegetable leaves and other green feed.

4. Feeding and management: Supply water and food at fixed times every day, and always maintain sufficient clean drinking water. Train running and fighting at fixed times. When training running, sandbags of 50-100 grams can be tied to the legs. Persist in training fighting for 2 hours and training running for 1 hour every day; only in this way can gamefowl with agile movements and tenacious combat ability be trained.

Gamefowl feed consumption is relatively stable. If feed consumption decreases, or if they only drink water and do not eat feed, it may indicate that the chickens have been infected with certain diseases. The cause should be identified as soon as possible and treated early.

Feeding precautions

Gamefowl breeders should, every day in combination with feeding, watering, and releasing the chickens, patrol the chicken coop and observe the gamefowl's eating, drinking, and droppings to understand the flock's condition at any time, detect problems early, and deal with them early. During patrols, attention should be paid to the following ten aspects.

1. Harmful gases: The gases most harmful to gamefowl are ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

Ammonia: It is a volatile and strongly irritating gas. If a large amount of ammonia is produced in the chicken coop, it will be noticed first upon entering the coop. When the smell of ammonia is detected, it indicates that the ammonia in the coop has long exceeded the standard.

Hydrogen sulfide: Its specific gravity is greater than air. It is a gas with the smell of rotten eggs and often accumulates on the ground; the closer to the ground, the higher the concentration. If the smell of hydrogen sulfide is detected slightly higher in the chicken coop, it indicates that the hydrogen sulfide in the coop has seriously exceeded the standard. From these changes, it can be determined whether the air contains excessive hydrogen sulfide: the surface of copper utensils suddenly turns black. White precipitates appear on the surface of galvanized ironware. Black artistic paint fades in color.

Carbon monoxide: It is an odorless gas. Especially in chicken coops heated with coal stoves, carbon monoxide poisoning of people and chickens should be prevented.

When these three harmful gases are found to be excessive, corresponding measures should be taken immediately, such as appropriately increasing ventilation and replacing bedding, to reduce and eliminate harm to the chickens.

2. Temperature

In raising gamefowl, temperature is crucial. Especially for small chicks. The level of temperature can also be discovered by looking at dispersion. If the gamefowl huddle together and density is high, it indicates the temperature is on the low side. If the gamefowl move away from the heat source and scatter to the sides, it indicates the temperature is on the high side. Checking the indoor thermometer can directly reveal whether the temperature is high or low. When it is found that the temperature on the thermometer does not match the actually required temperature, measures to raise or lower the temperature should be taken immediately, and the temperature must be controlled within the required range.

3. Ventilation

Whether ventilation is good is the key to successful breeding. In the cold winter, when the temperature is low, people often only pay attention to keeping warm and neglect ventilation. When ventilation is good, gamefowl are lively and active, there is no peculiar smell in the coop, and it feels fresh and comfortable. Once gamefowl are found to be listless without disease and breathing slightly labored, and the coop has a strong peculiar smell and is filled with dust, ventilation and air exchange should be strengthened immediately. When ventilating, be careful that cold air does not blow directly onto the gamefowl.

4. Droppings

Normal gamefowl droppings are thin and soft, in light gray strips, with a small amount of white urate on top. Once a change in droppings color is found or bloody droppings appear, it is a sign of disease. Infectious bursal disease and infectious bronchitis can cause diarrhea in chickens, with droppings appearing yellow-white; when gamefowl suffer from Newcastle disease, they excrete green and yellow-white watery droppings; the appearance of bloody droppings in the coop indicates that the gamefowl have been infected with coccidiosis. When the above abnormal droppings are found, the chicken that passed the droppings should be identified and treated in isolation.

5. Humidity

Humidity should also meet standards. When humidity is high, microorganisms survive easily, and if it is accompanied by low temperature, the harm of low temperature is even more aggravated. When humidity is low, the chicken coop is dry, and gamefowl are prone to respiratory diseases, especially chicks. A long-term dry environment can cause dehydration and weakness in chicks. Therefore, adjustment of humidity in gamefowl coops should not be neglected either.

6. Number of dead chickens

During the growth of gamefowl, whether chicks, growing chickens, or laying hens, a very small number of weak chickens may die every day for various reasons. This is a normal phenomenon. Under normal circumstances, the mortality rate of chicks should not exceed 0.05%, that of growing chickens should not exceed 0.01%, and that of laying hens should not exceed 0.03%. If the number of deaths is found to be too large, attention should be paid.

7. Light

In addition to the light needed for brooding, laying hens also need supplemental light. In addition, attention should be paid to the intensity of light.

8. Sound  

Under normal circumstances, chickens do not make abnormal sounds. When certain diseases occur, such as infectious bronchitis, chronic respiratory disease, and Newcastle disease, sick chickens will make coughing sounds.

Training

The purpose of raising gamefowl is fighting. The quality of gamefowl depends on their fighting nature and fighting skills. The fighting rules vary according to different local requirements. Taking the relatively numerous Central Plains gamefowl as an example, enthusiasts often say: “Externally observe its feather color, internally examine its nest stock.” So-called nest stock refers to the blood relationship of the gamefowl. In selecting gamefowl, chickens with a tenacious fighting nature, especially those that still have fighting spirit when fighting to the end, and with good heredity, are mainly used for breeding. Therefore, special attention is paid to the purity of the gamefowl's bloodline, with at least 2-3 generations checked. Through inbreeding, excellent gamefowl family lines with very high purity are selected and bred, and offspring produced by mating gamefowl between different family lines are used. Such chickens have a strong constitution, high fighting skill, and fast fighting style, but their heredity is unstable, so they are not suitable for breeding. There are several types of gamefowl fighting skills: high-head big-bite type (when fighting, the head is held high and the fighting posture looks good); flat-head flat-body fighting style (the fighting posture is not very good-looking); running-circle fighting style (after fighting a few times, it runs in circles); four-way all-around fighter (all-around, the most ideal fighting style). Regardless of the fighting style, as long as it is good at two or more types and has heavy leg strikes, it is an excellent gamefowl. The key to victory for gamefowl lies in the accuracy, heaviness, and speed of leg strikes. Accuracy refers to whether it can strike the opponent's head; heaviness refers to the severity of the striking power of the leg; speed refers to the number of leg strikes per unit time and the ability to strike several legs continuously.

Gamefowl rely on regular training. Its training methods can be summarized into the following 14 techniques, namely: chasing, strolling, turning, jumping, pushing, pulling, hitting, scooping, rubbing, weighing, supporting, kneading, twisting, and disturbing. After gamefowl have grown up, the first initial fight should not be too long; generally fifteen minutes is enough.