Breeding larger survival chickens?

[Gigachad poultry]

Recently I got a book about survival chickens and the history of game fowl and I had an idea... What if I took the "formula" for creating a successful survival chicken and apply that to a larger bird like an Australorp or brahma that could handle extremely cold temperatures and be able to easily traverse through the snow similar to a capercaillie or turkey...

So I wanted to share the start of my project with you all!

Basically I'm going to selectively breed larger breeds of chickens to have longer legs, and a better wing to weight ratio, along with much longer wings in order to create better loft during take off to allow them to actually fly!!! And not just fly a few feet in the air... I'm talking like 10ft up into a tree to roost at night or fly across a meadow to the other side if a forest! A survival breed that is very huge and has the size to make a predator to debate if it's really safe to mess with such a bird, but still able to do everything other survival breeds can like flying long distances and to higher places, going broody every spring, foraging their own food, being very quick on their feet, and being able to defend themselves! I'll also try to use birds with longer yet still very strong legs to allow them to run faster and jump higher. I'll try to get them to have a very similar body plan of a turkey or capercaillie! It'll be difficult and take a lot of time abd quite a bit of trial and error but I think it's possible!!!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Add Malays?
They're large, long legged, & Fly up high. Mine are able to get up onto the rafters to roost in their coop up high.

I've got two different survival bird projects going on.

 

[Nicks_Chicks]

Add Malays?
They're large, long legged, & Fly up high. Mine are able to get up onto the rafters to roost in their coop up high.

I've got two different survival bird projects going on.

Or indio gigantes. I guess the two are real similar.

 

[Logar]

 

[Logar]

Or indio gigantes. I guess the two are real similar.

I have heard that Indio gigantes aren’t very cold hardy so not sure how well that would work.

 

[Nicks_Chicks]

I have heard that Indio gigantes aren’t very cold hardy so not sure how well that would work.

They could still be bred in for size, just have certain traits taken out

 

[Logar]

They could still be bred in for size, just have certain traits taken out

Yes but it means having to have an insulated coop to keep them happy which a lot of people don’t have.

 

[Nicks_Chicks]

Yes but it means having to have an insulated coop to keep them happy which a lot of people don’t have.

You don't have to do a whole insulated coop just wind/draft free

 

[Gigachad poultry]

Add Malays?
They're large, long legged, & Fly up high. Mine are able to get up onto the rafters to roost in their coop up high.

I've got two different survival bird projects going on.

I have heard that Indio gigantes aren’t very cold hardy so not sure how well that would work.

Those are really good ideas!!!

 

[Gigachad poultry]

I'm trying to breed a lineage of very cold hardy birds like the chicken equivalent of a capercaillie or kinda like a giant icelandic chicken with the ability to fly like a turkey... And ones who have the survival instincts needed to not rely on humans quite as much abd sleep in trees if not given a coop...