Our farm is situated in the westernmost end of the Piedmonts of North Carolina, near the foothills of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. From where we are, Table Rock Mountain can be clearly seen. Located "out of the way" and surrounded by woodland that harbors a healthy abundance of wildlife including deer, coyotes, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and opossums, just to name a few, our farm for us serves as a peaceful escape from the workings of everyday life. There is even a natural spring nearby that feeds a small stream running through our land.

Our farm here in North Carolina was established in the late 1990s. Prior to this, we spent a total of nearly 20 years keeping and breeding asian game fowl in Laos, Thailand, and in central California. For us, raising asian game fowl is an activity meant for our own enjoyment - a hobby, in other words. And because it is a hobby, we aim for quality (for our own sake) rather than quantity when it comes to breeding our birds. We produce a limited number of birds every year and select some for ourselves, give some away to relatives and friends, and offer the rest to those who want them.

Environment and Conditions
The climate in our area range from wet and cold in winter to damp, hot and humid during the summer months. These widely varying conditions require us to take extra precautions when it comes to our birds. The birds that we keep are by-and-large tropical birds and therefore do best in warm, damp climates. Especially in the winter months, adequate insulation from the elements, especially wind, is crucial to their health and survival.

Aside from the elements, wildlife can also at times pose a problem. At the top of the offenders list are raccoons and opossums, which occasionally stray onto our farm and take a bird or two, or sometimes a clutch of eggs. Of course, we understand that such is all part of being located in a wilderness environment.

Housing
We keep our birds in a variety of pens. The pens are classified as breeding, individual, nursery, and brooding. Breeding pens are where paired breeder birds are kept. The size of each breeding pen is about 5 ft by 15 ft. Each of these pens is equipped with a nest for the hens to lay their eggs. The hens also incubate their eggs in these pens until the eggs hatch. Individual pens are where we keep breeder hens and roosters that are not currently being bred and young cockerels and pullets. These individual pens are about 5 ft by 5 ft. Nursery pens are where we keep our newly hatched chicks along with their mothers. They will usually only stay in these pens for about a week, after which they are moved to a brooding pen. Brooding pens are where we keep older chicks until they reach about 5 or 6 months of age, after which they are separated into individual pens. Brooding pens are about the same size as breeding pens (5 ft by 15 ft), with one significant difference: each brooding pen has openings that allow the chicks to exit and go out to forage and range in the surrounding fields and woodland.

All of our pens with the exception of nursery pens feature a sheltered, dry area where the birds sleep during the night and where their food and water are located, and an open area where they can play and get sunlight.

Feeding and Diet
We give our birds a wide assortment of foodstuffs to ensure a balanced diet, which in turn ensures strong and healthy birds. For adult birds, the diet centers around cracked and/or whole corn. This is supplemented by adult chicken feed and occasionally oats and whole wheat and rice grains.

The birds are also regularly let out to forage for grass, leaves, berries and insects to supplement their standard diet. Young chicks and juvenile birds are fed a diet of fine ground corn, chick starter feed, and occasionally cooked rice. The chicks and juvenile birds are also allowed to forage for grass, leaves, berries and insects to supplement this diet. Click HERE to see an illustrated list of the foodstuffs we give our birds.

Mashed eggshells and oyster shells also play an important role in the diet of our birds. For laying hens especially, this extra boost of calcium and other essential minerals ensure firm and healthy eggs, and hence, healthy chicks as a result. For young chicks and juvenile birds, this extra supply of calcium ensures strong and healthy bone growth.

Breeding Thai Game Fowl
We breed our birds in pairs housed in separate breeding pens to help keep track of which birds came from which, as opposed to the one rooster and multiple hen arrangement favored by some breeders. This is very important in selecting which breeder hens and roosters to keep (by judging the quality of their offspring), and which to "put in the pot." One thing everyone has to keep in mind is that good parents don't always produce good offspring, and even siblings oftentimes produce different quality offspring. There have been many cases where one hen would produce very high quality offspring, while her sister from the same batch would produce low quality offspring. This is also true in the case of roosters. Therefore, individual assessment of breeder roosters and hens is always very important.

This one-rooster, one-hen arrangement inevitably results in a very low production of eggs, hence each egg is very important to us and hence the reason why we cannot afford to sell or give away eggs or chicks.

We usually let the hens hatch their own eggs and rear their own chicks rather than use incubators and mechanical brooders. Sometimes we foster out eggs to our leghorn hens to hatch and rear, but this usually only occurs under special circumstances, such as when a thai game fowl hen abandons her eggs, or is known to be a bad mother or poor sitter.

As soon as the eggs hatch, the hen and chicks are moved to a nursery pen where they will remain for the first week. Within this time, the chicks grow their initial wing feathers, which will help keep them warm as well as aid them in moving about. After one week, the chicks and hen are moved to a brood pen where they will remain for about five months. Within this time, they are let out during the day to forage and range, which helps to build muscles, increase bone strength, and improve coordination. Once the chicks reach about three months of age, the hen is removed. At about five to six months of age, the cockerels are separated and placed in their own individual pens to prevent them from fighting. The pullets generally stay together until they begin laying.