A game bird is one that is hunted as food, while poultry is a group of domesticated birds raised for either their meat or their eggs as food. Although there are other uses for the parts of the bird, this article is mainly about what birds the PCs will be partaking of depending on the setting they’re currently in.

Poultry

Most poultry are from the same order and include waterfowl, trukey, quail, and chickens. Some pigeons or doves can either be poultry, raised by people, or game, hunted in the wild. Each of the domestivated dowl has its origins and game bird ancestor.

Catching a meal from domestivated stock is a lot easier than trying to hunt down a wild bird, and having a supply of eggs is good for long-term stays in an area. If the domesticated bird is a larger one, the bird has an opportunity to escape its fate using its beating wings and pinching beak to keep the characters on their toes.

Chicken: Used for meat, eggs, feathes, and leather. Originally domesticated in Southeast Asia from the red junglefowl.

Duck: Used for meat, feathers, and eggs. Domesticated in several regions from the Muscovy Duck or Mallard

Emu: Used for meat, leather, and oil. Domesticated in the 20th century.

Goose: Used for meat, feathers, and eggs. Domesticated in various regions from the Greylag Goose or Swan Goose

Indian Peafowl: Used for meat, feathers, ornamentation, and landscaping. Domesticated in India from wild peafowl

Mute Swan: Used for feathers, eggs, and landscaping. Domesticated in various regions from native stock.

Ostrich: Used for meat, feathers, eggs, and leather. Domesticated in the 20th century.

Turkey: Used for meat and feathers. Domesticated first in Mexico from the Wild Turkey.

Guineafowl: Sued for Meat, pest consumption, and alarms. Domesticated first in Africa from Helmeted Guineafowl.

Common Pheasant: Used for meat. Domesticated in Eurasia from wild stock.

Golden Pheasant: Used for meat and ornament. Dp,esticated in Eurasia from wild stock.

Rhea: Used for meat, oil, leather, and eggs. Domesticated in the 20th century.

Game Birds

The type of game bird hunted is dependent on the climate, animal diversity, local taste, and regionally accepted view about what can or cabnnot be hunted. In modern days, there are rules as to when and how many game birds can be taken per year, but in past centuries the animals were hunted without concern of extinction or damage to the local ecology.

How hard is it to hunt game birds? In a pre-firearms society, it’s about as annoying as hunting for anything else. Generally the hunter needs to flush the game out into the open before using his or her weapon, whether a bow, a sling, or a well-thrown rock or spell. Larger birds are easier to hit, moderate difficulty for fairly clear environment and the difficulty gets easier the longer the hunter focuses on the shot.

However, the smaller the bird, the faster the flyer, or the thicker the terrain, the difficulty rises. Even if the hunter successfully hits a flying bird, the hunter then has to track where the bird lands. For example, the hunter along a waterway hits the target, but consider how hard it will be to retrieve the meal from the water. This is why a lot of people used dogs or falcons to retrieve their meals.

Some game birds are vicious as well as stupid; turkeys in the wild have been known to get shot and shrug it off to attack the hunter. Any of the tougher or heavily feathered birds could continue to run, fly, or attack even if its head has been blown off.

Types of Game Birds

South African: In deserts and brushlands, the fowl would aim for any source of running water. Use guineafowl, francolin, partridge, quail, sandgrouse, pigeon, dove, duck, geese, sniper, bustard, and korhaan. For lowland rainforests use partridge, for highland rainforests use pigeon, dove. Tropical wetlands, ducks.

Australia: Ducks, Magpie Geese, and other waterfowl are commonly seen on farms and in the wild. Aboriginal Australians used to spear emus while they were drinking at waterholes, or use nets. Natives would poison the waterholes with pituri or other poisonous plants, and catch the emus that were disoriented. The Aborigines only killed what they ate and looked down upon those that killed emu needlessly. They also used up most of the emu. The fat polished their weapons and was mixed with ochre as ceremonial paint, and the bones and tendons were used as tools and for tying. The Europeans hunted the emu for food but also to get rid of them when they intruded on their land. Emu leather is distinctively patterned due to the raised areas around the feather follicles in the skin. The leather is used to make wallets and shoes, often in combination with other leathers. The feathers and eggs are used in decorative arts and crafts. Hollowed-out emu eggs can be engraved with pictures.

Europe: The black grouse is found in the moors and boglands nect to boreal woodlands and the red grouse is found in the heather moorlands of Great Britain and Ireland. Ptarmigan are found in the mountains of Scotland, the Alps and other mountainous and tundra regions. The Ptarmigan is also a popular Christmas dish in Iceland. During the last Ice Age the species was further south in continental Europe and in a fantasy setting will likely be found in the colder regions. The Grey Partridge is widespread and common throughout Eurasia and readily breeds in other areas and the Red-Legged Partridge breeds naturally in southwestern Europe and spreads easily into flat areas. The Common Pheasant is one of the world’s most hunted birds and are found in woodland, farmland, scrub, and wetlands. Other fowl include Ducks, Geese, Woodpigeons, Woodcocks, Snipes, Golden Plovers, and Capercaillie, which is the largest member of the grouse family and lives in conifer and taiga forests.

Americas: In a setting like the Americas, Crows have been eaten by desperate humans, although usually they are hunted for being pests. Also consumed are Doves, Ducks, Geese, Grouse, Partridge, Pheasant, Quail, and woodcock.

Other Concepts

Alanorarius: In ancient Europe, this was the keeper or manager of the spaniels or hunting dogs, for hunting or falconry.

Falconry: In medieval times, hawks and falcons were used to hunt quarry, often other birds as well as small game. likely falconry began in Mesopotamia or Mongolia, where it is still a popular practice today. It stands to reason that game fowl could be hunted with falcons or hawks.

Adding Magic

With the addition of a fantasy environment, it not only becomes easier to catch wild game, but to retrieve it as well. A smart magician who is going to be out in the wild for some time would likely have at least one spell that calls or attracts game, The fantasy environment also allows the characters to obtain smarter hunting animals that regularly return with game, but larger species of bird that provide bigger meals.

The downside to a magical world is that the game could be smarter, larger, more dangerous, or better armed. Hunting a flock of intelligent carniverous birds could turn the tables on a hunter as they outflank him and make him their meal.

There are also creatures like the goose that lays golden eggs, the phoenix, feathered serpents, and bird-people. Certainly they all could play a part as domesticated livestock, findable game, or trapped slaves to a dominant race.

Plot Hooks

• The hungry PCs come across a peaceful-looking flock of ducks (about 75). Intent on their target or two, they may or may not notice that the swimming pattern of the ducks sets the waterfowl up to outflank them. The ducks attack and they are mean....
• The PCs are looking for some sort of work near a city and they find a chicken farm that provides eggs and meat to the local nobility. The work is hard, disgusting, and filled with clouds of feather dust, but they could also uncover a local plot to assassinate one of the noble family members.
• A small group of sentient birds is being forced to entertain a race of large brutal humanoids. They must sing, dance, and provide eggs for the monsters’ meals… or they become the meals themselves. One smaller adolescent escapes and runs into the PCs while searching for help. Do the PCs get involved, or do they see nothing more than another game fowl?