Old English Game

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The Old English Game Fowl is a breed of chicken. Pure English Game Fowls are prized among Poultry breeders and thus fetch a high sale price. one of the type oxford english large were originally bred for cockfighting. Old english should not be confused with American games nor should American games be confused with old english. There are two different types of Old english, the Oxford type which is more "intact" and bred for show as well as bred to maintain their gameness and the Carlisle type which is purely exhibition.

Characteristics

Purebred English Game Fowl tend to have long legs and be muscular and full breasted. The cocks are colourful and have many long tail feathers. The hens look similar to the males except they don't have the large tail feathers and typically show less colour. There are more than 40 colour varieties of the bird today.

Old English Game Fowl were bred as active birds. They need plenty of room or space. The females will often become broody and according to poultry breeders, they make excellent mothers.

The Old English Game tends to have a long lifespan of 12 to 16 years, which is more than most other chicken breeds.

Muffed Old English Game

The Old English Game comes in wide range of domestic fowls. One being the Muffed Old English Game which is noted for muffs or light delicate frizzled feathers on their cheeks. The Black Breasted Red Old English is the basis for many modern fowls in the Brown Leghorn color pattern.

Bantam version

The Old English Game Bantam is the bantam version of this breed, it is one of the smallest chicken breeds, weighing about 22 oz (650 grams) when they are fully grown. The Old English Game Bantam is one of the most popular bantam breeds. This is especially the case in the United Kingdom, where it has its own specialist shows. The Old English Bantam is similar to the Old English Game in that it has long legs and it is fairly muscular. they are a great pet for children. The bantam was not developed from the larger sized old English but rather from other barnyard bantams of the same area. This explains their lack of length in the sickle feathers that you see in the standard sized O.E.G. The American old english game bantams contain blood from Dutch, and Rosecombs plus other breeds to add feather length and more colors like the silver laced varieties developed from sebrights.

colors of the Old English Game Bantams

Barred Birchen Black Black Breasted Red Black Tailed Red Black Tailed White Blue Blue Brassyback Blue Breasted Red Blue Golden Duckwing Blue Mille Fleur Blue Quail Blue Red Blue Silver Duckwing Blue Wheaten

Brassyback Brown Red Buff Columbian Crele Cuckoo Fawn Fawn Breasted Red Fawn Silver Duckwing Ginger Red Golden Duckwing Lemon Blue Mealy Gray Mille Fleur Mottled

Porcelain Quail Red Red Pyle Red Quill Self Blue Silver Blue Silver Duckwing Silver Quill Spangled Splash Wheaten White Muffed White normal pile

Domestication

The oxford English game fowl can be an aggressive bird toward other birds of any sex . It is only recommended for experienced poultry keepers and enthusiasts. keepers should learn how to properly handle and care for oxford English Game Cocks. Keepers should always separate the males; roosters should never be able to have contact or even see each other.

Mostly the breed is not suitable for integration with other flocks, both the males and females are more aggressive than their counterpart breeds and could attack. It is suitable to keep Oxford English game fowl separate from other breeds, with a few females for each male. Making sure that flocks can not see each other is also important as Old English game will fight with other chickens even through wire. They are an active bird and need plenty of space and should not be kept in crowded areas.

English Game Cocks will attack if their flock is threatened and they do not take exception to humans. The breed can be aggressive and not timid, some birds will grab on to limbs of there Human keepers.

The Oxford English Game are not laying birds, hens only lay ~130 eggs a year. They are a reasonable eating bird, being culled at about 5 months old. However, because of their high value (US$:40-250) per bird, many choose not to eat them.

History

The English Game Fowl is one of the oldest strains of poultry breeds that have been used for fighting purposes. Through the Middle Ages the breed was developed by the English Nobility into many varying colors, traits desirable for cockfighting were chosen by breeders. Cockfighting became illegal in Britain and Australia in the 1850s and English game fowl are usually kept just by poultry enthusiasts. Many of the original strains have died out, however many varieties remain.

Because cockfighting is illegal in many countries, the Old English game have little use and are not kept by many people. Their aggressive nature means that most backyard chicken keepers are put off. Today the breeds are used at poultry exhibitions and breeders try to develop stock that will win prizes. Exhibition bred cocks can fetch amounts over US$ 600. Breeders aim to preserve the present strains of this species, as many have already died out.

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