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Think of the iconic barnyard rooster: brightly colored, standing tall and alert, curved tail flowing behind him. That’s the Old English Game. They, and other related European gamefowl, are among the oldest Western chicken breeds. They share the distinction with the Dorking, the Spanish group and the Polish. Their unchanging image appears in artwork over centuries.
Old English Games take their name from their fighting history, a ‘game’ bird being one that was willing to fight. They retain their energy and defend their territory. Roosters will fight each other and hens will defend their chicks. For backyard chicken flocks, this has its uses. A strong rooster provides leadership in flock organization and helps defend against predators. Hens teach their chicks to forage and protect them from danger. Multiple roosters at a single location may have to be fenced from one another, though. Their heritage is courage, agility and strength. Selection for strength is what has produced their excellent table qualities.
They are not naturally vicious or aggressive toward humans. On the contrary, OE Game chickens are docile and easily managed. The hens of the flock get along well. Their value as a homestead and utility fowl made them influential on American farms well into the 20th century. They are good layers, good mothers and traditionally ranked by connoisseurs as one of the tastiest table birds.
The APA shows bantam game chickens in their own class, divided into Modern, American and Old English. The ABA has a class entirely for Old English and American Games. The APA recognizes 24 color varieties, the ABA 34. They are the most popular bantam breed shown.
Such a popular chicken breed has been selectively bred into lots more colors and patterns. More than 170 have been documented, although some of those are minor variations. Conservationists still maintain many varieties that have not been recognized by any official standard. Purely Poultry offers 16 varieties of large fowl, 54 of bantams.
In addition to color varieties, OE Game chickens may be muffed, tasseled and henny-feathered . The tassel is often called a toppie, pronounced TOE-pee. Such birds are sometimes described as ‘lark-feathered.’ The tassel is not a true crest, but a small cluster of feathers at the base of the comb. Muffs and tassels hark back to barnyards of centuries past. Henny-feathered males have the same color and feather pattern as females. These variations are recognized by the British Poultry Club.
Show game roosters are dubbed, the comb and wattles surgically removed, to give them the traditional look of fighting fowl. The original purpose of the practice was to prevent an opponent from getting a grip and gaining an advantage. Unless intended for exhibition, OE Games don’t need to be dubbed.
Sam Brush, current president of the APA, also serves as contact person for the Old English Game Club of America. The Old English Game Bantam Club of America has a message board.
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Natural incubation keeps a backyard flock going. The hen gets broody, the rooster does his job, she lays her eggs and sets on them, and 21 days later, she emerges with chirping chicks.
A hen is broody when she insists on setting on the nest. She won’t get up, even if you lift her out. She fluff her feathers out and yodel, she may peck at you. One observer described broodiness as “a state of continual bliss.” She doesn’t want to be disturbed.
That’s because she’s ready to set until she has chicks to lead out of the nest. The demands of monitoring an incubator may give you new respect for broody hens. Temperature and humidity need to be kept constant and eggs need to be turned a couple of times a day. A hen knows how to do this without being taught.
Hens may signal their intention to become broody by setting on the nest and refusing to move. You can stimulate them to become broody, for your convenience and timing to the eggs you are collecting, by starting them on a nest of artificial nest eggs made of wood, plastic
or glass. When she stays on the nest for at least 24 hours, she’s ready to get serious about it.
A clutch is the group of eggs hens want to collect before beginning to set. One of the marvelous things about hatching eggs is that although an individual hen will lay one egg a day, she will keep on laying until she gets a clutch before beginning to incubate them. Then they all hatch together. This seemed like a miracle to me until I understood how they arrange it.
Some hens move on and off the nest for a few days before getting serious. Give her time to get used to the idea. When a hen goes broody, she may even peck at other hens who try to enter the nest to lay their eggs.
Not all breeds are created equal when it comes to broodiness. Because hens stop laying eggs when they are brooding, breeders have selected hens that don’t get broody. Broodiness is a behavioral trait that doesn’t appear in the show ring, so unless breeders want it, they may select against it. It’s a traditional trait that allows flocks to replenish themselves, so heritage breeds should be good broody hens. Heritage breeds that brood well include Dorkings, Games, Javas, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Brahmas and Orpingtons. Many bantams are good broody hens, especially Silkies, Nankins, Dutch and Junglefowl.
Oriental breed hens are usually good brooders and mothers, including Phoenix, Yokohama and Cubalaya breeds. Game breeds have hard feathers, with narrow, short shafts and closely-knitted barbs making the feather stiff and shiny rather than fluffy. They cannot cover as many eggs as a fluffy breed like the Dorking or the Brahma.
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People are usually ready to share their opinions, whether asked or not. Well, when the topic is the dubbing of game birds for exhibition, people have strong opinions!
What Is Dubbing?
Dubbing is the practice of cutting off the comb, wattle and earlobes of chickens.
An Old English Game Bantam that has not been dubbed
Currently, game roosters entered into exhibitions must be dubbed in order to compete, according to American Poultry Association standards. Those breeds include:
- Old English Game
- Modern Game
- American Game
When a roster is dubbed, the wattle, the earlobes and the comb are removed using sharp scissors. It is best if two people handle the task. The bird is wrapped in a towel or other cloth so that only it’s head is visible. Then one person holds it while the other cuts. The scissors are sterilized with alcohol and some kind of blood stop should be on hand – just in case.
First, the wattle is cut from front to back, then the earlobes, and finally the comb from back to front. It is important to remember that, once the skin is cut away, it cannot be put back. Most experts recommend cutting less instead of more.
Why Dub Chickens?
Dubbing of game birds has a long history and there are a couple of reasons it is done today. One of those reasons is simply
An Old English Game Rooster that has been dubbed
tradition. As the name “game” implies, these are chicken breeds that were traditionally bred for fighting purposes. During a fight, the wattles, combs and earlobes were almost like handles for the opposing rooster to grab hold of, and terrible wounds could result if they were torn off. As chicken fighting is now illegal in 48 states, no one needs to worry about that anymore.
However, the look of a dubbed roster is still appealing to many. While the birds are not actually fighting, lots of people like them to look like they could win in a fight. It makes sense that if, all of your life, you’ve seen game birds dubbed you would think that’s the way they should look. This is the reason I believe the APA Standard of Perfection calls for dubbing.
The second reason people maintain that dubbing is good for game birds is more reasonable. If a bird lives in a cold climate and is not dubbed, frostbite can cause serious problems. However, there is fault in the logic of dubbing only game birds in cold climates because other birds with similar wattles, combs and earlobes can suffer frostbite as well. No one suggests that other breeds should be dubbed.
A Simple Solution
Reading through forum threads, chatting with poultry fanciers, or reading blogs reveals that people are divided over the question of dubbing. Some people believe that it is a sign of good animal husbandry and that a flock will be healthier for it. Others think it is unnecessary at best and, at worst, cruel. Regardless, of the plethora of opinion, the fact remains that the APA and ABA requires dubbing of game breeds for competition.
There is a simple way to solve the whole debate: don’t make dubbing a requirement, but also don’t penalize birds that have been dubbed. Dubbing just should not be a factor in the judgement of game birds. My guess is that, eventually, dubbing would fade away and eventually disappear.
Do you raise Old English Game Bantams, Modern Game Bantams or American Game Bantams? Do you dub your birds? How do you feel about dubbing?
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