Old English Game

Old English Game is a hard-feathered British chicken descended from the gamefowl once used in cockfighting. Modern birds are kept for exhibition, preservation and ornamental smallholdings, since fighting is illegal in many places. The breed has a close, athletic body, strong legs, an upright carriage and a bold, watchful expression. Black-breasted red, duckwing, birchen, pile, spangled and many other colors occur, and bantam forms are more numerous than large fowl in some regions.

Management suits people who understand active, territorial chickens. Cocks usually need separate quarters from other males, and even hens can be sharper than heavy dual-purpose breeds. Secure fencing matters because Old English Game birds fly well and prefer to range. Egg production is modest, but hens are often reliable sitters and attentive mothers. Exhibition breeders pay close attention to station, feather tightness and color, and they need to follow local welfare rules on comb dubbing rather than treating old show customs as universal.

Colors: Barred, Birchen, Black, Black Breasted Red, Blue, Brown, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Duckwing, Gold, Gold Laced, Laced, Lavender, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Partridge, Penciled, Porcelain, Red, Silver, Silver Duckwing, Silver Laced, Spangled, Splash, Wheaten, White