American Game

American Game
An American Game Bantam hen
Conservation status Livestock Conservancy: study[1]
Country of origin United States
Traits
Weight
  • Male: bantam: 850 g[2]:107
  • Female: bantam: 765 g[2]:107
Egg color Brown
Comb type Single
Classification
APA Large fowl: no[3]
Bantam: modern game bantam[3]
ABA yes[4]
EE no[5]
PCGB no[6]

The American Game is an American breed of game fowl, chickens bred specifically for cockfighting. It has many color varieties, and may also be kept for ornament.[7]

History

The American Game was bred for cockfighting. The full-size ("large fowl") American Game is listed by the Livestock Conservancy as "study".[1] The full-size American Game is not recognized by the American Poultry Association, which in 2009 recognized the American Game Bantam in ten colors. The American Game is not among the fifty-three chicken breeds reported by the National Animal Germplasm Program of the USDA Agricultural Research Service to the DAD-IS database of the FAO,[8] nor is it recognized by the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture[5] or by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.[6]

Some American Game have been exported to the United Kingdom. In 2002 there were fewer than a hundred birds there.[9]

American Game Bantam

The bantam version of the American Game does not derive from the original large fowl. It was created in New Jersey in the 1940s by a breeder named Frank Gary. He cross-bred the wild Red Jungle Fowl with fighting bantams of the type known at the time as "pit game".[2]:106 The American Game Bantam was listed in the yearbook of the American Bantam Association from 1950,[4], and was admitted to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 2009.[3]

Characteristics

The standard-sized American Game is bred in a wide range of plumage colors; cock birds have long sickle feathers.[7]

The American Game Bantam has a small five-pointed single comb and small smooth wattles and earlobes.[2]:107 Ten color varieties are recognized by the APA: birchen; black; black-breasted red; blue; blue red; brown red; golden duckwing; red pyle; silver duckwing; and white.[3] Two others, "brassy back" and wheaten, are also raised.[2]:107

Use

The American Game was bred for cockfighting. It is a good table bird, and may be kept for ornament. It lays brown eggs.[7] As with other fighting breeds, for exhibition the comb, earlobes and wattles are cut off ("dubbed").[2]:107

References

  1. 1 2 Conservation Priority List: Chickens The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed June 2017
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
  3. 1 2 3 4 APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 Mark Rosen ([s.d.]). What's The Difference???. American Bantam Association. Accessed June 2017
  5. 1 2 Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
  6. 1 2 Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Accessed June 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Large Fowl American Game The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed June 2017
  8. ↑ Breeds reported by United States of America: Chicken. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2017.
  9. ↑ American Game/United Kingdom. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2017.
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