Old English Game

The Old English Game is a heritage breed of hen with its roots in England. It is a hard-feathered bird, medium in size, compact and muscular, carrying itself with the proud, upright stance that has marked the breed out for centuries.

The breed is spirited and constantly alert, missing little of what happens around it and moving with real confidence on open ground. Cocks in particular have a bold, fearless bearing, and this temperament, as much as the bird's looks, is what keepers have valued down the years.

The Old English Game is kept today mostly by hobbyists and show breeders. It is hardy, forages well, and copes with damp, changeable conditions, but it is not a heavy layer, so it suits a keeper after an ornamental heritage bird rather than a flock kept for eggs.

Who it suits

The Old English Game suits keepers who can give the birds room to range and who want an active, characterful heritage hen. Its strong personality and tendency to fight within its own sex mean it does better with an experienced keeper than with someone starting out and looking for a placid garden hen.

The Old English Game descends from game fowl kept in England over many centuries. These birds were bred for the pit, and selection favoured courage, stamina, and a tight, hard feather that gave an opponent little to grip.

Cockfighting was widespread across England for generations, and it shaped the breed's character long before any written standard existed. Keepers held onto regional strains and family lines, passing birds down and breeding for performance rather than a uniform look.

Blood sport was made illegal in England in 1849. With its original purpose gone, breeders kept the fowl going as an exhibition and ornamental bird. The type moved into the poultry show circuit of the later nineteenth century, where the focus turned to type, colour, and condition.

From there the breed has been kept up on its appearance and heritage value. Two broad styles developed among fanciers, differing in build and proportion, and the Old English Game remains one of the oldest recognised English chicken types still kept today.

The Old English Game is medium in size with a short, broad, muscular body and a firm, close coat of feathers. The stance is upright and the chest full, giving the bird an alert, ready outline. The legs are clean and well set, and the overall impression is of strength packed into a compact frame.

The head is small and neat, with a single comb in most strains. The plumage is hard and tight rather than loose or fluffy, a trait carried over from the breed's fighting origins.

Coat and colours

The breed comes in a long list of recognised colours. Black-breasted red is the most commonly seen, but spangled, blue, brown-red, pile, and several other varieties are also kept. The hard feather sits close to the body and needs little upkeep, which suits a bird that spends its day out foraging.

The Old English Game is an active, alert bird with a confident manner. Birds notice movement quickly, forage with plenty of energy, and rarely stand still for long. Many become tame and easy around a keeper they know well, and individual birds can grow quite friendly when handled regularly from an early age.

The defining trait of the breed is its boldness. Cocks are courageous and territorial, and two males housed together will nearly always fight. Hens, too, can be assertive within the flock. Around other poultry the breed needs careful management, since its fighting ancestry leaves it far less tolerant of crowding and competition than a calmer breed.

With people the Old English Game is generally manageable and curious. Around small children and unfamiliar animals it should be supervised, mainly because a cock will defend his territory readily rather than because of any unprovoked aggression toward a keeper.

The Old English Game is a hardy breed that copes well with cold, wet weather thanks to its tight feathering. Its main needs are space, secure housing, and a management routine that accounts for its active, territorial character, along with good ventilation to keep the coop from turning damp underfoot.

Grooming

• The hard, close coat needs little grooming and stays clean with normal dust-bathing.
• Check feet and legs regularly for scaly leg mite and injury.
• Trim the spurs on older cocks if they grow too long.
• Check for external parasites during routine handling.

Exercise

• Provide a large run or free-range area; this is an active forager that dislikes confinement.
• Allow daily access to open ground for scratching and foraging.
• Give perches and varied terrain to keep birds occupied.

Environment

House cocks separately or keep a single male per group to prevent fighting. The coop should be dry, well ventilated, and secure against predators such as foxes, with enough space to reduce competition among birds.

The Old English Game does well on a balanced commercial ration matched to its life stage, topped up by whatever it finds while foraging. As an active breed it makes efficient use of its feed, but it still needs a consistent base diet with the right protein level for its age.

Treats and supplements

Provide insoluble grit so foraging birds can grind their food properly, and offer crushed oyster shell to laying hens for shell strength. Keep treats such as greens and grains to a small share of the daily ration so they do not throw the main feed out of balance. Fresh, clean water needs to be available at all times.

The Old English Game is a tough, long-established breed with few inherited health problems. It suits outdoor life well and typically lives 7 to 10 years under good husbandry. Most health issues are the common poultry concerns that affect any free-ranging flock in a damp climate, rather than faults specific to the breed.

Preventive care

• Keep housing dry, clean, and well ventilated, especially through a wet spell.
• Run a regular parasite-control routine for worms, mites, and lice.
• Provide a dust-bathing area to help birds manage external parasites.
• Quarantine new birds before adding them to the flock.
• Watch for fighting injuries in groups that include mature cocks.

The Old English Game is built for an active outdoor life. It is happiest with room to range and forage, and it copes well with cold, but it still needs a dry, secure coop for shelter and roosting. Because the breed is territorial, housing should give birds enough space to spread out and avoid crowding, with ventilation set up to stop damp air building up over the roost.

Setup checklist

• A predator-proof coop with secure latches and a covered or fenced run.
• Raised perches and clean, dry bedding.
• A dust-bathing area in the run.
• Shade and shelter from wind and rain.
• Separate housing or partitions for extra cocks.

Old English Game eggs follow the standard chicken incubation pattern and hatch in about 21 days. The breed keeps a strong broody instinct, and hens are reliable natural setters and attentive mothers. Eggs can also be raised in an incubator where controlled conditions are needed.

Hatching steps

1. Pick clean, well-formed, fertile eggs and let them settle to room temperature.
2. Set the incubator to 37.5 C and let temperature and humidity stabilise before adding eggs.
3. Turn the eggs regularly through day 18 to keep the embryo positioned correctly.
4. Stop turning on day 18 (lockdown) and raise the humidity for hatching.
5. Let chicks hatch and dry out fully before moving them to a warm brooder.