American Game

American Game
	Bantam hen
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not listed; Livestock Conservancy (2020): study; Livestock Conservancy (2021): not listed;
Country of origin	United States
Use	cockfighting; ornament; meat;
Traits
Weight	Male: bantam: 850 g; Female: bantam: 765 g;
Egg color	brown
Comb type	single
Classification
APA	Large fowl: no; Bantam: game bantam;
ABA	Bantam: yes
EE	no
PCGB	no
	Chicken; Gallus domesticus;

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.^[5]

History

The American Game was bred for cockfighting. The full-size ("large fowl") 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,^[10] nor is it recognized by the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture^[8] or by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.^[9] In 2020 its conservation status was listed by the Livestock Conservancy as "study";^[2] in 2021 it was no longer listed.^[3]

Some stock has been exported to the United Kingdom; in 2002 there were fewer than a hundred birds there.^[11]

American Game Bantam

The bantam version of the breed 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".^[4]^: 106 The American Game Bantam was listed in the yearbook of the American Bantam Association from 1950,^[7] and was admitted to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 2009.^[6]

Characteristics

The standard-sized American Game is bred in a wide range of plumage colors; cock birds have long sickle feathers.^[5]

The bantam has a small five-pointed single comb and small smooth wattles and earlobes.^[4]^: 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.^[6] Two others, "brassy back" and wheaten, are also raised.^[4]^: 107

Use

The American Game was bred for cockfighting. It is a good table bird, and may be kept for ornament. Hens lay brown eggs of medium to large size.^[5] As with other fighting breeds, for exhibition the comb, earlobes and wattles are cut off ("dubbed").^[4]^: 107

References

^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b Conservation Priority List: Chickens The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed 11 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Conservation Priority List: Chickens The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed 11 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Large Fowl American Game The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 5 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b Mark Rosen ([s.d.]). What's The Difference???. American Bantam Association. Accessed June 2017.
^ ^a ^b Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
^ ^a ^b Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
^ 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.
^ American Game/United Kingdom. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2017.