Egg Eating Hens

Breeding is definitely a full time job. Part of breeding is making sure that the eggs and hens are kept safe during the nesting stage. We guard against predators who sought easy targets like eggs. Aside from external threats, there is also a threat closer to home. They are the egg eating hens. Egg eating is a problem breeders have and is not easily solved once observed in a flock. Egg eating is caused by a number of reasons which are listed below.

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Jay Goode Greys

From the early days up until now, 2 colors have been dominant inside the pits, the Reds and Greys. The more prominent grey lines are Joe Goodes, Bumblefoots, Hatch greys, Law greys and Frost greys. Actually, our first derby winner was a grey, if memory serves me correctly I believe he was a Goode - Frost Grey mix. And as written in one of my previous articles, the Mitra - Kelso winning breed we had before were all greys as well. So we have done quite well with greys in the past and I know a lot of cockers who are doing really well with greys too. A few years back (a little less than 2 decades ago), I met Rocky, an old friend of my father who was living up in the mountains. My dad said that he had some of the best roosters he had ever seen.

We ran into Rocky by accident when the family was on vacation. Rocky asked us to come with him to his house to see his roosters. He said that he just kept a few exceptional ones since he can no longer take care of a lot of roosters as he was getting up there in years. In his backyard, I saw probably 20 roosters, a few hens and a few baby stags. He picked up two baby grey stags and gave them to me. They were a cross between Jay Goode Grey and a Billy Ruble Red. I was so elated to get those baby stags from him and was so excited to get back home to range the stags with the others. So excited that I tuned out the conversation between dad and Rocky, I already learned their bloodlines so I didn't need to hear anything else. I was quite young at that time so I just chalk this up to youth. So to make the long story short, one of the 2 baby stags died due to illness and the other one became one of the best roosters we had. Sadly, we were not into breeding at that time and we weren't able to secure any other bloodline from Rocky.

Fast forward to several years ago when I got interested in the different bloodlines of roosters. I was obsessed to know where some of these bloodlines came from, how they came to be and other facts about them. I stumbled upon an article written by Jay Goode, Joe Goode's brother. He wrote about the Jay Goode Roosters. I would like to share this with other cockers who find an interest in the different bloodlines and those who actually have this bloodline and maintain it until now.

AS “GOODE” AS IT GETS! By Jay Goode

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who had made this trip (Philippines) possible for my wife, Lillie and myself. Your hospitality is known by all that has visited this great country. I have had, over the years, the pleasure to meet and visit with some of the finest gentlemen from the Philippines.

You know, as I, that breeding your own game fowl and seeing them grow is somewhat a mystery. By this, I mean breeding is like mixing paint. You try and test until you find that some breed will do better than others. I guess that is why I have stayed with my “Frost Grey” and Kelsos. They have done real well for me over the years so I have stayed with these two breeds. There are other great breeds that are raised by some of my dearest friends. You know variety is the spice of life.

I will treasure this trip, and add these memories to the pages of my life.

Every man needs a God he believes in, a good wife, family, friends, and good game fowl, and I know that I have been blessed with all. I was born September 28, 1919, in Eastland, Texas, located between Abilene and Fort Worth, Texas. My parents moved to Trent, Texas when I was a baby. There I went to school and graduated from high school in 1936. My parents worked real hard as people had to do back in those days. My dad, John was a rancher, farmer and a carpenter. He taught me how to do it all. My mother, Birdie, was very religious and she raised all her children up going to church. We may have strayed at times, but with her spiritual leadership, we always returned to the love of our God.

My brother, Paul, was born August 18, 1922, in Trent, Texas. He grew up to be a land developer and builder and played a major part in the 1950’s through the 1970’s in the growth of Fort Hood, a well known military base in Killeen, Texas. He served on many committees to insure the success of this community. He was in real estate and into the banking business. He was a good judge in choosing a good rooster. He never really had a place to raise chickens or the time, but he had the relationship with many well known breeders and was able to acquire many good cocks in his lifetime. Paul passed away a few years ago and I truly miss him, not only as a brother but as a pal as well. We had many good times together.

My brother Joe, was born in Trent, Texas on January 13, 1932, and believe me his life was entirely wrapped around his love for his game fowl. I think at one time, he was the best selector of a cock on any given fight day. Joe did not do all of his breeding. He had different farms where people would raise them for him. Joe would come by home at the first of the year and would pick out some cocks and he would buy them from me. He paid me real well for these too.

I have many treasured memories from our earlier childhood together, although Joe was thirteen years younger than me. I couldn’t step backward that he was not trailing after me in the chicken yard. He was always hungry to learn more about how to feed, how to handle, and sometime I wonder if he was not part chicken. Some day I am going to sit down and finish the book that I have started, and share my memories over the last sixty plus years. I have had a good life. At times, I hear someone say, “If only I could relive my life, I would do this and that, I tell them that once around in this world is plenty if you handle it just right. I guess the only thing that would change would be to raise and fight more chickens.

Let me tell you how I got my first gamecock. John Howell and I were having a little friendly dice game, we were shooting a penny a shot. I busted John and he said, loan me some money. I said, No, I’m not going to loan you money and let you play back at me. He said, I’ll sell you “Old Dobbin” for a dime. I said, I’ll give you a nickel (five cents) for him. He sold him to me. I won that nickel back a penny a shot.

“Old Dobbin” was an Ewing Walker Blue Falcon. It was late in August. He was naked as a jaybird with no feathers and was one-eyed. I carried him home and turned him loose at the horse barn. That fall he molted out had a tail as long as your arm and was pretty as a picture. I bought two blue Falcon hens from Pete Howell. They were snow white. I raised a bunch of stags out of them and “Old Dobbin”. They could fight like hell, but they would run off. If they decided to stay they could win without any problem. I think the hens were white leghorn.

The next cock I owned, I bought from L.C. Murray for $5.00. Mr. Murray got him ready to fight. I picked him up on fight day and carried him to the fight. I matched him a hack fight against Arthur and Ed Bushell of Anson, Texas. I had no gaffs. Tom Burns from Colorado City, Texas, heeled him and handled him. We won this fight and I got $5.00. This paid for me buying him. Uncle Bill Seastrunk gave me two hens and a rooster and I raised some stags out of this trio. I got Mr. O.C. “Hogg” Nations to feed them for me. He was running a brush pit at Eskota, Texas. We won three out of four fights. At the time, I thought I would do nothing but fight roosters. I won $18.00 that day. I figured I would never see another poor day.

After I graduated from high school at Trent, I moved to Waco, Texas where I got a job as a carpenter. Then I went to fighting roosters at the “Dripping Springs” pit. At the time Dripping Springs Pit was the largest pit in the south. I was fighting with and against some of the toughest cockers in the world. I will name some that come to my mind: Henry Wortham, Sweater McGinnis, J.D. Perry, Jack Walton, Harold Brown, Curtis Blackwell, Bobby Manziel and Sam Bigham. Jack Walton told me and brother Paul, I can see that you two kids are not going to quit so I am going to give you some chickens that you can win with, and he did just that. He gave us a brood yard, four hens and cock (Walton Red). He said, “Boys listen to me, don’t fight these chickens as stags, let them make cocks.” The year that they were cocks, he brought us a brand new pair of “Orr gaffs” and gave them to us. They were made off a pattern from Cantell in England. They were skeleton gaffs. I still have the original pair in my possession.

The next good chickens that I had were out of my Frost Grey hens and a Hatch Claret cock that J.D. Perry gave me. I was always trying to learn as much as I could and I asked a northern feeder that fed for Mr. Madigan if he used eggs in his keep. He replied to me. I have two every morning for breakfast.

I saw Mr. Madigan fight a Claret cock at Dripping Springs Pit. He fought this rooster and got them hurt pretty bad. Joe Bowlin was feeding for Mr. Madigan at this time. He told Joe to destroy the cock. I started out that day with $10.00 in my pocket and with luck ran it up to $100.00. After I heard Mr. Madigan tell Joe what he did, I said Mr. Madigan, I will give you $100.00 for that rooster. That was all the money I had in my name. Mr. Madigan looked up at me with his little beaded eyes and replied, “Son, I wouldn’t sell you a feather off this rooster for $100.00.” I thought at the time, I will whip one of your cocks one of these days, and I did.

Sweater McGinnis was feeding for Mr. Madigan. I had a show of Sam Bigham Reds. I met Mr. Madigan and Sweater for their money fight. They came in with the prettiest, green legged grey that you ever saw. Mr. Madigan was a 100 to 65 the favorite. Bob Basham was the referee. We billed them up, they went together and when they hit the pit floor, his grey had a broken leg. My rooster whipped him easy. My rooster never got his tail dusty. After the fight I wanted to go and tell Mr. Madigan, “you old rascal, I got even with you”, but I didn’t.

When Mr. Millo Frost quit fighting, he called Bobby Manziel on the phone back when money was scarce. He told Bobby he was going to quit and that he could have all his chickens for $10,000. Bobby said, “I’ll take them”. Bobby called Johnny Dodd in Waco (as good a friend as I have ever had in this world) and told him to bring his truck and pick him up in Tyler. They went to Houston and picked up all the chickens. I asked Johnny when they got back if they got all of the chickens. He said, “Jay, we got the sitting hens and the eggs that were under them.”

About two years later, Bobby fought an entry in Dripping Springs Pit and he got one of the grey cock hurt pretty bad. He did win the fight though. I asked him for this cock and he gave him to me. That was the last fight of the season.

The next fall, the first derby Mr. Clay had at Dripping Springs, there was a bunch of us sitting at the table having coffee, Mr. Clay, Jake Engle, Sweater, and myself. A fellow came up to me and asked me if the cock that Bobby gave me had lived? I said, “Yes, he lived.” Sweater asked me if he was one of the Frost Grey cocks. I said I didn’t know. He told me if he was a Frost Grey he will have a “F” tattooed in the web of his left wing cause I put it there when I worked for Mr. Frost. If it is one of these cocks, he is a “damn good one.” When I got home that night after the fights, I grabbed a flashlight and hurried to the fly pens, stumbling over everything that got in my way. I didn’t pull the feathers apart, I just went to picking him and I found the prettiest little “F” just where Sweater told me it would be.

Bobby Manziel gave me another Frost Grey cock. One he called the Squirrel cock because he climbed his opponent.

When we started fighting at Oaklawn, Mr. Walter Kelso fought a rooster. I asked him if I could have him and he gave the cock to me. Lun Gilmore had told me that I should get one of these from Mr. Kelso. Next year, Mr. Kelso gave me a present of another cock. I bred one over the other one’s daughter until I got them down to 15/16. This is how I came up with the two families that I still have today.

The “Frost Greys” are excellent cutters. This is their best asset. The “Kelso’s” have a tremendous amount of fight and are real strong. I cross these for my battle cocks. These are the only two families that I have. I don’t need anymore.

Before I close, I was asked to explain how I met my wife. So here it is. Back in the early seventies, I had gone to a fight down at Brenham, Texas. This was the going pit at this time. A lot of name cockers came here to fight. One Sunday in March I had fought a cock and he got killed real quick in the main pit. I didn’t really know where he got hit or when. After the fight I took him out to the car and was on my knees doing an autopsy on him. All of a sudden someone said to me, “Excuse me, but are you one of the Goode brothers?” I looked and the first thing I saw was a pair of small western boots in front of me. I then looked up and there she was. I got to my feet and said, yes, I am Jay Goode, just who are you? She replied telling me her name which at the time my mind went blank and I couldn’t remember her name. I asked her if her husband fought roosters. She said, “I don’t have a husband.” Then I told her as pretty as she was that she should have two husbands.

We dated for quite sometime, and then got married. At this time, we have been blessed with six children between the two of us and have thirteen wonderful grandchildren. I did not know that life was going to be so good to me.

I would like to add, this is only my personal opinion. I think that J.D. Perry was the best all around cocker in my lifetime. The reason I say this is because he was a dedicated breeder, super feeder, and a very talented handler in the pit. He always kept a sober head and he was a true gentleman.

You fight these cocks a lifetime and it’s not how many you have won or lost, what really counts is the way you played the game.

Writer’s Note: I would sincerely like to dedicate this to the great people of the Philippine Islands, who by their love, devotion and support have kept this sport alive and active. May you always have the freedom to enjoy this great sport of cock fighting.

Cover Stags: These Jay Goode Grey stags are from WhiteOak Gamefarm. These are fantastic specimens. Our thanks for sharing these wonderful stags with us.

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Caring for eggs

There are 2 ways of hatching eggs and gamefowl breeders take special care in hatching their eggs as the eggs may contain future champions. Whether one chooses to use the incubator or the hen in hatching, one must weigh the pros and cons of both methods as well as the resources one has. Some argue that the natural method is still the best while some argue that the incubator method is better as it allows for proper management and production. In this article, We will give some tips in caring and storage of eggs for the incubator method.

Many times a producer carefully attends to the incubation process but disregards the care of the eggs before they are placed in the incubator. Even before incubation starts the embryo is developing and needs proper care. Hatching eggs suffer from reduced hatchability if the eggs are not cared for properly. Listed below are tips to help maintain hatching egg quality.

• Collect eggs at least three times daily. When daily high temperatures exceed 85 degrees F. increase egg collection to five times daily. Collect two or three times in the morning and one or two times in the afternoon.
• Slightly soiled eggs can be used for hatching purposes without causing hatching problems, but dirty eggs should not be saved. Do not wash dirty eggs.
• Store eggs in a cool-humid storage area. Ideal storage conditions include a 55 degree F. temperature and 75% relative humidity. Store the eggs with the small end pointed downward.
• Alter egg position periodically if not incubating within 4-6 days. Turn the eggs to a new position once daily until placing in the incubator.
• Hatchability holds reasonably well up to seven days, but declines rapidly afterward. Therefore, do not store eggs more than 7 days before incubating. After 3 weeks of storage, hatchability drops to almost zero. Plan ahead and have a regular hatching schedule to avoid storage problems and reduced hatches.
• Allow cool eggs to warm slowly to room temperature before placing in the incubator. Abrupt warming from 55 degrees to 100 degrees causes moisture condensation on the egg shell that leads to disease and reduced hatches.

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Radio Kelso

In one of my earlier articles (Mitra Fowl), I stated that we bred the Mitra fowl to a Kelso fowl which resulted in the creation of one of the best lines we ever had. The specific Kelso fowl we used was an imported Radio Kelso. My father got this Kelso from a close friend who imported them as chicks. He then gifted my father with a stag, this stag was named Kit, probably named after Kitt from the old TV series Night Rider. I believe Kitt was the know-it-all super car on that show. Kitt had a nice temperament and was an awesome fighter. One distinct trait he had was the noise he made. It would seem like he was talking, he made different noises while eating, while foraging and when he sees people. This trait endeared him more to us as it was very unique for a rooster to be a chatterbox. Unfortunately, we lost Kitt to a snake bite but his progeny remained with us.

When I grew older and my interest in fighting cocks grew, I researched on the different breeds. I discovered that Kitt's noisy nature wasn't unique. The Radio Kelsos were named Radio for a reason, they were really noise makers and never stopped, just like a radio, In an article written by the founder of the Radio Kelsos himself, Johnnie Jumper. He wrote this when he was asked about the Radios:

Cecil brought me a rooster to train one time...and this rooster was very noisy. He was happy, happy all the time. So, I trained him and uh I'd exercise him and he was just so noisy. He had a great mental attitude. So, I named him Radio. I gave him the name Radio cause he talked all the time. And that...that name has stuck with those chickens since 1962. And course people call "you the man that invented or came up with the radios?" and I say well I came up with this one rooster you know and so I bred him to 1 kelso hen then I bred him back to 7/8 of him and that's how the family came about and I still have that family to this day. We call them Radios but they are red chickens with yellow legs. Their basic bloodline was 1/2 whitehackle and 1/2 murphy. They come from Mr. Murphy up in New York. That's what the rooster was made up out of, but we still have them today and they have such a great mental attitude. That's so important...the mental attitude."

Cover Cock: My father holding his Radio Kelso, Kitt. This was taken about 20 years ago.

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Hainan Fowl

In our constant search to create the perfect warrior, breeders have tried using and infusing gamecock breeds from all over the world. Some notable breeders had success in the past, and up until the present, some breeders are still incorporating oriental blood and other ancient bloodlines. Herman Pinnion,  a very famous breeder was said to have used the Hainan Fowl from China in his breeding program. 

During the 1930s Herman Pinnion had some Chinese Immigrants under his employ. They were assigned to work in his farm and they brought these fowls with them. It is said that he crossed these fowls with his own bloodlines which resulted in pea combed fowl with long tails. This bloodline may still be present in modern day Pinnions but probably a very small percentage remains.

The Hainan fowl originated in the Hainan province in southern china. Some rural communities refer to this fowl as the "tail fighters". Their appearance and occasional mutations suggest that they descended from the Green Jungle fowl from Java. 

Aside from the long tail feathers of the rooster, pea-combed birds having one centrally located wattle and rounded neck feathers are known to exist within the flocks of older, long-time breeders. This suggests that southern China had trade with Java, Indonesia, prior to the 7th century AD.

Black-breasted red is the most common plumage color pattern. Silver and gold ducking is also known to exist. As well as black-tailed red ginger. Leg colors are green and yellow, varying even within the same flock.

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Rooster Myth-Busting Part 2

This is a continuation to the article Rooster Myth-Busting Part 1. We list here some Myths about cockfighting that are circulating amongst non-cockers.

Myth 11 - Cockfighting is a sport ONLY for poor men.
Reality - This is not true. Actually, cockfighting is the sport where racism and aristocratism aren't present. The rich and the poor are both on equal footing. They rub elbows and treat each other as equals.

Myth 12 - Unless forced to continue, roosters will eventually stop fighting when they get tired.
Reality - During a fight between wild roosters, there will come a time when they will tire out and stop fighting, but this isn't a sign of surrender or submission. Once he catches his breathe and sees his opponent again, he will continue to fight. This will continue until only one is left. A rooster's natural instinct is to reign over his territory, so no matter what happens, he will fight any other rooster that he sees.

Myth 13 - Cockfighting is just a passing phase.
Reality - Cockfighting has been around since ancient times, even before Christ. Depictions of fighting roosters have been seen in ancient artwork and books from all corners of the world. We have more examples in another article here on this site titled "Gamefowl History".

Myth 14 - As proof that we train fighting cocks to fight each other, only the roosters are aggressive and not the hens.
Reality - This statement is absolutely incorrect. Aggressiveness or the will to fight of the fightingcocks are not just present in mature cocks but also in hens and stags (young cocks). The hens have a different reason for fighting, not for being the only one in a territory but to establish a pecking order in a flock. The young stags will start to fight when they reach adolescence. They will start fighting then give up, then fight again. Once they reach the peak of their adolescence, they will fight till the death. This behavior is manifested without training.

Myth 15 - Cockfighting is animal cruelty
Reality - Not letting a creature do what he is naturally wired to do is cruelty. Gamecocks are hard wired to fight and kill any other rooster he sees. Arming the roosters with blades is actually more humane than letting then beat each other to death for hours on end.

Additional tidbit: In 1782, heraldic expert William Barton was entrusted to design the great seal of the United States. Barton's first choice was to use a rooster as the bird on the seal. Other options were a Phoenix, an Eagle and a Dove. The rooster design was just too complex according to Barton so he replaced the rooster with the Bald Eagle.

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Gamefowl History

There have been many theories on where our beloved modern day gamefowl originated from or when we started keeping them for sport. The exact time when the gamefowl was first kept in domestication is unknown. 

The first mentions of cockfighting were in the reign of Croesus, king of Lydia ( 595 BC – 547 BC) and in India, it is mentioned in the "Codes of Manu" written a thousand years before Christ. There are also ancient hindu texts mentioning the use of a "fighting fowl" in as early as 1500 BC. 

The Greeks and Athenians also fought cocks. Themistocles, the Athenian General, encouraged his soldiers' valor by pointing out to them two cocks fighting, saying, "These birds fight not for their

gods, nor for their children, nor for glory, nor for freedom, but for the sake of victory, that one may not yield to the other ; " the example of the cocks having such an effect on the flagging spirits of the soldiers that he led them once more to victory. Afterwards Themistocles instituted a public festival, held annually in the theater, where the young men were compelled to attend to learn a lesson in courage from witnessing the fighting of cocks.

During the time of the Phoenicians, Canaanites and Hebrews, cockfighting was popular. Like breeders today, they considered breeding gamecocks for pit fighting an art. In Egypt, during the time of Moses, cockfighting was a very popular pastime. With this, it is clear that cockfighting has been present since the early times of human civilization.

 The exact make up of the modern day gamefowl may be lost to time as the gamefowl has evolved into an extremely sophisticated warrior from many decades of domestication and fine-tuning. It is believed that the modern day gamecock came from several jungle fowl species, namely the Red jungle fowl, Green jungle fowl, Grey jungle fowl, Ceylon fowl and Sumatra fowl. These fowl can still be located in the dense jungles of asia. These jungle fowls are said to be part of the bloodlines that form the orientals Nowadays, when we say orientals, we think of big, heavy fightingcocks like the Shamo, Asil, Sumatra, Hainan fowl, Ga Noi and Thai fowl. The Asil for example is considered the oldest bloodline that is still in existence today. Very early Hindu texts describe a fighting fowl that resembles the Asil. 

In England, it is said that their Old English strains descended from an ancient wild variety of gamefowls:

1. Black breasted reds, with fawn partridge hens.

2. Brown breasted reds, with dark brown hens.

3. Red breasted ginger reds, with yellow legs and light partridge hens.

The current bloodlines we have today are said to be a mix of Irish Game, Old English Game and Orientals. Some bloodlines also carry Spanish Game blood in them. It took many centuries of breeding to get to the modern day gamecock that we have today and we aren't done yet. We are still refining and tweaking our bloodlines in search for the perfect gamecock.

Asil

Ceylon

Ga Noi

Green Jungle Fowl

Grey Jungle Fowl

Old English Muff

Red jungle Fowl

Sumatra Fowl

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Pink Hatch

This is an interesting hatch bloodline. Unfortunately, I personally never had a chance at owning one as very few breeders have this bloodline. Well the authentic one is hard to find. Some say that the reason why it is hard to come by this bloodline is because some cockers aren't familiar and rename the fowl that they have. They mistakingly put them under the white or pyle family. Upon researching, I found out that there were a lot of factors in play in creating this bloodline. Below is an article written by Leonard Guneau on the make up of the Pink Hatch.

This is written in reply to the many requests for a true and authentic history of the modern strain of pit game fowl known as Pink Hatch. Before going into further details let me say this; neither I or this strain of fowl need publicity. I have never raised enough of them to supply the demand and still have enough of them left for my own use. In fact I could sell all of them I care to raise without a single line of advertising in any magazine. As to their origin I think it best at least more interesting, to describe some of the fowl that went into their make-up. I could just say they are the result of a Dan Tracy Pyle/Long Island Roundhead cross, but it is not that simple, for the Long Island Roundheads are the net result of considerable crossing and blending, also the Tracys carry a wee bit of outside blood. So, to just say they are the result of a simple cross does not really tell the full story. Unfortunately I am unable to give as much information on the history of the Tracy Irsih Pyles as I can on the Long Island Roundheads, altho I have made several trips to Ireland in an effort ot run down as much information as possible on these wonderful and beautiful fowl.

The Tracys are about the 5th or 6th strain of Pyle colored chickens I have tried crossing on Roundheads in the past half century. Briefly I crossed my good Allen Roundheads on Travelers and got dunghills, I crossed them on Blue Boones and got dunghills, I also crossed them on Lundy Wild Cat Blues and got good battle cocks in long heels. Don't know what they would have done in short heels as I was fighting in long heels at the time, as most of the above experimenting goes back almost fifty years. As the years went by I added new blood to my Allens by way of Cowan's Alabama Roundheads, and a shot of the Big Four Roundheads which were at one time fought extensively along the Ohio River in KY, WV, OH and points west. But I always kept my Allens basically Allen in looks and performance for I liked their smart heads-up style of fighting and their deadly cutting.

After coming to New York I added one quarter Sandy Hatch, set them at that stage and have fought them in both long and short heels ever since. So now it comes out that the Pink Hatch have exactly one eighth Sandy Hatch in them, which obviously comes thru the Long Island Roundhead side. One can see at a glance that the little Tracy cock is much smaller, also slimmer in his body and lower stationed, while the Pink Hatch is larger, taller, more robust in his body and a little more red in his coloring. Some of the pure Tracys come almost pure white, but the Pinks invariably have deeper colors. I even get a red once in awhile, and each season I get two or three grays, but will explain later about the grays. The original Amesbury Gray cock, a 17 time winner, whose blood was infused into the Dan Tracy Pyles when Frank Welsh, Dave's uncle, lost every Dan Tracy he had except one pullet. After the original cross he bred the stags back to the old hen for about nine years, each year cutting down the outside blood by one-half until (genetically) there was something on the order of one-five hundreds-and twelfth part Amesbury Gray in the pure Dan Tracys. The Gray color rarely shows up in the pure Tracys, but will crop out once in a while when new blood is infused. I have noticed I get more grays from the Long Island Roundhead crosses than any other. One thing is very evident, the grays are very well built, and are power cocks, and I can see no difference in their ability. If the Mendell law is correct, when a color or any other characteristic goes recessive it will remain dormant but not extinct, and will crop up occasionally and infinitum or endlessly that part of the theory I can understand, for it is happening every year right in front of my eyes, but what I don't understand is why the recessive comes out more often in one strain or cross than another. Insofar as I know there has never been a drop of gray blood put into the Allens or Cowans, or Big Fours; or hatch either for that matter, notwithstanding some of the writers who have had the Hatch coming every color of the rainbow.

The Amesbury Grays were a local strain, bred and fought around Amesbury, Mass. and I understand they were blend of Billy Anderson Tassel, Arch Ruport's Kearney and perhaps other bloodlines of which I am not aware of. One reason I bring up the background of the Amesbury Grays is that they had a tassel, which the Tracys inherited, and which gradually disappeared, and now they are always smooth heads, but the gray color still crops up. Perhaps some of our geneticists can explain why the tassel, which was also recessive finally disappeared but the gray color never did? But, whatever their makeup, these Amesbury Grays sure must have been some chicken. Dave Taylor, who had the original Amesbury Gray cock a 17x winner, told me that the cock won nine fights as a stag and eight as a cock and was never beaten in the pit. He said his uncle Frank Welsh told him that he never regretted putting the Gray blood into his Dan Tracys, for it sure did help bring them back, as he was about finished with only one hen left after a dog raid on his yards. But that is only one chapter of the Dan Tracy Pyle story.

This strain of game fowl have been bred as a family and fairly true to color and type for at least 250 years, maybe longer. During that time they have fought, and been known as champions in many countries, and have been known by several different names. Dan Tracy is merely the name they go under in America. In Ireland they were known as Galway Pyles and several others of which I am unaware of. King Charles of England was their originator, and it was he who took them to Ireland. Today nearly every cocker in Ireland has Pyles, no doubt all descendants of this one strain. I saw some real good ones fight over there, but the real good ones had been beefed up with infusions of other good Irish strains. It seems the Kearney infused Pyle blood into his Brown Red Whitehackles and it still shows up occasionally. I recently fought a pure Mike Kearney in the Eastern Pit few weeks after he had fought in Alaska in long heels, and he has several pure white feathers in his breast. Some of these pure Mike Kearneys come a light buckskin tan, almost the same as Pyle color. I wish I could tell you more about the Dan Tracy Pyle side of my Pink Hatch, but I do not wish to pose as an expert where I know so little. Of one thing I am sure, there is not another strain on this earth like them, and although they are not strong enough in their purity to be good pit cocks against the modern power blends, I hope to always have some of them around, for they are the proudest and most likable fowl I have ever owned, and for blending or infusing into a stronger strain they are pure gold.

I have never offered any of the pure Dan Tracys for sale and don't intend to. Most people today want a big, strong, aggressive cock that will tear right in there and fight like a tiger, and they don't have time or patience enough to understand or appreciate these little Pyle cocks from our of the past. It would make me feel real bad to know they were in the hands of the wrong person and were being treated badly. Some twenty odd years ago I got a pair of Dr. Robinson Pyles from Ed Devonald of New Jersey. The cock was a small peahead, or low comb Pyle cock, well set up, but low stationed. The hen was a big robust hen that was the toughest hen I ever owned. She was a straight comb with dark legs. I infused this Dr. Robinson Pyle blood into some of my Long Island Roundheads and got good pit cocks, and they were desperately game, in fact too game for their own good as they would kill each other off while still very young, which made them very hard to raise. The stags would start fighting as soon as they could stand up, and keep it up until trimming time at which stage there would not be too many good ones left. I fought several of the Dr. Robinson Pyle/Long Island Roundheads cocks in long heels down along the Ohio river and at Cobert Riggsby's pit in Catlettsburg, KY, and along the Kanawha river during the 2nd World War when I went down to Charleston, WV to take over the foremanship of the spray paint assembly in the Naval Ordinance plant where the 11:75 rockets were in production. These Pyle/R.H. proved very good in long heels and I fought them as long as I was down there. After the war I came back to New York and picked up my business here, which had been run for me by a friend.

When I brought my chickens back to New York I brought back a few of the Pyle/R.H. crosses and kept them around for a good many years. But they were so hard to raise I had just about ran out on them when Bob McGarrity of Atlantic City, N.J. gave me a pair of the pure Dan Tracys which he had gotten from Frank Welsh some time previously, before Frank Welsh passed away. This would be about the 5th or 6th strain of Pyle fowl I had tried crossing on my Roundheads over a period of a half century. I don't know why I kept trying, unless I had had partial success with the Wild Cat Blue Roundhead cross, and with the Dr. Robinson Roundhead cross, aside from the fact that a Pyle chicken always fascinated me. Anyway, I sent the pair of Dan Tracy Pyles up to Carl Fauske of Ill. who had purchased Long Island Roundheads from me several years ago, and told him to cross Pyles on the Long Island Roundheads for me. He did, and that was the beginning of the Pink Hatch. The name Pink hatch started as a joke, but the name has stuck, and it is no joke, any more. I have tried different percentage infusions of these two strains, but have found the original cross was the best, and that is the way I have set the strain, and have bred and fought them that way for several years. They now come very uniform as to size and shape and ability. As stated before I get a very few off-colored ones, but I never offer for sale one of the grays, or the occasional reds. I fight them myself for a customer might not understand.

As to the exact bloodlines of the Pink Hatch it would figure out about as follows: one-half Long Island Roundhead, which strain carries one-quarter Sandy Hatch. One-half Dan Tracy Pyle, which carries one-five hundredth or so of Amesbury Gray, which said Dan Tracy Pyle are about as pure as any strain you will find today. If you think this hot air, just sit down and figure out how much Amesbury Gray blood will remain after 9 years of continuous line breeding back to the old hen, or figure as some breeders are inclined to do, the hen will throw ninety percent of the blood of the offspring, which would reduce the percent of Gray blood down to astronomical figures. But the gray stag or two still coming along each season. This experience should prove interesting to the young chap who may think he can breed cold blood out of a strain of pit game fowl. In fact, it would be more difficult to breed out the dunkie blood than it is to breed out the Amesbury Gray! Being a game family will do no harm to another game family, but the cold blood will utterly destroy them.

I will not go into a long windy yarn about how great the Pink Hatch are, but will say only that they are now proving themselves all over the world in all kinds of weapons. One of their more likable traits is their good temper. They are always happy, easy to work with, and very intelligent. Just the opposite of the Dr. Robinson Pyle cross. The latter proved mean and hard to handle from the day they were brought in and trimmed, and they never seemed to get over it, no matter how patient and gentle I was with them. This trait I could never understand, for the pure Dr. Robinson Pyle were not nasty to handle, and we all know how good natured and intelligent a well bred Roundhead is. So there is another riddle for the geneticists to chew on. I have been unable to come up with the answer, and the Lord knows I have tried, for I always had a burning desire to have a strain of Pyles that I could depend on, and that could win. And so, after a half century of trying I have come up with just about what I have been looking for. I am holding my Pink Hatch at exactly the proportions described above and I can see no need for any change in the foreseeable future. They come large and robust, strong and well set up, some of them weigh over six pounds, but most are in the good derby range. This my friends is the best I can give you on the history of the Pink hatch, and I hope it may have proved interesting to you. After so many requests, and so much interest being shown I think you are entitled to it, so I have done my best.

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Rooster Myth-busting part 1

There are a lot of myths surrounding cockfighting. We would like to clear a few of these up. Surely there are a lot more so if there are others that we have yet to mention, please feel free to let us know.

Myth 1 - When fighting, roosters will not peck on the eyes of his opponent.
Reality- This is correct. Roosters will deliberately avoid pecking his opponent's eyes in a fight. He may inadvertently hit the opponent in the eye with a spur or blade but never a peck.

Myth 2 - Many people say that roosters are trained or taught to fight.
Reality - Chickens ARE NOT trained or taught to fight. They fight instinctively, whether in captivity or in the wild. They do so to protect their territory and their hens. At times they even fight till the death.

Myth 3 - Cockfighters will train their chickens as soon as possible.
Reality- We do not train them to fight. We train them to enhance their abilities like speed and breaking capability to help them do what they are genetically wired to do, which is to defeat the opposing rooster.

Myth 4 - Roosters can be raised without having combat.
Reality -  This is possible but not advisable, real cockers would like to maintain the integrity of the bloodline. Without testing individual members of a certain family, one may risk having inferior species reproduce and passing undesirable traits to the next generation. This fact is why roosters will fight each other in the wild. They will fight for the right to reproduce.

Myth 5 - In a fight, while both roosters are face to face and one decides to clear his bowels, the other rooster will not attack.
Reality - This is correct. Roosters will not attack while his opponent is busy doing his business. He will only attack after the deed is done. Another example of a fair fight.

Myth 6 - Instead of being fought, gamecocks can just be raised for eggs and meat.
Reality - This cannot be achieved as the gamefowl strain is unlike the broilers and layers poultry companies have. Gamefowls cannot be housed the same way as broilers and layers.

Myth 7 - In the wild, without humans training them, gamefowls will live together in harmony.
Reality - This is incorrect. This is a huge lie being perpetuated by animal rights organizations. Gamefowls in the wild will seek their own territory and hens. If they encounter another rooster, they will fight even to the death for the right to the territory and hens.

Myth 8 - Cockfighters abuse their roosters as part of training in order to make them mean.
Reality - This is exactly the opposite. These kinds of statements are what organizations against cockfighting try to perpetuate. Cockers treat their roosters with utmost love and care while helping the roosters reach their potential. If a cockers abuses their rooster, the chance that the rooster will be a man fighter will increase exponentially. Most cockers don't like a man fighting rooster mainly because 1.) In the ring, the rooster's attention will be torn between fighting his owner or the other rooster. 2.) Who would want a bladed rooster to have a grudge on him.

Myth 9 - Gamecocks are cruelly cared for.
Reality - This is absolutely incorrect. If you visit any gamefowl farm, you would see the absolute care cockers have for their roosters. They go through lengthly means just to ensure that their roosters are well taken cared of.

Myth 10 - Attaching blades to roosters is cruel.
Reality - Chickens grow spurs naturally and use those to fight with. Attaching blades is actually considered more humane than naked heel fighting as the blades will allow for the fights to end quickly. Naked heel fighting doesn't required blades or metal spurs which means that the roosters will fight to the death using just their natural spurs. This will take much longer that a bladed fight. Keep in mind that roosters will try to kill each other regardless of weapon, whether natural spurs of blades.

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Spangle Hatch

The great speckled bird is an old breed of gamefowl that has stood the test of time and are still winning with an utmost high percentage today. These fowl have a long history of great breeding behind them, Billy Ruble who was a famous man for his power Hatch cocks, Harold Brown had these Hatch cocks that he and Curtis Blackwell got direct from Ted McLean.

Harold let Billy havethese cocks; the ones they liked best were getting old. Billy bought the old cock and bred them brother and sister, which came out spangled. Harold Brown and Billy Ruble did not want spangled chickens so Ed Garrard got the spangled fowl from Harold Brown. These were strictly POWER cocks.

Foxie was Ed Garrard's wife's brother, who was a referee. Richard Bates at that time had the highest breaking power and cutting cocks at that on the circuit. Richard Bates was in a short heel derby and had a cock that had a broken wing and could not see. Ed got Foxie to buy the cock from Richard which was a tall, high stationed spangle cock.

This cock had to be fed by hand to mouth for a long time. The cock never did get to where he could see. Ed Garrard was determined to breed this cock; he was put in a 4 by 4 pen. The cock learned where his feed and water was. Ed bred this cock over the spangled McLean hens then put them together. The Bates and McLeans came out Green and Yellow legged. Harold Brown bred to the Green legged side, but got a few Yellow legged chickens. A man by the name of Massey in Mississippi took these and bred to the Yellow legged side with great success(but that is another long story). Ed Garrard bred the Yellow legged side 5/8 by 3/8; Richard Bates bred both 5/8 by 3/8 together and made a set strain. The cocks were not only good but also reproduce well, and I have had the fowl since 1964. They have kept on producing and the offspring have kept on reproducing. Personally I think they are better now than they have ever been. I took the Spangle Hatch and made a family, and also took the Red ones and made another family. Bud MacPearson was the only one I would swap bloodlines with. When Ed Garrard got sick, Bud and myself inherited these fowl. We got the ones we wanted. Bud MacPearson who was a great friend of Red Richardson got an Albany cock and bred it to the Spangles, then went to the Albany side(the Albany fowl from Mr. Red Richardson is another long story ofgreat history).


- Dee Cox

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