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Black-Breasted Red Old English Game Bantam Chickens

The Old English Game Bantam Chicken
There are about 58 varieties of Old English Game bantam chickens. They have a single comb which is cut (dubbed) on roosters for show purposes. (Chickens for home use are not dubbed.)

The hens lay a small, off-white or brown egg depending on the variety. They become very gentle and friendly if handled frequently at a young age. They are a very popular type of poultry.

Old English Game hens are very broody. Their breed is considered among the most broody along with Cochins and Silkies. On some forums there have been owners who say some hens spend almost half their lives trying to hatch eggs! We consider this to be a very desirable trait. We use these hens to hatch their eggs as well as Dominique eggs.

We sell the Black-Breasted Red variety. The photos to the left are a hen and cock of that type. The cock is very colorful and fun to watch while he keeps an eye on "his" hens.

The hens are active and good foragers. They can fly a little bit (better than standard chickens) and are more adventuresome. They lay small white eggs. They are fun to have around.

General Information about Old English Game Bantam Chicken
These birds were admitted into the "American Standard of Perfection" from 1925 to 1996. (First published in 1874, it is the official breed standard for the poultry fancy in North America.) Old English Game chickens are among the largest and most popular class of breeds shown at poultry exhibitions.

They make great pets especially for children because they are easy to tame and become very friendly. They are alert and confident. Males are muscular with bright colored plumage. They are excellent for people who have small yards since their housing and space requirements are much less than standard size chickens.

They were originally developed from Dutch, Rosecombs and other chicken breeds. Adult hens weigh around 22 ounces, roosters weigh around 24 ounces, pullets (young hens less than 1 year) weigh about 20 ounces, and cockerels (young rooster less than 1 year) weigh about 22 ounces.

Hens do not produce as many eggs as some production-oriented standard chickens but they do produce on a regular basis. The eggs are small and cute looking. The photos on the right are standard and bantam eggs. The brown eggs are Dominique and the white eggs are Black-Breasted Red Old English Game.

The photo above left is 2 Black-Breasted Red Old English Game bantam hens. It's interesting that the bantam chickens forage in the pasture together as a group. And the Dominique chickens forage together in another group. Then after foraging everyone hangs out by the chicken coop as one group.

Color Varieties of Old English Game Bantam Chicken
Barred, Birchen, Black, Black Breasted Red, Blue Copperheads, Black Tailed Red, Black Tailed White, Blue Splash, Blue Brassyback, Blue Breasted Red, Blue Gingers, Blue Golden Duckwing, Blue Mille Fleur, Blue Quail, Blue Red, Blue Silver Duckwing, Blue Wheaten, Buff Laced, Brassyback, Brown Red, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Fawn, Fawn Breasted Red, Fawn Silver Duckwing, Ginger Red, Golden Duck-wing, Golden Campine, Golden Laced, Golden-Neck, Lemon Blue, Mahogany, Mealy Gray, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Muffed White, Pearl, Porcelain, Quail, Red, Red Pyle, Red Quill, Self Blue, Silver Blue, Silver Duckwing, Silver Quill, Silver Campine, Silver-Laced, Silver Wheaton, Spangled, Self-Blue, Splash, Wheaten, White, White-Tailed Red, and White-tailed Buff.

The photo to the far left is a bantam hen with some Dominique hens and a Dominque rooster (bottom left corner) in the chicken coop. The bantam hen is standing on the ledge of the egg nest boxes. It's fun to get small and large eggs out of the nest boxes.

The next photo is a bantam rooster with a standard Dominqiue hen. You can see how much smaller bantams are than standard chickens. If we had a photo of a Dominquie rooster, the difference would be much greater.

The bantam chickens are brave and confident. They are not intimidated by the larger chickens. Everyone gets along fine. Old English Game bantam chickens are a great bird to have around.

Here are photos of Black-Breasted Red Old English Game chicks a few days old. In the top right photo are 2 Dominique chicks in the back of the group (they are black). In the photo on the bottom is a chick a lot taller. He is about a week old.