American Gamefowl

American Gamefowl was created from the various European and Oriental gamefowls that were brought into the U.S. by our forefathers. They were bred specifically for cockfighting, leaving us the birds we have today. Cockfighting is a large part of our heritage, like it is in many other countries around the world, but due to recent law changes, these beautiful birds are becoming more popular as an ornamental or show fowl.

There are organizations, like the American Game Fowl Society, that have standards for showing these birds. Many people are starting to breed these birds for this, instead of the pit, but at the same time keeping the gameness that makes them what they are. The American Game Fowl is broken down into strains, unlike most other fowl. Some of the more popular strains are Hatch, Kelso, Albany, Sweater, Whitehackle, Claret, Roundhead and Butcher. Strain names originated from people that performed well in the pits, with the birds they made themselves through selective breeding. Strains are also broken down further by other breeders who did well with a particular strain, which in turn a version of that strain had named after them.

A good example of this would be the Kelso fowl. The original Kelso was named after Walter Kelso, but one of the most well-known breeders that did well with them was Johnny Jumper. This is where the Jumper line of Kelso originated. Most strains have several well-known bloodlines that other breeders have made famous. We know it sounds confusing, but these are all considered American Gamefowls, only they have been broken down further based on their performance in the pits. Today most of the originators of these lines are long gone, but they are still called by these names, and an experienced gamefowl enthusiast knows that if they have a certain strain, it will have the correct look, and performance attributes of the original line it was named after.

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