The Modern Game is a breed of ornamental

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

which originated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

between 1850 and 1900. Purely an exhibition bird, Modern Game were developed to be most aesthetically pleasing and to epitomize the visual appeal of the

gamecock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

fighting cock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

History

After

cockfighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

was made illegal in Britain in 1849, many cockfighting enthusiasts turned to breeding for shows as an alternative poultry hobby, and the Modern Game was developed from crosses of Old English Game and Malays. Despite being classified as game chickens (i.e. of

derivation) in breed standards, Modern Game were not bred to fight. Game, as they were then called, were included in nine colours in the ''Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Poultry'', the first edition of the

British Poultry Standard The front cover of the 6th Edition of the British Poultry Standards. The ''British Poultry Standard'' is the oldest poultry fancy breed standard in the world. It is published by the Poultry Club of Great Britain and is the official reference s ...

, in 1865; a Game bantam was also included. Eight colours of Game were included in the first edition of the '' Standard of Perfection'' of the

American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...

in 1874.

Characteristics

Today, the ideal show bird should have a body shaped like a

flat iron Competitor for Canada Flat Iron was a First Nations lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics for Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocea ...

when seen from above, a relatively short back, fine tail, hard feathering, and a very upright carriage. The breed appears in more than a dozen colour variations. The most common being black red, birchen, brown red, duckwing and pyle. The colours can be broadly divided into two groups; those with willow-coloured legs and red eyes, and those with black legs and dark eyes. The colour of the skin,

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

, and wattles varies from red to mulberry depending on variety, but all have a small single comb. Combs and wattles are required to be dubbed (cut off) of all cocks, and any cockerels being shown after November 1st, in order to compete in showing in some countries, which reflects their descent from fighting birds. As in many breeds, there are both standard and bantam sizes of Modern Game. According to the standard of the

Poultry Club of Great Britain The Poultry Club of Great Britain is a registered charity founded in 1877. Its stated purpose is to "safeguard the interests of all pure and traditional breeds of poultry including chickens, bantams, ducks, geese and turkeys". The club mai ...

, standard-sized cocks weigh and hens , while bantams weigh and respectively. The bantam version is the most popular among poultry fanciers.

Use

Modern Game are not good egg layers, nor are they valued for meat production. They are almost exclusively kept by competitive breeders. In temperament, they are friendly and curious towards people, and are easily tamed. For this reason the Modern Game is considered a suitable pet for the suburban poultry keeper.

History

Characteristics

Use

References

Further reading