Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Game Cock: From the Shell to the Pit - A Comprehensive Treatise on Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditionin
    The Game Cock: From the Shell to the Pit - A Comprehensive Treatise on Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditionin
    The Game Cock: From the Shell to the Pit - A Comprehensive Treatise on Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditionin
    Ebook193 pages3 hours

    The Game Cock: From the Shell to the Pit - A Comprehensive Treatise on Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditionin

    By George W. Means

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    THE GAME COCK FROM THE SHELL TO THE PIT. A Comprehensive Treatise on Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditioning. Etc. By Geo. W. Means. This important Game Fowl book was first published in the U.S.A. in 1911 and is now a very rare item in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS has now re-published it from the original text thereby making it more available to a wider readership. In this book the author has undertaken to treat fully every subject pertaining to the Game Fowl in which the practical cocker and breeder may be interested. He has had over thirty years experience in mating, breeding, conditioning and handling Game Fowl, and gives his views not based upon theories but on knowledge derived from practice. Two hundred pages contain seventeen detailed chapters on:- Technical Expressions. - Selecting Brood Stock. - Heredity. - The Test. - Brood Yards. - The Egg and the Nest. - The Setting Hen. - Care of Chicks. - Trimming Stags. - Walking. - Preparing for a Main. - Selecting for a Main. - Some General Directions. - System of Conditioning. - Heeling and Handling. - Diseases. - Rules for the Pit. This comprehensive book can be thoroughly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of all with an interest in Game Fowl.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateMar 23, 2011
    ISBN9781446545065
    The Game Cock: From the Shell to the Pit - A Comprehensive Treatise on Gameness, Selecting, Mating, Breeding, Walking and Conditionin

    Related to The Game Cock

    Related ebooks

    Sports & Recreation For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Raise a HEALTHY FLOCK

      Jun 28, 2019

      Raise a HEALTHY FLOCK
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      May 12, 2021

      Sporting Answers
      8 min read

    • Article

      Cocks To Multiple Hens

      Nov 22, 2023

      ONE of the often-repeated lines of advice that has been bandied around for all of the 30-plus years Chris Huxley and I have been a part of the budgerigar fancy is that you need to breed your own hens arid then you can always buy a good cock to put in

      5 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jun 10, 2020

      Sporting Answers
      8 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Dec 2, 2020

      Sporting Answers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Canaries Month by Month: August

      Aug 25, 2021

      AUGUST, in canary breeding rooms across the UK, is the month of feathers. With breeding operations all but wrapped up for another year, the big clean-up has started. My own practice sees me making immediate choices regarding the adult birds, with two

      5 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Mar 31, 2021

      Q I have a nine-month-old cocker spaniel that I have tried to train to heel since he was 10 weeks old, but he pulls like a train constantly. I have tried a slip lead, which he choked on; a harness, which he pulled on harder; and a figure of eight, wh

      5 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jul 7, 2021

      Sporting Answers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jul 29, 2020

      Sporting Answers
      8 min read

    • Article

      As Good As The Wild Stuff

      Dec 14, 2022

      As Good As The Wild Stuff
      4 min read

    • Article

      Gunning For The Small Game

      Apr 13, 2022

      Gunning For The Small Game
      4 min read

    • Article

      Canaries Month by Month:

      Mar 20, 2024

      I TRY to breed my canaries traditionally, at least so far as the seasons of the year are concerned. My conditioning begins in late December and continues through until March, giving the birds a full 10 to 12 weeks in which to attain peak breeding con

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Wonder Of Deadly Wings

      Oct 13, 2021

      From Billy Casper with the world’s most famous kestrel on his fist in Ken Loach’s 1969 adaptation of Barry Hines’ Kes, to Helen Macdonald’s best-selling 2014 memoir H is for Hawk, it seems that Britain is a country with hooked beaks and talons in our

      5 min read

    • Article

      Canaries Month by Month: APRIL

      Apr 27, 2022

      AS HAS been my custom over recent years, I have been led by the seasons and allowed my canaries to come into breeding condition naturally, without the use of artificial lighting, and only providing minimal heating. I am sure the energy suppliers hate

      4 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jan 6, 2021

      Sporting Answers
      7 min read

    • Article

      Running the TRAPLINE

      May 11, 2018

      Running the TRAPLINE
      7 min read

    • Article

      Downing Ducks Amid Dead Timber

      Nov 29, 2018

      Downing Ducks Amid Dead Timber
      5 min read

    • Article

      Canaries Month by Month: SEPTEMBER

      Sep 20, 2023

      AUGUST and September are the months of feathers in my birdroom. The birds are in rags, moulting heavily before emerging resplendent in their new coats. When I returned from holiday towards the end of August, one of my Yorkie hens was on three eggs in

      4 min read

    • Article

      Kestrels: Challenging To Keep

      Jun 23, 2021

      I HAVE been reading Bill Naylor’s excellent articles for years, and find they are well written and well researched. As a generalist, for want of a better word, I enjoy his style immensely. However, as a falconer, still active after 73 years of keepin

      3 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Feb 24, 2021

      Sporting Answers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jul 15, 2020

      Sporting Answers
      8 min read

    • Article

      How To Protect Babies

      Apr 5, 2023

      How To Protect Babies
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Sep 14, 2022

      Sporting Answers
      7 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Feb 17, 2021

      Sporting Answers
      7 min read

    • Article

      Raccoon Basics

      Oct 8, 2021

      Raccoon Basics
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jul 1, 2020

      Sporting Answers
      8 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Jun 16, 2021

      Sporting Answers
      8 min read

    • Article

      Sporting Answers

      Feb 26, 2020

      Sporting Answers
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Game Cock

    4/5

    2 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Game Cock - George W. Means

      another.

      Technical Expressions

      CHAPTER I

      Technical Expressions

      The writer is aware of the fact that quite often the beginner is puzzled when he hears or reads of certain terms used by the cockers, and breeders of game fowl. Those who are treating any subject relating to the game fowl too often overlooked this, and therefore it is more difficult for that class to comprehend. It is my desire to make everything plain, and for that reason I shall at the very beginning of this work endeavor to cover all technical terms, so that the man who has just bought his first pair or trio, may comprehend as fully as the professional cocker, the matter under consideration. In doing this I may be taking up space useless to the man of experience, but I am satisfied that the beginner will appreciate explanations on this line and therefore it is worth while.

      Moulting

      The word moult or molt, means to cast or shed, and when used in reference to fowls it means that period in which they cast one suit of feathers for another. The process of moulting is slow. It takes upon the average about four months from the time a fowl begins to drop the old feathers until the new suit is in perfect order with hard quills. As the old feathers are shed new ones take their places, but these new feathers for some time after they are full length have very soft quills, and when a fowl is covered with these he is naturally in a very debilitated condition. In fact is upon the sick list to more or less extent and should be very carefully attended to if confined in a yard. Very few fowls moult perfectly if closely penned. The larger range they have the better.

      The period of moulting varies a little according to climate, but in this country we may average the time from the latter part of July until the last of November.

      Pinfeathers. During moult the bloody quill at the butt of the new feather is called a pin or pinfeather, as is also a new feather appearing which is incased always in a soft bloody jacket, or covering.

      Stag. Is a young male game fowl and is so called until he finishes this moult the year after he is hatched, when he becomes a cock. That is, if hatched in 1911 he becomes a cock after moult in 1912. Some claim that he is a cock at twelve months of age. This is absurd. At that age he clearly shows his minority in every way, and any man of experience can tell that he is not developed. Others claim that a stag becomes a cock after moulting begins, and that he should be so called when he begins to moult the year after he is hatched. The vast majority, however, hold to that period when the moult is finished, or nearly so. Then it is that he is fully developed in every way.

      Pullet. This is a name given a female game fowl, until she finishes her moulting the year after she is hatched. Then she is known as a hen.

      Pit. This is generally an enclosed area in which game cocks are fought. Sometimes, however, when the fight is to take place outside a house the ground is merely cleared of trash and rocks for a space of about 18 feet square, and there is no enclosure at all. Where there is no enclosure of any kind it is necessary to mark the limits in some way so that if one or both cocks get over the line they may be caught and replaced on the score according to the rules under which the fight is being conducted.

      Score. Two lines are drawn usually in all pits about six feet apart and parallel upon which those handling deliver their cocks. Each of these lines are called a score.

      Bishop. A cock which by accident or by intent has had his spur so hulled or dressed down as to make it look like that of a stag. The dressing down can at once be detected, but when the spur has been hulled and sufficient time allowed for the new growth is more difficult to detect. In matching a stag against a cock 4 ounces in weight is usually permitted (that is, the stag can weigh 4 ounces more than the cock) and for this reason tricksters show a bishop, representing him as a stag, hoping to get advantage of the 4 ounces.

      A Blinker. Is a cock or stag which is blind in one eye. Of course a hen or pullet may be a blinker, but the term is usually used in reference to males.

      Shakebag. This term is used when referring to a large cock. It is said to have originated with those who carried cocks to the pit in bags. When a cocker arrived with a cock which he deemed large enough to fight any cock, he would hold up the bag and shake it and say, Here is one large enough to fight any cock regardless of weight. This was his challenge. It is yet the custom in some places. A shakebag therefore is a cock large enough to battle with any cock. This of course, is a matter of opinion. Some think a cock weighing 6 pounds and 4 ounces is large enough to fight any cock. Others think a cock ought to weigh at least 7 pounds. The majority of cockers, however, think a cock weighing 6 pounds and 6 ounces, to 6½ pounds is a shakebag.

      Sparring. When a cocker desires to ascertain how his cocks will act when actually engaged in battle he usually lets him have a few flies with another cock. This is called sparring. In some sections the term sparring cock is used to denote a cock which strikes without catching the other cock with his mouth. This distinguishes him from what is called a shuffler, which is one that takes a hold with the bill and then strikes very rapidly with both legs and wings. There are men who claim that some cocks spar all the time, that is, never catch a hold with their bills. They also contend that other cocks shuffle altogether. These people are so confirmed in their views upon this subject that they actually believe that strains are bred to spar, and others to shuffle exclusively. It is an error. Some cocks start a battle by sparring, that is, making a fly and a clean cut stroke. They may repeat it again and again, but when tired they catch a hold with their bill and strike if they get the hold. Others catch a hold at once and shuffle and then perhaps in the very next move they will make a clear stroke without a hold.

      Nature has done its work thoroughly in this as in other matters, and circumstances govern the action of each first class fighting cock. He will act as it seems best as occasion presents itself.

      Muffs. Are what some call boxing gloves. They are usually made of chamois skin and are filled with wool or cotton. When filled they are round in appearance, with a hole into which the spur stub fits. They also have strings attached, with which they are secured in place by tying around leg. In sparring cocks to note their action always use muffs as they prevent injury.

      Some hold that a correct idea of a cock’s action cannot be gotten by observing him spar with muffs. Usually muffs are made too large, being from 1 inch to 1¼ inches in diameter. These are not the kind, and a cock cannot use them to advantage.

      In Mexico they make a much smaller muff, it being only ½ inch in diameter.

      These are just as easy to make as the larger size, and with them a cock loses none of his action and am well satisfied that any man of judgment can form a very correct idea of what any cock can do when he sees him spar while wearing this size. He acts equally as well as if he had on none at all.

      Gaffs. Is a steel spur, some times called a heel. It is made with a socket to fit over the stub of the natural spur after the spur has been sawed off within ½ inch of the leg. Gaffs are of different length and of various patterns, and are round from the socket to the point.

      Those who know nothing of their use have conceived the idea that it is very cruel to arm a cock with a gaff.

      It is not nearly so cruel as to permit cocks to battle with their natural spurs, because the latter are very poisonous, and after a hard fight with the natural spur the cock usually dies from his poisoned wounds, while if the steel gaff does not kill in battle the wounded cock soon gets well.

      Slasher. This is a weapon made of steel and is the style of a curved blade. One edge is as sharp as a knife, and it is sharp pointed as well. It is very deadly and is used nearly altogether in Mexico and the Philippine Islands. The Mexican uses but one on a cock in a fight, and that is usually attached to the left leg.

      Although two gaffs are used in the United States, England and elsewhere, one on each leg, the fight with the one slasher in use is, as a rule, ended much quicker.

      A Heeler. One who sets the socket of the gaffs upon the spur stub, and ties it on. Formerly the person had to be an expert to properly place the gaff, but in late years, since we have professional gaff makers, who understand manufacturing with the proper set almost any one with the knowledge of how to place kid or other material over the spur stub so as to make the socket fit, and who can tie the leathers straight around the leg may be called a heeler.

      A Holder. The man who holds the cock while the heeler ties on the gaffs.

      Wax-end. Is a string used in tying the leathers around a cock’s leg.

      A wax-end is made by placing four strands of shoemaker’s thread together and thoroughly waxing them with ordinary bees wax. Do not twist the threads as some do in doubling a string or cord to make it strong. Simply take four strands and wax them. This makes the best gaff string to be had and it is of the correct size.

      Cock-house. Is a house or room in which there are arranged a number of coops, or compartments for keeping cocks. These are called stalls.

      These stalls are usually in tiers on the side of the house or room, and should be about 2½ feet square each, with a door. When cocks are to be fought a cocker keeps them in a cock house while he prepares them for battle.

      Conditioning. Is preparing cocks for battle.

      Sun Coop. When conditioning cocks it is not well to keep them confined all the time in a stall within the cock house when one is not exercising them. Therefore it is best to have a few sun coops without bottoms. These should be upon the ground out doors and if possible on the south side of the house to protect from the north winds. A few minutes each day in these in considered very advantageous to a cock. They can be built almost any shape, but about 3 feet square and 2 feet high is a good size and shape.

      These can be readily moved on fresh ground if desired, but they should never be placed where a cock, being conditioned can get grass or other green food.

      A Main. When two parties agree to show a certain number of cocks and fight all those which weigh within two ounces of each other with the principal stake depending upon who wins the majority of battles, this is termed a main.

      For example: A and B agree to show 21 cocks each. Of these 17 pairs match. B wins 9 battles and A wins 8. This is a main and B wins as he gets the odd battle.

      Hack Fight. Is a battle made independent of any other fight. For example: C and D each bring a cock to a meeting point and fight one against the other, or they may bring any number of cocks and make each match and fight entirely independent of any other, and then each is a hack fight.

      Hacked Cocks. From the use of the word hack in hack fight one might suppose that the term hacked cock was a cock which had been engaged in a single battle, but such is not the case. It is a game cock which for some cause has been cowed, and which will not show fight. It is a cock which will every time he is presented to another raise the feathers on his neck back of his head and instead of trying to fight will endeavor to get away.

      The feathers which mantle a cock’s neck are called his hackle and hence the term hacked for a cowed cock.

      The man does not live who can give all the reasons for a game cock hacking.

      Mistreatment or continued abuse may cause it, and often does. Inattention while in confinement causes it. Sickness is another cause. Some of the gamest cocks will hack if they are taken from their own yards and are put down in adjoining yard to fight another cock. This often occurs.

      While game cocks are natural fighters, I was taught when very young as a fancier that they also respected very scrupulously the territorial rights of another cock.

      Have two yards with a partition fence, and keep a cock with hens in each until these cocks become thoroughly attached each to his yard and hens, until each knows well the yard is his home. Remember however, that this does not take place in a week or two, nor a month. Sometimes not in three months. But when each is thoroughly at home and knows his territory then some day catch one of the cocks, open the gate between the two yards, carry him through into the other yard leaving the gate open, and turn him loose. Should the cock where you take him advance upon him, you may see him straighten up and show a spirit inclined to fight, but he will go back through that gate before he is fully ready to battle. Afterwards catch him and take him in the other yard a second time and close the gate. Throw him to the ground and you will see him endeavor to get back into his own yard, and not being able to do so he will be very apt to hack.

      The writer thinks it well in this connection

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1