REGULAR GREY
Regular Grey is said to be a combination of three grey families: the Law Grey, the Sweater Grey and the Plainhead Muff Grey. Regular Greys come green legged, sometimes with yellow, silver duck wings and straight comb. They are medium to low-stationed and are known for power and gameness.
Breeders note that they are as powerful and dead game as the Bluefaces and hatches. Because of these, many breeders have made Regular Grey as their foundation strain.
The Talisayin or off-color rooster to unfamiliar sabungero fans is the Grey. Grey roosters are straight combed and medium stationed which have silver hackles and saddle feathers, and either black or grey speckle breasted.
Talisayin used to be regarded as an aberration or dehado when matched up with any red rooster or 'Texas.' But the modern Greys of today are some of the best fighting cocks everywhere. Greys are aggressive and hard hitting game cocks that are as deadly as any red rooster in cutting and gameness.
PERUVIAN GAMEFOWL
Deriving from their named
Peruvian, this fowl originated in the country of Peru, this fowl often used in a short knife derby. This gamefowl weighing from 2kilos to 4 kilos. Because of their weight they cannot be used in a derby, so some breeders infuse them with American fowl like Melsims Hatch, Albany, Butchers and even Sweaters.
By infusions of American fowl, they come-out as a deadly gamecock, they fight very aggressively, throwing a barrage of kick on the air up to the ground.
MCLEAN HATCH
New Hatches are more high flying and are faster, many coming more brainy than usual.Like other hatches, they possesses a very aggressive traits thats mature at early age, so better separate them at 4 months above.
The Hatch blood came from Sanford Hatch who blended, as story goes, a Kearney Whitehackle with a Kearney Brown Red, mixing in other bloods like the Herman Duryea Boston Roundheads, Jim Thompson Mahoganies, among others, to come up with his signature Hatch fowl.
From the Sandy Hatch stocks came Ted McLean’s version of Hatch that came both yellow and green-legged. Supposedly, these were the better Hatches that gave rise to the other variants of the McLean like Gilmore Hatch, Blueface Hatch, Jack Walton Hatch, Kentucky Hatch, Oakgrove Hatch, etc.
ROUNDHEAD
Peacombed, tall and white or yellow legged, Roundheads are considered as ring generals. They are basically flyers and agile all-around with superb cutting ability. The most famous among the many Roundheads is the Lacy Roundhead, originated by Judge Lacy. There are other Roundhead families like the Bruners, Sheltons, Dan Gray, Allen and Boston. It is widely believed that this family originated from the oriental fowl. They cross well with Clarets, Butchers, Lemon, Kelsos and of course, Hatches.
Considered an Asian fowl rather than an American breed because of its roots, Roundheads have black spurs and are peacombs. They come ether yellow legged or white legged and have red eyed and pale yellow hackles. The gamefowl are medium to high stationed with an average weight of 2 to 2.4 kgs.
Roundheads are smart fighters with weaving abilities or the often prized evasion trait of side-stepping because of their natural agility. They are also very aggressive, and very fast cutters. Roundheads are known to possess devastating leg power and are characteristically flyers that break high.
The most famous among the many Roundheads is the Lacy Roundhead, originated by Judge Lacy. But today Dan Gray is the most people want to have.
There are other Roundhead families like the Bruners, Sheltons, Allen and Boston. They cross well with Clarets, Butchers, Greys, and of course, Hatches. Roundheads are rather tricky to condition because they tend to mature or peak early as stags, good to fight in a Stag Derby so you must fight your best bird according to its state of readiness.
ORIENTAL
Shamos,
Asils, Japs, Thais, Jolo, Basilan, Parawak – these are just some of the many types of oriental fowl. They are big headed, light-eyed, heavy boned, short and tight feathered and thickly shanked chickens. Very brainy and hardy, these chickens use an off-beat fighting style which twits the aggressive American type of gamefowl. Accurate body hitters and smart side-steppers, asils are usually graded up to an eighth or even a sixteenth with the American fowl in the hope of retaining the desirable cutting and off-beat traits of the Orientals in the resulting battlecrosss. Either you love them or you hate them – that’s the Oriental Fowl. Moreover Oriental is used in naked heel fighting which the gamecock used their spur as the weapon.
Highly prized in South Asia as the perfect rooster bloodline and even a revered icon of Indian mythology, the Asil breed was sourced from the countries India and Pakistan.
The Asil is pea-combed, has short feathers, is black and red, has yellowish-white skin and yellow legs, it has broad shoulders and a short beak, and very prominent wings. Due to its heavy build from 4lbs up to 6lbs, the Asil is a very hard hitting rooster and can maim an opponent just on bare heels alone.
However, these roosters are considered very slow for long knife fighting which is popular in the Philippines and these South Asian roosters are only used to infuse endurance and power traits into another bloodline. In India and Pakistan however, where gaff-blade (pointed spurs) fighting and bare spurs are the popular form of cockfighting weapons, exclusive Asil versus Asil pit fights are the national pastime.
SWEATER
Today Sweater fowl is the most popular strain. Yellow legged, peacombed, high stationed, sleek body conformation and with their characteristic pumpkin-orange hackle feathers and swarming offensive fighting style – Sweaters were popularized in the Philippines by Carol NeSmith who won the World Slashers International Derby back to back. As with many families, the origin of Sweater is mired by so many versions, some even contradictory. However, it is commonly accepted that this blood, as originated by Sweater McGinnis, is heavy on the Kelso blood. Today, the more well known Sweaters are those which come from Carol NeSmith, Dink Fair, Joe Sanford, Nene Abello, Sonny Lagon, Atty. Jun Mendoza, Raffy Campos and Edwin Aranez, Bebot and Chionkee Uy, among many others.
The Sweater is that winning breed that brawls its opponents into submission. They have excellent gameness and power that their relentless attacks simply swarm their opponent with barrage of multiple attack. Sweaters used to lack endurance, but infusions into their bloodline made them the most feared opponents they are today.
In the air they are a match with almost any air slashing fighter but on the ground, they literally trample their opponents to submission. They have very long feathers, especially at the tail. They are red breasted and are yellow legged.
WHITEHACKLE
The most beautiful gamecock of today is the Whitehackle, which is a classic base gamefowl that is favored for breeding strong hitting fighters. Whiehackles have straight combed, are red-eyed, are 90% yellow-red in color, and the remaining 10% are spangled, mustard colored hackles. Whitehackes have nice broad shoulders, compact build and heavy plumage.
Whitehackles have an average weight of 2 to 2.4 kgs.and are medium stationed fighting cocks. They are also as beautiful when seen fighting in the pit.
The Whitehackles are regarded as a ring generals, fighting tactically and engaging its enemy from any position available due to their agility and shiftiness. As strong and power-hitting gamefowl, the birds also have deadly cutting strokes and evade quickly by breaking high. They can last a drag fight having deep game as well as a smart fighter. The most sought after strain is the Kearney Whitehackle and the Morgan Whitehackle.
BUTCHER
Phil Marsh is credited for creating the Butcher bloodline, which is a blend of Grove Whitehackle and some Spanish fowl called the Speeder Greys. Calling them Butchers because of his occupation, Phil Marsh often fought under the entry name “Butcher Boys”.
Butchers are straight-combed red that often come white-legged with some coming yellow-legged. But many comes white legged.
They are known for their accurate cutting ability and brainy fighting style, leading many experts to say “when a Butcher hits you, you are hit.” Medium to low-stationed, Butchers sometimes come spangled and brassback in color, with the latter presently called Black Butchers.
Blueface Hatch
New Hatches are high flying, faster, and very smart fighters. Their usual characteristics like power and gameness, though, are still there, their blows often packing a wallop. They are medium-stationed and peacombed with some coming straight combed.
At any rate, Sweater and J.D. traded some Hatch fowl, and in 1958, J.D. was advertising Blueface for sale.
So Sweater tried various crosses with those "damned blue face chickens." The one cross that seemed to add just the edge he was looking for was with Karl Bashara's Shufflers. Mixing these with his other bloodlines developed the Blueface as we know it today. - See more at: http://reach-unlimited.com/p/1353995214/blueface-hatch--power-extreme#sthash.yUbOpvgE.dpuf
Blueface Hatch are fast, terrific bucklers, hard hitters, deadly cutters, and very aggressive fighter. Their legs reached out a mile with every stroke, they deliver their blows with a snap and every punch lands where it counts most. Sweater took one of the strange cocks in his brood, an "Old Blueface" to mate to some hens of Madigan Gray and Leiper Hatch. Sweater didn't like those "damned blue faced chickens" but he didn't give up on them. He checked with some poultry experts at Texas A&M College to see what was wrong. After some tests, they told him the chickens were perfectly healthy. (The blue face is a genetic trait from the Brown Red and Black Sid Taylor) Along with the Yellow-Leg Hatch, the Blueface is known as the better Hatch bloodlines.
BROWN RED
The Brown Red is a speed cutter, showing of a multiple hitting fighting style known for razzle-dazzle shuffling action type of fighting. Coming dark-legged, dark-eyed and with characteristic black and burgundy feathering, the only weakness of this strain is a seeming lack of gameness and stamina.
Many breeders have overcome this with infusions with the Asil and other strong birds. In the drag fight, the infused Brown Reds are defensive and very calculating which is uncharacteristic of a typical Brown Red. If you want to infuse a fast killer to add to your breed, then try this Brown Red.
LEMON 84
This is the old Duke Hulsey breed from the 70s that the legendary Paeng Araneta and a few Bacolod breeders have bred into a champion fighter.
The, Lemon 84 has become the base gamefowl broodstock used by most Bacolod breeders which is named it because of its legband number 84 of the broodcock that still wins consistently even against modern gamefowl breeds. Originally sired from the Hatch-Butcher-Claret blends of the late Duke Hulsey, Paeng created subfamilies from the original stocks.
Lemon 84 comes lemon hackled, peacombed or straight-combed and yellow and green-legged. and pumpkin feathered. A medium stationed gamefowl known for its smart fighting style, and an offbeat sense of timing where it catches its opponent off-guard with powerful single stroke killing hits. It is known as a vertical flyer, and is known to sidestep and counterattack.
Some say it lacks gameness but crosses with Albanies, Kelsos and Sweaters have made it a modern gamefowl killer to reckon with.
Clarets
The Claret is one of those pure stock bloodlines that the Old-Guard-of-Sabungeros love to rely on as base pure broodstock that can match up with ANY gamefowl as a fighting cock when it comes to deadly cutting. Clarets come straight combs, black breasted and have wine red feathers.
They also possess wings and tails that have white streaks and are usually white legged. Clarets are very accurate cutters, fast and clever. They are also known to break high, and possess deep game in a battle. As pit fighters they are very clever; fighting with hard hitting single strokes. Clarets are very aggressive in the pit. They are one of the few straight (pure) breeds that can go head to head with the swarming Sweaters.
McRae
This gamefowl is tops among the so called Black gamefowl. A rooster with a smart counter-attacking style that is offbeat, on its own it has produced one of the most popular and successful fighting fowl in long-knife slasher fighting that was popular in the U.S. in the 60s to 80s.
The McRae is one of the cross components of the devastating Vertical Sweater from the Blackwater farm of the Nesmiths to give the breed tactical smarts in fighting and speed as well because Sweaters are known to never back down from any opponent and sometimes rush headlong into opponents' counter-attack or shuffling blade kicks.
Albany
Albanies are mostly light red with black breast streaked with ginger color, while majority are yellow legged, around 90%., and are mostly pea combed. This gamefowl is one amazing cutter, possessing deep game in every fight.
The Reb Williamson Albany is a power hitting rooster that is very active in the ring. The straight comb Albany is said to be the smarter fighter, for it waits for its opponent to make the first move before it reacts, either evading by ducking under the airborne charge or making a counterattack before the enemy rooster can connect.
They are said to be the perfect cross for the Lemon and the Kelso. To make fighting instincts keener for a counter-attacking style gamefowl.
Muff
Eerie looking because of the feathers on its face, the Muff is known for its aggressive frontal fighting style. Muffs throws a barrage of blows with no let up or bill hold. Although low-stationed, Muffs have an accuracy when it comes to the cutting ability. Basically red in color, they come yellow-legged and pea-combed.
Pyle
Pyle is a plumage color that denotes one that is not red, grey or black. Pyles come white, blue, dom, off-white, off-grey or off-red colors.
They are white-legged or yellow-legged and straight or peacombed. They are known for their high flying style and accurate cutting ability.
Many are not deep game as Hatch or Whitehackle, but there are Pyles that are as game. Currently, they are crossed with the sturdy and hardy lines to hopefully strike the perfect blend of fighting style.
Yellow-legged Hatch
One of the most popular of the Hatch family for its proven winning ways. The YLH is 100% yellow legged, it is 70% straight combed and 30% pea combed, with light red feathers and is black breasted. These gamecocks are deadly accurate cutters, have deep game and possess very powerful legs and has good endurance for drag fights.
They are a cross between the already proven line of Blueface Hatch of renown breeder Sandy Hatch, Whitehackle and Boston Roundhead for one truly murderous gamefowl. Hatches are aggressive, fast fighters and deadly cutters. Considered as ground fighters and low headed. Hatches hit very hard and are known for their deep game every time they fight.
Brassback
Brassbacks fowl do not run from a fight, even with a broken wing or leg or a blinded eye, they will chase their opponent until they kill it, even in a drag fight.
Sometimes, this fighting spirit is what sustains a Brassback and lets it pull off a win in spite of injuries sustained during a fight. They can outlast even modern gamefowl opponents today.
Despite being extremely hostile to other roosters or enemys, Brassback are very tame with human and are gentle and very easy to handle and train.
Democrats
Democrats fight like their Kelso-Hatch bloodline roosters: intelligent and accurate cutters like Clarets and powerful hitting like the Hatch. Like the Hatch, they also got the notoriety of killing an opponent in one blow even while just sparring with bare spurs or leather put-ons.
Payton Democrats break well and fight like Lemons, ducking overhead attacks and side-stepping an incoming rooster, waiting for it to recover and attack again, then letting it all out as they come in. They fight smart even when they initiate combat, hitting accurately and powerfully. But more often, they watch their opponents for an opening before they attack, This is called by many sabongeros as "Salto"
Some recommend crosses with modern Kelso’s like the Out-and-Out for Philippine-style knife fights for a winning rooster. Crossed with Lemons (Hulsey’s) gives the Democrat better counter-attacking instincts and agility. Cross with McRae Black-Hatch gives them speed attacks in any battle.
