http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Game_(chicken)
American game
American gamefowl is a breed of poultry once bred for cockfighting. They played a significant role in American history as they were bred, fought, and raised by many famous political leaders. As Abraham Lincoln used to be a cockfighting referee, the breed indirectly influenced his nickname "honest Abe."
Most American gamefowl lines (or strains) consist of Irish Game, Old English, and Oriental Gamefowl. However many others contain Spanish strains, along with gamefowl from other places including the Sumatra breed. The American gamefowl has gained in popularity as a show breed since the outlawing of cock fights.
American Game Bantam
There is a bantam (smaller) variety of this breed, which originated from the original large fowl. However, like the Old English Game bantams they are not considered game birds, and have been cross-bred with other breeds to add feather length and kill gameness. One breed known in this cross is Jungle fowl. American game bantam should not be confused with miniature gamefowl, which are pit (game) quality as well as exhibition quality, after careful cross-breeding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_Game
The Old English Game Fowl is a breed of chicken. Pure English Game Fowls are prized among Poultry breeders and thus fetch a high sale price. One of the types called standard Old Englishes are larger than the bantams and were originally bred for cockfighting. Old Englishes should not be confused with American games nor should American games be confused with Old Englishes.
The Old English Game Bantam is the bantam version of this breed, it is one of the smallest chicken breeds, weighing about 22 oz (650 grams) when they are fully grown. The Old English Game Bantam is one of the most popular bantam breeds. This is especially the case in the United Kingdom, where it has its own specialist shows. The Old English Bantam is similar to the Old English Game in that it has long legs and it is fairly muscular. they are a great pet for children. The bantam was not developed from the larger sized old English but rather from other barnyard bantams of the same area. This explains their lack of length in the sickle feathers that you see in the standard sized O.E.G. The American old English game bantams contain blood from Dutch, and Rosecombs plus other breeds to add feather length and more colors like the silver laced varieties developed from sebrights.
Edited by texas75563 - 5/6/12 at 7:06pm