Sebright or Old English Game?

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chickenlover2251

chickenlover2251

In the Brooder
8 Years
Aug 17, 2011
31
0
22
I'm looking for a small bird that tolerates confinement, is fairly quiet, easy to handle, and doesn't fly. I want to be able to use this bird for showmanship at the Florida State Fair. I was really interested in the sebright, but everything I've read says they can fly pretty high, and I don't want it to fly over our fence into the neighbors yard. I then started researching OEGs, but everything I've read says they are unkind, cannot tolerate confinement, and are noisy.. Is this true? Which bird do you think would be the easiest to handle for showmanship? Are there any other birds you reccomend? Thanks!
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Quote:
Either Bird will work well for your purposes, I often keep and and breed trios in 27x30 inch pens inside for the winter. Conditioning for show in same size pens. The males can be noisy when there are several but the hens seldom make a noise. Both can fly well but will prefer your company if you handle them frequently.
 
Small birds, bantams specially, all can fly rather well no matter what the breed.

With the OEGBs, you'll have a healthy competition for sure since the majority of bantams I have seen at shows are OEGBs and Moderns. Therefore, you will be more likely to find some really great birds since more folks are working on them. I have had OEGBs in the past and loved them.

As for Sebrights, I tried raising them several times and they are... well... dingy and somewhat flighty in my experience. Plus, they are a harder to find in a good show quality.
 
I should have added OE are fairly easy to raise but competition is stiff at shows, Sebrights are very difficult to raise (good ones anyway) with less competition due to the issues of raising them. if you really want to get into showing, I would suggest trying the OE stick with hens until you are comfortable with the birds, You can also try rosecombs very similar to OE but in a different class with good specimens available. the sebrights will likely be a disapointment once you start trying to raise them.
 
Both breeds fly well, no difference there. However, since you specifically said you're interested in a bird for showmanship the Old English wins hands down. They are tame & easy to handle. Most of them are natural pets. Sebrights tend to be pretty flighty. I just judged a show yesterday & every Sebright I handled had to be caught against the top of the cage. Almost every OEGB walked out into my hand.
 
My friend raised OEGB and she said they were really nice and tame. My experience with them, however, is different. Someone in my 4-H club enters some at the fair each year, and one of the cocks will attack anything that moves near his cage. So there's two sides of the argument. You also have to dub the cocks. Take that into account.
 
You will occasionally find an aggressive rooster in every breed, but with oegb they are in the vast minority. Now many roosters will protect his hens, as in not wanting you near them. That is his job and what his instincts tell them to do, as their ancestors have had to do for hundreds of years. Mean, truly mean oegb roosters, are pretty rare, and need a quick squeeze, twist and a toss into the cull ditch.
 
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