Note the hackle feathers touch the shoulders? That is usually a good identifiable feature of American Gamefowl. Old English are actually supposed to have hackles above the shoulders, or just barely touching the tops of the shoulders.Oh she's so pretty! I didn't even know American Game were a thing! I looked at photos of them and compared them to OEG, but I'm not sure which breed mine resemble more. This handsome lad is my Pyle hen's full brother. I thought I'd show him, since breed and type are often easier to judge in males. Their parents are both heterozygous dominant white Red Pyle, like the hen is. About half of their siblings, including another roo, came out Pyle and the rest BB Red like my boy. Both my Games' and Phoenixes' parents came from the same breeder, and I've wondered if there is a chance that one of them got into the others' pen at some point generations ago, resulting in these Games having the same white earlobes as my Phoenix. I don't know how much sense that makes, but I really don't know much about these two breeds aside from the research I've done. It took me over a year (during which I had the SOP in my hands the whole time) to realize OEG aren't supposed to have white earlobes, which broke my heart because I thought this guy was so beautiful.
I'm not sure if any in their line came from Cackle, but their parents came from a man that breeds them. He may have gotten his stock from the hatchery, but I got them from a third party so I didn't get to ask. I'm definitely going to look at my guys differently now, in a good way. I really, really appreciate you explaining this to me! I feel silly now, as I was told they were "Games", but not which breed of Game, and I made assumptions based on the most common breed I could find. Now I'll change their files and paperwork to be more accurate, and breed them to their proper standards ❤
