How To Breed Down To American Game Bantam

[MAllen]

I was wondering if anyone could explain to me how to take a full size game breed and breed them down to produce a bantam sized breed?

 

[blackred]

The same way you would make a large breed out of a small one, by out crossing to the different sized breed.

I started making large fowl Crele Old English by crossing an excellent Crele bantam cock onto a a pair of Large BB Red old English hens. From there I have kept breeding for size and color. You have to raise a lot and keep them till mature, especially the cockerels. I am in year 5 and raised 75 this year. I culled down to 4 stags and 12 pullets so far.

To make bantam American Games I would start with the large male to the bantam female. Use as close of a color pattern as possible. Buy a scale and way them, looks can be deceiving

Bob

 

[MAllen]

I see, so I could breed a rooster like the one in my avatar pic to a set of golden duckwing oegb hens and that would produce a first generation cross. Would I need to do this with two sets of brood chickens, then breed the offspring of those two sets together? At what point or generation would I need to bring the large fowl blood back into the line in order to maintain the game aspect?

Thanks for the help!!

 

[blackred]

If it was me this is what I would do.

Get the best colored American game you have. Excellent wing bows(solid) with no trash anywhere, black solid black and clear hackles- no stripping.

I would find two maybe three AG bantam pullets, preferably Silver or Golden Duckwing. If not then a BB Red AG. I would use an Old English bantam only if you could not find an AG.
Raise as many of them as you can and cull very hard. Then breed the best stag to his mother and aunts. Keeping a few others to look at as they turn 1 year old. Don't worry about inbreeding too much as long as you cull very hard. You are trying to make miniatures- inbreeding should reduce the size.

The standard calls for blueish slate legs and them to weight 30-27-27-24 oz's

I would think you should be able to find American Games with-in a days drive of Oklahoma. Go to the Shawnee show in December there should be some there.

Bob

 

[MAllen]

Thanks Bob, I will be working on this.

Matt