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Old English Game Bantam

The Old English Game bantam is a delightful breed of chicken. It is a small, pugnacious, and...
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Ornamental
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Small
Egg Color
White
Breed Temperament
Friendly, Easily handled, Calm, Bears confinement well, Docile
Breed Size
Bantam
APA/ABA Class
Single Comb Clean Leg
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The Old English Game bantam is a delightful breed of chicken. It is a small, pugnacious, and charming little chicken that embodies the idea of pride and “chickenhood.” Their larger counterparts are the direct descendants of the jungle fowl, but the bantams are the end result of careful selective breeding of various backyard bantams.

The first variety accepted to the American Standard of Perfection was Black Breasted Red (BBR), gaining recognition in 1925. Since their acceptance, they have become the most popular breed of exhibition chicken, easily reaching class sizes of over 300 birds in medium sized shows. Males are required to be dubbed in order to be shown, but unlike the Modern Game bantam part of the comb should be left, leaving a rounded nub. Old English have two distinct types, “American” and “English,” with the American type having a fanned tail and the English type having a “whip” tail. This breed is known for living a long and fruitful life; it is not uncommon for hens to reach 15 years of age.

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Old English Game Bantam eggs hatching

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Old English Game rooster

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Old English Game hen
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Latest reviews

Tim79
Love my BBReds
Pros: Love thier personalities great protectors of thier flock
Cons: Flighty and sometimes aggressive
we are breeding white , BB red and Spangled . These guys are such a joy .

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Chicken_Obsesser
OEGBs Rock!
Pros: They come in so many colors and are fun to raise!
Cons: They can be skittish and/or aggressive at times, and sometimes fight each other.
I love OEGBs, they're one of my favorite chicken breeds! I have two crele males right now, and I show them at the fair.
Purchase Price
N/A
Purchase Date
March of 2024
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Yard Farmer
My favorite breed.
Pros: They're so pretty, and unique.
Cons: Since they are a type of fighting breed, the males can be quite aggressive towards each other.
My absolute favorite breed of all time.
I love their personalities, and colors. I like to mix up the different colors and see what the off spring look like.

But I also do a lot more serious breeding with my bb reds. Currently looking to make my own line of show quality bb red's.
Purchase Price
$50
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Comments

NEChickenNoob
Beautiful! I wanted one of those for my roo, but ended up having to take a silkie b/c he was bullying my buddies chicks and was twice the size of all but three of them. He's the little bloke in my avatar.
 
hellbender
Ok...when everyone gets one of these cute little fellers, what's to do with him when he grows up just a bit and starts to battle with every other bird he sees? Hummm? They are called 'game' for a reason and unless he's to be constantly confined...most folks should stay clear of these beautiful and colorful pugilists.
 
ellend
Likewise for the bantams. Loads of personality, excellent mothers; very "talkative." We can't have roosters in the city. I've never NOT had a crowing OEGB. Quieter than roos, though.
 
Madviolin
Not all old english are aggressive!!! My very first old english was a little Wheaton roo named English Muffin.XD He was the friendliest little bird i have ever known. When he was a young cockerel by himself he used to get so excited when he saw me come in the coop he would run right on up to me and let me pick him up. A fox got him about a year ago.:'( I also have a little ginger red hen who lets me do whatever i want with her including turning her upside down and holding her by her legs.lol Any way dont judje the breed by one mean chicken!!! I once had an evil silike roo who attacked my foot whenever i came in the coop.
 
dekel18042
Why is "small" a con? They're supposed to be small. My husband got four and I've fallen in love with them. A lot of personality in a little body. You should see the little rooster strut his stuff.
 
dekel18042
My husband brought six bantams home from TSC (Chicken Math hit him. No other explanation) The silkie died the next day, but perhaps luck of the draw, of the surviving five, one is a booted bantam and the other four are OEGB, three hens and one rooster. All are tiny and full of personality. So maybe check what TSC gets in.
 
hellbender
Perplexing. If they never lay an egg and don't go broody, what explains their existence and the dubious rating of # 17 on the BYC Popularity Contest... ...Immaculate Conception?????? lolololol
 
hellbender
@Whittni ...I can understand that. Some hand devices can and really do mess up the 'STAR' system and it could be that CrzyChcknLady misunderstood and thought she was picking her # 1 favorite...
 
hellbender
Actually...while these birds aren't the best layers, they lay pretty well...in spurts. What;s more, there ranked very highly among the good broody breeds...and that's the truth.
 
M
Hellbinderyou obviously know very little about oegb or you would know that their egg production is minimle ok, so get your facts straight before you post a comment.
 
bantiesrule
I don't know where you got that they were very sensitive to cold. I live in the middle of Minnesota (20 below or more at times) and my OEGBs live in an unheated coop. They don't like the cold but they are tolerent of it.
Even clipping wings will not keep OEGs from flying if they want out of whatever they are in. They are pretty good escape artists if they don't want to stay where you put them.
I love my OEGBs, they are friendly and very personable.
 
hellbender
Clipping the primaries of only ONE wing will have the effect of making them kinda' spin when they try to fly and that will ground MOST birds.
 
feather13
Good to read your review! My all-time favorite pet chicken was an Old English Game hen. She laid tiny eggs and wouldn't have been worth the trouble for eating, but was so independent and interesting. She'd find ways of getting out of the coop and would be gone all day, only to return from her adventures in the morning. Sometimes I'd find her on my car when I was ready to leave for work. After she died, I wanted to get more, but the breeder I go to didn't have any.
 
ShellyBear
Sadly this breed isn't the only breed that gets stuck in small places. Our bantam was found twice under a small plastic bull and be hind the nesting boxes. I'm glad you're ur rooster is still striving.
 
Donna R Raybon
Either standard sized or bantam they are friendliest and smartest of fowl. Love them. Hens lay pretty well, and when broody are great mothers. Roosters can be a handful as far as keeping more than one and not fighting each other. Man haters are very, very rare. You do need to find an experienced, longtime, dedicated breeder who has good genectics and can help you learn how to dubb roosters.
 

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Category
Chicken Breeds
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