Old English Game Bantam

When we ordered hatching eggs from a hatchery one year, we ended up with a pair of old english game bantams by accident. A pullet, we called her Tweetie, and a rooster, called Sirma. Both were Brown-Reds. Tweetie hatched with no bones in any of her toes but had no trouble getting around and could perch fine because of her small size. Tweetie was shy, sweet, and flighty. Sirma is calm and outgoing.

Tweetie laid eggs for 3 weeks straight (1 a day), and then would take 2 weeks off. Then repeat. That was fine with me. We didn't expect so many eggs out of such a small package! One day, she disappeared, and we didn't know what happened to her. We found her body a few months later, wedged into a space between the wall and the floor. She must have gotten stuck in there - she was getting broody, and might have been searching for a quiet place to lay her eggs.

Both of them had made it through that winter, which was bitterly cold (negatives with lots of wind and ice) with no frostbite and no issues at all. Sirma even went outside a few times, but almost got grabbed by a hawk, so he spent the rest of the winter indoors.

Sirma is intelligent and protective, and despite being a bantam, he is the king of our roosters - our two large fowl roosters - and delights in chasing them all over the yard. He tried to 'protect' the hens from a poor hedgehog who had wandered his way into our yard. He is always finding ways of escaping but is also the first to find cover when something big and hungry flies overhead. It's a shame we lost our girl. They made a good, cute pair!

I recommend this breed to anyone. They are cost-friendly as they eat very little food and forage a lot.

They're also small, beautiful, can fly great, and make a really nice addition to the flock. We mixed ours with our full size flock of 40+ birds without any problems. English games can pretty much take care of themselves. But seriously, they can fly: our Sirma would fly 20 feet up onto the roof of our barn to crow in the morning!

These are decent birds, though not my favorite. They tend to fight a lot, they're pretty bad mothers, and some of the roosters seem to like to breed a little too often. One has been destroying my hens (butchering him soon).

Very beautiful, and extremely hardy. So, that's a plus! Not my favorite.

I have 4 hens and they're very friendly. If you're looking for a "pet", this is your breed. Their eggs are very small (think ping pong ball). They do lay consistently however (nearly an egg a day). They're very much like dogs in that they will beg (sqwack) for treats when they see you. Don't get me wrong, they're a great breed, but when selecting a chicken, I'm looking for a large bird that will lay good and be big enough to butcher at the end of its laying days. Great breed for young kids and beginners.

I have 2 flocks, one is a mix of OEGB and the other is pure OEGB BBR, they are beautiful birds, they free range, i love their personalities, watching them fly, i think they have very wild instincts, they are very inteligent, smart little birds. Some months ago i had this episode, I had a hawk attacking my flock for nearly a month, the hens had chicks, before i knew he killed 5 chicks of different mothers, then i started to watch them to protect them and i was amazed! They learned to escape the hawk, i saw several times the hawk trying to catch the chicks, but they managed to get away,they became very alert to all moviments in the sky, and would run or fly for cover in bushes very fast, the younger chicks would use sometimes camuflage laying still below the grass, and if the hawk got near the chicks the hen would attack him, then all that noise will attract the roosters attention and they would chase the hawk away, the hawk finely got bored and never returned again.

I have a RBOEGB I hatched in April named JJ. Her parents where both from TSC. She tolerates being held and is easy to catch. She is a good flier.

Great chickens, I would recommend them!

My spangled OEGB, Jace, is really cute and has great camoflauge, which is good if you have lots of predators. It also means she can hide from me really easy if she gets out, which is why I had to clip her wings. I have 2 more OEGB's and they do not fly out, so it might just be the wings- too-big -for -her-body stage I have to clip them.... hopefully! one of the issues I have is she is sensitive to cold, being a hard feathered breed. this breed just needs a little more care than some, but their stellar personalities make it all worthwhile. My other 2 (Mixes) are very cute, but bad layers. They were very easily tamed and have quirky personalities.
Jace is very tame too, If you catch her she will be calm and just sit there. If you need eye candy that's not super skittish, this is a great breed!

*Update*
well, she gave up on flying out, but now she digs holes under my fence and climbs out that way.
fortunately that's easily fixed....

*Update 11\7\15*
I'm astounded on her laying capabilities, she laid large (for a bantam) eggs right from the start and right now is my most reliable layer! her eggs are the prettiest pinkish color too.
her personality has really blossomed now that she is older and she is really a sweet girl. She has proven herself to be resistant to lice and disease, which is a HUGE plus!
overall I would totally get this breed again. On my wishlist for spring again.

*Update 1/28/16*
I changed my review from 4 1\2 stars to 5 as she has become the best bird in my flock, mellowing slightly with maturity. She is a horrid winter layer, but as I am not keeping her for eggs it does not matter. She is by far the tamest bird in my flock, and one of the prettiest as well.

Ive had old englesh games since i was 6 years old and they are my favorite bantam, ive almost had every single strain of them, ive had crele, bbreds, brown reds and gold and silver duckwings.
They are great for kids to play with and are fun to watch, roosters are not agressive hardly ever and in my whole life only one spured me and that dident happen but once,
The hens are calm and love to be held, they dont hardly ever lay eggs and ive never seen one go broody.
Overall they are great chickens and are good pets.

I have one Old English Game Bantam rooster. I know others that people have and the all seem very friendly. Every time I go in the run he flies up on my arm or shoulder to get treats. They are very small bantams (super cute). They are great for pets. I am going to try to teach mine tricks He can fly higher and for longer than any other of my bantams.

I currently own one gold duckwing OEGB and a black OEGB. Both of the chicks are very active and very fun to watch. My duckwing, Teriyaki, is the sweetest little chicken I've ever seen. She loves being pet and held. Pepsi, the black OEGB, is very flighty and skittish compared to Teriyaki, but she is still approachable and kind.

I would seriously recommend clipping the wings of your OEGs to prevent them from escaping and flying over fences.

If you like birds that are small for their size but with a big attitude than the Old English Game are for you. These birds were bred originally for cockfighting purposes and which started the dubbing process (the removal of comb) and cropping (removal of wattles and earlobes). This is called for in the Standard of Perfection and might ruin your plans of showing them if you do not believe in dubbing. Old English have big personalities and come in many different colors like Silver Duckwing, Quail, Black, Lemon Blue, Brassy Back, and Red Fawn.

i loved my Silver phoenix Old English Bantam!

All the breeds of chickens I have or have tried over many years, this one has always had a place on my farm.
The Old English Game Bantam is easy to house and care for. As well as free ranging.
They handle New England winters with no additional heat. Chicks are very active and hardy.

old english game bantams are a cute and cuddly chicken that is very easy to breed and is great for a small backyard flock

Old English Game Bantams are nice, pretty little birds. They are great fliers and mine is so agile that it can easily escape my cat. They are friendly birds and are very easy to raise!

I have a black wheaten OEG bantam hen and she is full of character. She'll follow you around the yard, fly onto your hand, fall asleep in your arms, make sweet chirruping noise, come inside the house etc. Sweet little chickens. They are also independent, ours actually lived in the wild for 3 days in search of this rooster that had been crowing several houses down and came back completely fine. They are very sociable birds, very tame and extremely pretty (they come in so many varieties) making them a favourite with children. You can let them free range, they will be very independent and alert but be aware that they may venture off or roost in trees (they can fly alright!). You can also keep them in a coop full of larger fowl, mine is the smallest chicken we have and never gets into trouble with any of the other chickens as she is very fast at getting away. She roosts right at the top of my coop on a separate perch and happily east and drinks away from the others. The only downside is that they don't lay all that many eggs and go broody often, when you do get an egg though on the rare occasion, it will be very tasty. What the OEG lacks in egg laying, it makes up for with its beautiful personality.

I have an old english game hen who I believe is around 8 months. I rescued her from a shelter and was promised that she was an easy to catch, sweet bird. I was looking for a companion for my silkie who was going to be alone for a week or two since I had to get rid of her friends because they were all roos. Anyways, when I first got her, and went to pick her up out of the box, she had attacked my hand. It was nothing major but that did raise some red flags for me. When I put her in the coop with my silkie, she was trying to find a way out desperately. She would jump up and try to break through the roof almost. She eventually calmed down, but did not want anything to do with any of the other chickens. She was never really aggressive, but when my chicken would go and say hi, she would peck at her until she left. This was about two months ago, so she is much better now, but still prefers to be on her own. I rarely pick her up as well because although she hates the process of it, she overall enjoys a pet every once in a while. She is extremely quiet too! I never here a peep out of her and it amazes me! She is a good layer (except for molting time and winter) and gives me at least an egg a day. Overall she is a great bird and I love having her.

Quite frankly, this breed was never on my radar, until I got one hen as a freebie from a hatchery. She looked like a chipmunk, was half the size of the other chicks she arrived with, and a pure source of entertainment from the start. As a first time chicken owner, I tried to pick up Miss Sophie and tame her, but she had better things to mind than be my little cuddle buddy, so I just let her be. Imagine my surprise when I placed all of them into the coop at two month old, and suddenly she started seeking contact with me. Soon, she just flew on my shoulders, and loved to be held. If I dared putting her on the ground, she would fly up to me again for more cuddles. Sadly, she fell victim to a raccoon, and I learned overnight that one can get as easily attached to a chicken, as to any other pet. I have "replaced" her with other Old English Game bantams (of course, she can never really be replaced), and, although they are not quite as affectionate as Miss Sophie was, but they do come close.

This last order had some roosters in the box, and they have just been a hilarious addition to the flock. These tiny roosters have the self-confidence of peacocks, love to crow their hearts out with their tiny, high pitched voices, and are complete gentlemen to the ladies. I have watched them scratch for tasty crawlers, picking them up, and offering them to their hens. When some of my hens wander into the front yard (which is technically off-limits to my chickens), there is always at least one rooster chaperoning them. Occasionally, I step into the backyard, and see all my roosters sitting on my roof (that's a two story flight from the back). All this, and they are still contempt when I pick them up.

All in all, they make great pets and are the clowns of the fowl family!

I have one mature Roo, Vince Neil, and 8 Mature hens, my favorite being Heidi Plume ( the hen on my profile pic). I also have 20 chicks at various ages that we hatched. We got the older birds in the flock when they were already mature and they had been kept in a cage all their life. They'd never been allowed on the ground to forage. So life here, where free ranging is the norm was a whole new life for them and they took to it well! They had been severely protein deficient and covered in mites but it didn't take long to get them back in top shape with proper feeding and lots of scratching in the dirt. So they rebound fast if they aren't healthy at first.

The only issue we really have with them is the Rooster. He seems to hate men, especially my boyfriend. He hasn't ever hurt Vince. He made him mad once when he had to be caught and caged so we could let some other hens out that we didn't want him to breed with and apparently he will never forgive or forget it. Every time he see's my boyfriend he tries to flog him. We finally had to de-spur him over it out of fear that he could hurt one of the grandchildren. He hadn't tried to harm any of the kids, but he was caught a few times trying to flog my 17 year old son who never did anything at all to him. So, we decided he might just have an issue with men and took care of it for everyone's sake. On the other side, he has NEVER been aggressive to me in any way. He walks right by me, pecks at my flip flops, inspects my toenail polish, with his beak of course and i'd honestly not believe he had a single aggressive bone in his body if I hadn't seen it for myself.

We are raising his boys to be different and so far they are awesome! They love to be held, they're very tame and will come to us for attention even if treats aren't present. They are about 2 months old and love their hatchmates dearly but they also are very protective over all the other younger chicks. Sometimes the older hens will come and try to take treats from the chicks and peck them. The little Roo's don't put up with that regardless of how much bigger the hens or even Vince is in relation to them. They defend the babies immediately and fiercely. It's ADORABLE!

2 of our hens hatched 4 each with no problem and are raising beautiful chicks. There's just really no downside to these birds and they're hilarious over how much they LOVE them some goodies! Especially watermelon!

I'm so mad i thought my chicken was a phoenix bantam