Indian Game Chooks
A Rare Breed of British Origin
Dark Indian Game pullet.
The Indian Game has been developed in Britain from South East Asian game breeds like the Malay and Asil. The result is a massive looking bird with tight feathering. When holding a well bred Indian Game it feels like holding a stone – there is no fluff that makes the bird look bigger than it is. It’s pure muscle meat.
The Indian game has been used to develop the broiler chickens – the variety we all know from the supermarket freezer – giving them the copious amount of breast meat.
The pea comb is another interesting trait of the Indian Game. In cooler climates fowls with pea combs are far less likely to get frost bite on their combs than fowls with single or rose combs.
In New Zealand the large fowl Indian Game is rare but the bantam variety is frequently seen at shows. They are a very underrated breed that should be a lot more common in backyard flocks. Their egg laying is not impressive but crossed with any heavy breed they make excellent eating fowls and despite their name they are not usually aggressive.
The ‘gamey’ look of an Indian Game.
The front view shows the broad breast.
