BB Red Modern Game

The Modern Game is an old, rare Heritage chicken breed that was initially bred for exhibition in the mid-1800s. The breed was developed from Old English Game fowl and Malays and was added to the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1874. Games are an ornamental breed, bred to be tall and sleek with tight feathering and long legs. However, as a strictly ornamental breed, their popularity and numbers have decreased over time.

Modern Games are an excellent breed choice for fanciers and exhibitionists who are interested in breeding, genetics, and conservation. Today, the Modern Game is listed as ‘Threatened’ by The Livestock Conservancy. Modern Games come in many varieties, but our flock is a Black Breasted Red, or BB Red, which was added to the Standard in 1939.

Mature Modern Game chickens are tall, slender birds with long willow colored legs and bright red single comb, face, wattles, and earlobes. When raised for show, their combs, wattles, and ears should be neatly and smoothly dubbed. Modern Games reach maturity at around 20 weeks with a female mature weight of 4.5 lbs. and male mature weight of around 6.0 lbs. Modern Game day-old baby chicks are a brownish color with light underbellies, a distinctive dark eye stripe, darker brown on their heads and back, with two parallel light stripes on their back. Games are slow to mature and are very active, which helps them to maintain muscle tone. Hens are decent layers of medium-sized white eggs, are fairly broody, and make good mothers. Games are a somewhat noisy breed, and they prefer warm climates. While they can be tamed and make nice pets for adults, they tend to be more independent when kept in a mixed flock.

Limited quantities available. Straight run (unsexed) only at this time.