Poultry
Old English Game
B tier
Old English Game is a hard, active British breed descended from traditional game fowl, kept today primarily for exhibition but also producing lean, firm table meat when grown out. Birds are upright, tightly feathered, and athletic, with dark or white flesh depending on strain and a pronounced savoury flavour compared with soft commercial broilers. Culinary use is niche: slow roasting, braising, and coq-style stews suit the denser musculature of mature birds, while younger stock can be jointed for grilling if carefully aged. Heritage and game-fowl enthusiasts supply limited numbers to restaurants seeking robust, traditional English chicken character.
Also known as: Old English Game, OEG / Old English Game, Old English Game, Old English Game
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
English gamecocks of regional fighting strains formed the ancestral stock later known as Old English Game.
After cockfighting bans, breeders redirected game-fowl selection toward exhibition type while retaining hardiness and carriage.
American poultry standards recognised Old English Game classes, spreading the type beyond Britain.
The Old English Game Club and related societies formalised colour varieties and show requirements.
Bantam and large-fowl exhibition lines diverged further from any residual utility meat role.
Heritage dining interest occasionally revived limited table use of slow-grown Old English Game carcasses.