THE BANTAM FOWI,. 



T. A. HAVEMEYER'S BLACK-RED GAME 

 BANTAM COCK. 



Winner at Philadelphia, 1902, and sold for $50, 



Game Bantams -where classes cannot be provided for them. 

 I believe this would In some measure be the means of mak- 

 ing the Brown-Reds more popular. 



"Brown-Reds, like the Black-Reds, breed true to color, 

 and are much less trouble in preparing and keeping in show 

 form than Piles or Duckwlngs, and can be kept almost any- 

 where, where it would be next to Impossible to keep the for- 

 mer. The Brown-Red cock should have a very dark 



mulberry face, ap- 

 J^;^ proaching black, the 

 darker the better; 

 the eyes should be 

 as dark as possible, 

 a red or light eye 

 counting heavily 

 against the bird In 

 the show pen; the 

 legs and feet 

 should be almost 

 black. The neck and 

 saddle hackle should 

 be a pale lemon, the 

 back and saddle rich 

 lemon, breast black 

 ground color, withi 

 pale lemon lacing 

 round each feather, 

 and showing the 

 shaft of the feather, 

 the lacing to start 

 at the throat, and 

 continue down to the 

 top of the thighs. 

 Wing-bar and tail black, the latter as fine and short 

 as possible, although it is very * rarely we find the 

 Brown-Red so tine in feather as the Black-Red, espe- 

 cially when the bird possesses that pale lemon top color 

 which is all the rage at the present time. 



"A few years ago the lemon top color had not been ob- 

 tained; in its place we found then dark orange or nearly red, 

 and I believe it is the result of breeding for color alone that 

 Brown-Red fanciers have lost the hardness of feather; for 

 it is a well-known fact that the lighter the color the softer 

 the feather, and vice versa; yet, to be successful in the show 

 pen, a Brown-Red cockerel must possess that * beautiful 

 lemon top color which to-day is more than half the battle, 

 irrespective of hardness of feather. Still I contend that in 

 judging Game Bantams shape and type should be the first 

 requirements, then color and hardness of feather. The 

 Brown-Red pullet to match the cockerel should be identic- 

 ally the same in face, eye, and legs. The neck hackle should 

 be a pale lemon with a narrow black stripe; and this color 

 should reach to the crown of the head. The weakness in 

 a narrow black stripe; and color should reach to 

 the crown of the head. The weakness in Brown- 

 Red pullets is to be copery or dark capped, viz., the 

 top of the hackle towards the head runs a dirty coppery 

 color, which is a great objection. Although it is one of the 

 mysteries of game breeding to produce clear lemon-hackled 

 pullets free from lacing on the back and shoulders, still it 

 can be done with careful mating and perseverance. The body 

 and wing should be a glossy black, free from lacing or shaft- 

 iness. The ground color of the breast should be black; each 

 feather from the throat to the thighs distinctly laced with 

 pale lemon, the lacing to be, uniform, and continued well 

 down to the thighs, the breast lacing being one of the most 

 important points, as quite 39 to 40 per cent fail more or less 

 In this respect." 



Of course, it will be remembered that condition makes 

 all the diftftrence in color of plumage. A fowl that is poorly 

 — under the weather, will not possess that glossy plumage 

 and the close-lying feathers that a Game in first-class trim 

 should have. Variation of shade is sometimes the result of 

 sickness, and It generally stays with the bird until the next 

 molt. 



The style of the bird is always affected by its condition. 

 A sick bird can never be made to assume that upright, force- 

 ful appearance that a well trained Game in good health ex- 

 hibits, and in exhibiting Games this is half the battle, for 

 'a good judge will pass by every time a Game Bantam that 

 lacks style and form. Want of condition brings to the front 

 all those latent defects that breeders strive to eradicate. If 

 the bird is inclined to possess a white tip — if the defect has 

 appeared in its ancestors, illness will bring it to the. front 

 without fail. Glossy black assumes a brownish hue, lacing 

 and shafting seems to show up more than ever, and the 

 hackle loses its brightness. Lack of condition also affects 

 the color of face, and comb; in fact, these sections are the 

 first to give warning that the internal economy is out of 

 order. It will be interesting here to refer to the required 

 color of these sections. 



The American Standard for Brown-Red Game Bantams 

 tells us that the face, comb, wattles and ear-lobes of both 

 male and female should be dark purple or black. The male 

 should be colored as follows: The portions of the body that 

 are red in the Black Red male should be lemon colored in the 

 Brown-Red male. All other portions should be black, with 

 a narrow lacing of lemon on the breast feathers. The shaft 

 of the feathers that are laced should be of a pale lemon 

 color, shanks and feet quite dark in color. Head and neck 

 feathers should have a narrow stripe of black. All lemon 

 colored feathers should have a light colored shaft, and sad- 

 dle should be striped with black, same as neck feathers. 



The female should have a golden or lemon color for 

 head, running a little lighter for neck, which should be pen- 

 ciled with a narrow stripe of black down the middle of each 

 feather; the balance 

 of the plumage 

 should be a lustrous 

 black, the breast 

 feathers laced with 

 lemon. All feathers 

 showing the lemon 

 lacing should be 

 laced with the same 

 shade as the neck 

 feathers. Whatever 

 shade the neck is, 

 the breast lacing 

 should be the same, 

 and each feather on 

 breast of both male 

 and female should 

 be evenly laced all 

 round with a narrow 

 edge of the same 

 shade as neck color. 

 The legs and feet of mr. a. 

 both male and fe- 

 male should be quite 



dark in color. If black legs can be had they are by far the 

 best. 



Good colored Brown-Reds bred together should produce 

 both males and fenjales of the proper colors. To keep the 

 color true the highest grade males should be bred to the 

 most perfect females, and to regain any lost color in males. 



. PARKER'S NEW YORK WINNING BLACK- 

 RED GAME BANTAM HEN. 



