Hen-Feathered Game Fowls . 
3°i 
tion on the grey side, of the Yellow or Golden Duckwing, as may be proved by any one in the first 
ci oss with Black-reds. The colour of the Silver Duckwing cock is exactly that of the Silver-grey 
Dorking, only the Game cock’s legs are willow, and beak dark horn colour ; his hackles, saddle, and 
wing-bow are silvery white ; breast, thighs, wing bars, and tail, blue-black. 
“The hen closely resembles the purest feathered Duckwings bred from the Yellow Duckwing 
cock, or, more correctly speaking, the case should be reversed, as the Yellow Duckwings are only 
the offshoots of the Silvers ; but in the original Silver Duckwing hen, the back and wings are 
of a beautiful French grey or light steel grey, with very fine markings of a darker grey, the edges 
of the feathers very silvery ; the hackle is light grey (black and white, but the white predomi- 
nating), and the breast a pale or cream fawn colour. No colour of Game fowls will breed truer to 
feather than the above-described Silver Duckwings ; and all successful breeders know the value 
of a Silver Duckwing cock to bring back the lovely colour of the pullets, when too much Black-red 
blood has crept into their strain, and so spoiled the delicate grey shade. 
“ There has been a corresponding improvement in Birchen Greys lately, owing to the cross 
with the laced-breasted Lemon-reds having given clearer markings ; and some capital specimens 
were shown at Birmingham, the Crystal Palace, and other shows in 1883 and since. 
“ In Pile Game the general favourite is what was formerly known as the Lancashire Pile, a 
bright and pure-coloured bird, the fac-simile of the Black-red cock, only substituting white in the 
place of black. With ordinary care these may be bred with milky white breasts quite free from 
lacing or marbling, and with the colours of hackle and back forming a rich contrast. The colour 
of the cock should be as follows : — Head and neck-hackle, rich orange-red, nearly if not quite 
free from white stripes ; back, wing-bow, and shoulder coverts, rich crimson or bright claret, shading 
off to rich orange on the saddle hackles ; flight secondaries, deep bay, all the rest of the plumage 
milky or creamy white ; the wing bars or coverts as white — i.e., free from any rusty shade — as the 
Black-red cocks are clear steel blue. Very few judges or breeders object to a few slight ticks or 
specks of black in the breast or tail feathers, and it is the fact, that birds so ticked are usually the 
hardest feathered, probably owing to the Black-red cross. The Pile Game hen should have golden 
yellow head ; golden and white hackle, the more gold the better ; salmon red breast ; and the body 
colour, back, wing, and tail, a clear creamy white, though some prefer to see a little rusty or foxy 
marking on the wing-bow. As this marking or colouring is, however, a fault in the Black-red 
(except for cock breeding), why should it not also be such in the Pile ? or, if not, why should we 
not encourage the corresponding thing in the Duckwing or the Brown-red ? The fact is, that the 
exhibition standard for the hens is hardly that which breeds the best cocks, any more than in most 
other breeds of poultry. I fully endorse Mr. Douglas’ advice to kill all the Black-red chickens 
bred from Piles, unless they have yellow legs, when no one will be misled as to their origin. Even 
then it is seldom advisable to retain them, as the first cross with pure Black-reds is far the best. 
“ Yellow legs are everywhere now preferred for Piles, and light willow legs are to be preferred 
before white. Ruby red eyes are the best for Piles, as they are for Black-reds.” 
HENNY GAME. — Besides the varieties described or hinted at by Mr. Douglas, there 
is a well-marked and singular variety in which the cock is feathered like the hens. This breed 
is a great favourite in Devonshire and Cornwall, where it is often fought, and has been bred 
for generations back ; but the origin of the variety is still more difficult to determine than 
that of other breeds of Game. Many years ago there were strains of it in the North of 
England, but for some time past it has become extinct in those regions. Some American 
writers, Dr. Cooper and other cock-fighters especially, have denied the breed to be “true 
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