Glossary

Gamefowl Terminology

Everything you need to know about gamefowl terms — from types of fowl to breeding and conditioning.

100 terms

Bird Classifications

Day-old chick (DOC)

A newly hatched chick, literally 0–1 days old. Sold by breeders who don't want to raise them. Cheapest way to buy gamefowl but highest risk — you don't know how they'll turn out.

Stag

A young male gamefowl, roughly 8–18 months old. Not yet fully mature. "Battle stag" means one being prepared for fighting.

Cock

A mature male gamefowl, 2+ years old. "Battle cock" = one ready or proven in fights.

Pullet

A young female gamefowl, not yet laying eggs. Roughly equivalent to a stag but female.

Hen

A mature female gamefowl.

Broodcock

A male specifically kept for breeding, not fighting. Usually a proven winner or from a winning line.

Broodhen

A female kept for breeding. Selected for bloodline quality and the performance of her offspring.

Trio

A set of one rooster and two hens sold together as a breeding group.

Pair

One rooster and one hen sold together.

Breeding & Genetics

Bloodline / Strain

A selectively bred line of gamefowl with consistent traits (e.g., Kelso, Sweater, Hatch). This is basically what "breed" means in gamefowl.

Pure / Puro

A bird from a single bloodline with no crosses. "Puro Kelso" = pure Kelso. Highly valued by breeders.

Cross / Krus

Offspring of two different bloodlines.

Sire

The father.

Dam

The mother.

Linebreeding

Mating birds within the same bloodline that are related but not immediate family. Keeps traits consistent.

Inbreeding

Mating closely related birds (father-daughter, siblings). Concentrates traits but carries risk of genetic defects.

Outcrossing

Mating two completely unrelated bloodlines. Produces hybrid vigor but less predictable offspring.

Backcrossing

Breeding a cross back to one of its parent lines. Used to get, say, 75% Sweater / 25% Kelso.

Hybrid vigor (Heterosis)

The phenomenon where crossbred offspring are often stronger, healthier, and more vigorous than purebreds. Common reason breeders outcross.

Infusion

Introducing a small amount of another bloodline into your line. "Asil infusion" means breeding in a small percentage of Asil for gameness.

Foundation stock

The original birds used to start a breeding program.

Brood yard / Breeding pen

The area where breeding pairs are kept.

Pairing / Pagpares

The act of selecting which rooster and hen to mate together.

Selection

The process of choosing which birds to keep for breeding vs. culling from the program. This is the core skill of a breeder.

Culling

Removing birds from the breeding program. Doesn't always mean killing — can mean selling, giving away, or just not breeding from that bird.

Prepotent

A bird that consistently passes its traits to offspring regardless of what it's paired with. A prepotent broodcock is extremely valuable.

Nick / Nagnick

When a specific pairing produces exceptionally good offspring. "That Kelso-Sweater nick really works" = that combination consistently produces winners.

Battlecross

A cross specifically designed for fighting, not for further breeding. Meant to be a "terminal cross" — the offspring fight but aren't bred from.

Physical Traits

Station

The height/leg length of a bird. "High station" = tall and long-legged. "Low station" = short and compact.

Straight comb

The classic upright red comb. One of the main comb types in gamefowl.

Pea comb

A smaller comb, close to the head, looks like three ridges. Common in Roundheads and Asil.

Leg color

Important identifying trait. Yellow, white, green (dark/olive), dark/black. Different bloodlines have characteristic leg colors.

Plumage

The feather coloring pattern. Red, dark red, spangled, grey, lemon, white, brown red, etc.

Wattles

The red fleshy lobes hanging under the beak.

Spurs

The natural bony protrusion on the back of the leg. In PH derbies, natural spurs are usually cut and replaced with gaffs or knives.

Dubbing

Surgically trimming the comb and wattles. Done to prevent opponents from grabbing them during fights. Very common in gamefowl.

Dubbed

A bird that has had its comb and wattles trimmed.

Hackle

The feathers on the neck. Breeders note hackle color as an identifying trait.

Saddle feathers

Feathers on the lower back, just before the tail.

Wing butt

The "shoulder" area of the wing. Color here is noted for identification.

Conditioning

Conditioning / Pointing

The process of physically preparing a gamefowl for a fight. Involves diet, exercise, supplements, and sparring. Usually a 2–3 week program.

Keep

The specific conditioning program/regimen used. "What keep do you use?" Breeders guard their keeps like trade secrets.

Sparring

Practice fighting with padded or muffled weapons. Used to evaluate fighting style and sharpen skills.

Muff / Muffler

Padded covers put on spurs during sparring to prevent injury.

Pre-conditioning

Longer-term preparation (weeks/months before) involving general fitness, diet, and health.

Pointing

The final phase of conditioning, usually the last 3–7 days before a fight. Fine-tuning the bird to peak physical condition.

Deworming

Standard health maintenance. Done regularly, especially before conditioning.

Vitamins / Supplements

B-complex, iron, electrolytes, etc. A huge market in the PH gamefowl industry.

Scratch grain

Mixed grains given as feed.

Pellets

Commercial gamefowl feed in pellet form.

Cord work

Tying a bird to a cord/string and letting it exercise by flying/jumping within the cord's radius.

Fly pen

An enclosed area where birds exercise by flying back and forth between perches.

Rotation

A conditioning exercise where the handler gently tosses or rotates the bird to build muscle and coordination.

Hatching & Raising

Brooding

The period right after hatching where chicks need warmth, controlled environment, and special care. Usually lasts 2–4 weeks until chicks develop enough feathers to regulate their own temperature.

Brooder

The heated enclosure/box used to keep chicks warm during brooding. Can be a heat lamp over a box, or a commercial brooder.

Incubation

The 21-day period where eggs are kept warm (either by a hen sitting on them or in a mechanical incubator) until they hatch.

Incubator

A machine that maintains the correct temperature (~37.5°C / 99.5°F) and humidity for eggs to develop and hatch.

Setting

When a hen naturally sits on eggs to incubate them. "The hen is setting" = she's broody and sitting on eggs.

Broody

A hen that wants to sit on eggs and hatch them. Her hormones have shifted to "mothering mode." Some hens go broody often, some rarely.

Candling

Holding an egg up to a bright light to check if it's fertile and developing. Done around day 7–10 of incubation.

Fertile / Infertile

Whether an egg has been successfully fertilized and will develop into a chick.

Hatch rate

Percentage of eggs that successfully hatch. A good hatch rate is 75–85%.

Grow-out

The phase after brooding where chicks are raised to maturity. Involves proper nutrition, space, and eventually separating males.

Range

An open area where growing birds are kept. "Free range" = birds can roam in an enclosed outdoor area.

Tying cord / Tie cord

Young males are tied to individual stakes/posts with a cord once they start becoming aggressive toward each other. Very common in PH gamefowl farms. Each bird gets its own radius.

Fighting / Derby

Derby

An organized cockfighting tournament with multiple matches.

Sabong

The Filipino word for cockfighting.

Pintakasi

A type of derby, usually smaller/local.

Hackfight

A type of derby format.

Tigbakay

A Visayan term for a small local cockfight.

Sultada

A single match between two roosters (not a tournament).

Meron

The favored/bet-on side in a cockfight.

Wala

The underdog side.

Gaff

A sharp, curved blade attached to the bird's leg for fighting. Most common in PH derbies.

Knife / Tari

A straight blade attached to the leg. Used in some derby formats.

Gameness

The most important trait. A bird's willingness to keep fighting no matter how injured. A "dead game" rooster fights until it literally cannot move.

Smart fighter

A bird that dodges, counters, and picks its moments rather than charging in blindly.

Shuffler

A fighting style where the bird rapidly delivers multiple hits in quick succession while staying close.

Single stroke

A fighting style where the bird delivers one powerful, accurate strike.

Flyer

A bird that jumps/flies high during the fight to attack from above.

Ground fighter

Fights on the ground, doesn't jump much.

Runner / Talbos

A bird that runs away during a fight. The worst insult in gamefowl. Indicates zero gameness.

Brood material

A losing bird that still showed enough desirable traits (gameness, power) that it might be worth breeding from despite losing.

3x winner / 5x winner

A bird that has won 3 or 5 fights. Huge value multiplier.

Business / Trading

PM for price

"Private message for price." Very common in PH gamefowl selling — and exactly the problem ManokHub solves by having structured pricing.

LF / Looking for

Buyer searching for a specific bird.

FS / For sale

Listing something for sale.

FT / For trade

Willing to swap birds.

RFS

"Reason for selling."

COD

Cash on delivery.

Ship / Padala

Shipping live birds via bus cargo or air freight. Common in PH.

Meetup / MU

Meeting in person for the transaction.

SRP

Suggested retail price.

Nego

Price is negotiable.

Farm Management

Loft

An elevated housing structure for gamefowl.

Teepee

A-frame shelter for individual birds, very common in PH farms.

Scratching area

Ground area where birds scratch and forage.

Cock house

Individual enclosure for a single rooster.

Bantay manok

Caretaker/handler of the gamefowl. The person who does daily feeding, conditioning, and farm maintenance.

Mangangahoy

A breeder/handler who specializes in conditioning and fight preparation.