Best Sabong Breeds in the Philippines
Gamefowl breeders aim to breed the best gamecocks for cockfighting by developing certain birds with notable cockfighting traits and generating bloodlines specialized for fighting. The best sabong breeds are the ones that are cared for properly and crossbred with some of the best fighting breeds to inherit certain traits.
Breeders who truly aim to win at tournaments and other cockfighting events will devote plenty of time and resources to developing the best gamefowl breeds and bloodlines. The first breeders who aimed to develop these birds did plenty of trial and error with certain winning roosters as brood cocks and the mothers of said roosters as brood hens. Through generations of inbreeding, linebreeding, and crossbreeding, certain birds have become notable breeds that are still seeing action in cockpits today.
Some of the best sabong breeds in the Philippines today are the following:
Kelso: One of the Best Sabong Breeds
The Kelso is a variation of the American Gamefowl which came from being develop from the cross of Madigin hens with different roosters. The selection process for the roosters was loose and the only requirement was that they won their previous matches, regardless of their breed and bloodline. Walter Kelso’s objective is to produce an offspring that can win cockfights and develop an entirely new breed.
Kelso succeeded and produced the Kelso gamefowl which gained immense popularity many years later as bases for new bloodlines and as standalone gamecocks today. Many breeders use this breed to generate new lines by crossing them with Sweaters, Roundheads, Lemons, Radios, and more.
This breed is well-known for their beautiful tail feathers, bright colors, sleek head, and their ability to side-step and grapple other birds.
Asil
The Asil is a popular breed in the Philippines with it being one of the most circulated birds in the entire country for different breeders. The Asil is a native bird in Pakistan and India and are well-known as natural fighters, whether they be roosters, hens, or mere chicks. Today, many breeders use this to improve other known sabong breeds to improve their bloodlines. There’s a saying that the Asil is the only breed that improves all other fighting rooster breeds.
Asils are ancient birds and are still popular this day for a reason. In fact, many breeders still use this to try and create new birds to revolutionize the sabong scene. Not all attempts are successful though as an attempt to create a heavyweight fighter using a Red Asil and Black Breasted Red Game resulted in the Cornish that’s now known as a broiler chicken. Still, other breeders met success and now have their own bloodlines from Asils crossing with other breeds.
The Asil is well known for their vibrant black and red plumage, broad and prominent shoulders, and yellow or white skin.
Hatch
Hatches are an American fighting rooster breed developed specifically to win cockfights. This breed is more popular in the US and is growing in popularity in the Philippines as breeders match these birds with Kelsos, Radios, and Sweaters. These birds were developed by Stanford Hatch using Whitehackles, Brown Reds, and Kernis.
Today, most of the popular Hatches are Hatch offshoots from other breeders developing their own breeds and bloodlines, with the Leiper, Blueface, McLean, and Yellow Leg Hatches being the most popular ones.
Standard Hatches are well-known for typically having varied colors but all of them having medium-sized bodies, curved back, narrow chest, and yellow and green featherless legs.
Shamo
Shamos are a Japanese gamefowl breed that are also popular in the Philippines today as many breeders prefer to use this breed to develop their own. This breed is arguably the strongest breed out there but pure Shamos are rare these days and most active birds in the cockpits are likely hybrids from other fighting breeds.
Today, many breeders use the rare pure Shamos they have to develop their own breeds to try and pass down the breed’s excellent stamina, sturdy legs, muscular build, and accurate strikes. Most pure Shamos are in Japan right now.
Shamos are well-known for their long necks, long legs, muscled thighs, broad chest, and thick feathers.
Sweater
Sweaters are a popular gamefowl breed seen widely in Philippine and Mexican cockpits after the breed won multiple derby matches. This breed was developed by Carol Nesmith out of the most underwhelming birds out there until they became the well-known stars today. The earliest birds had piss-poor stamina and saw no chances of winning in cockfights until they were further developed.
The Sweaters today had some Hatches introduced into the bloodline, resulting in some Sweaters having green legs that are inherent on Hatches. Sonny Ware’s Sweaters had Radios introduced in them to give his birds a pumpkin color. Dolan Owens bred a different bloodline out of some early Sweaters resulting in completely different Sweaters that don’t resemble Nesmith’s chickens.
The most popular Sweaters today are well-known for their orange-red to light red color, yellow pea combs, yellow legs, their fast and persistent attacks, and their refusal to surrender.
Conclusion
These birds are some of the most popular ones in the Philippines today but are not the only ones who are doing well in the cockpits in the Philippines. Keep a lookout for these birds while playing at 22Win and DS88 and you might just win big at the cockpits.
