Hatch Gamefowls: Well-Developed Fighting Rooster Breed
The Hatch gamefowl breed is a well-known fighting rooster that started out as an American rooster in the late 1800s. Hatches are currently one of the most popular birds in the Philippines as they typically pair well with other birds like Sweaters, Radios, and Kelsos. The most popular variations of this bird in the Philippines have yellow legs, which isn’t the same as the official Yellow Leg Hatch bloodline.
The Hatches were bred from Kernis, Brown Reds, and Thompson Whitehackles in the beginning of the 20th century by Stanford Hatch. This breed initially started out with green legs until about 90% of the birds in Stanford’s corals have yellow legs with green legs appearing rarely. Today, it is a basic gamefowl breed worldwide with many breeders using it to develop their own lines.
Key Features of Hatch Roosters:
The key features of Hatch gamefowls are the following:
Hatches are a varied gamefowl breed and different Hatches can come in different colors, including blue, green, black, and brown. When using this breed for developing new lines, breeders should take note of the glossy feathers and yellow legs.
How the Hatch Gamefowl Fights
Hatch gamefowls are smart and fast birds that also feature high stamina for prolonged fights. They can engage in short- and long-ranged fights and are best-known for wearing out their opponents in ground fights. Modern Hatches are even smarter, faster, and better than the previous iterations of this breed.
Breeders typically pair these birds with Kelsos, Sweaters, and Radios to transfer this breed’s endurance to those birds or transfer the Kelso’s agility, Sweater’s hardiness, and Radio’s agility and intelligence for evasions and counter-attacks.
Different Hatch Bloodlines
Hatches are now a basic gamefowl breed used by breeders to develop their own bloodlines. Some of the most well-known bloodlines of this bird are the following:
McLean Hatch
Ted McLean’s Hatches started out from dumb birds that only threw haymakers after receiving two or three hits, putting them at a disadvantage in cockfights when the opponent successfully maims the bird. Modern McLeans are currently fast-moving and high-flying birds that are far smarter than their predecessor birds and are now best used to produce stronger and more resilient game cocks like the Blueface.
Blueface Hatch
The Blueface originated from a throwaway McLean that Ted gave to a group of breeders, including Sweater McGinnis, as a brood cock for their hens. These breeders paired it with an old buff hen that is sickly-looking but managed to produce winning roosters for Ted. The resulting rooster for McGinnis was then used to mate with Madigan hens and Leiper Hatches and the offspring inherited the strange appearance of the rooster, which is an ugly blue face.
Modern Bluefaces are produced from the early versions crossed with Karl Bashara’s Shufflers and more from McGinnis’s bloodlines. These modern birds are great bucklers, deadly cutters, hard hitters, and aggressive finishers.
Leiper Hatch
Leiper Hatches originated from John E. Leiper’s experimentation with Leiper and different Hatch strains, resulting in a good fighting rooster breed. This breed is currently one of the most popular in the Philippines.
These birds have an average height, brownish feathers, and spiky green legs and are currently one of the most powerful bloodlines out there. This breed was even involved in the development of the Bluefaces. Today, this line is vital for the hybrid development of other gamefowl bloodlines and breeds.
Yellow Legged Hatch
Although Hatches typically have yellow legs, the Yellow Legged variation is a different line entirely. This bloodline keeps the complete Hatch phenotype. This is produced by crossing the Blueface variation, Whitehackle, and the Boston Roundhead.
Yellow Legs are one of the most popular Hatches in the Philippines today and are among the most circulated.
Are Hatches or Their Derivatives Good for Sabong?
Yes. Hatch gamefowls are great for cockfighting and have been developed for the sole purpose of winning fights. The Bluefaces and Yellow Legs are one of the best and are typically used to develop new local bloodlines to win in local competitions and compete in more official tourneys.
Breeders can also use this breed to further create exceptional fighters by pairing them with Sweaters, Radios, and Kelsos.
Conclusion
Hatch gamefowls are popular birds well-known for their versatility in cockpits and the fact that they’re great for developing new bloodlines. When betting through Sabong International’s cockpits, bettors should keep a look out for their featherless yellow legs, and potentially some blue faces, to place bets on them if the other bird isn’t known to be on par to them.
If you’re looking to breed your own Hatches, you’ll be able to find some Yellow Legs to start with.
