ODE TO ASILS - a wonderful breed of Chickens
DEFINITION OF ASEEL
"Aseel" is an Arabic word meaning "pure" or
"throughbred". The Aseel gamefowl breed might well be
3500 years old as cockfighting has been mentioned in an
Indian manuscript "Manusriti" of the same
antiquity.Probably descended from the Indian red Jungle
fowl it has been moulded through countless generations of
special selection, always on the same lines, into a
magnificent warrior.
What do Asils look like and where are they from? Well, Asils are the ancestors of the Cornish breed, so they look sort of like a more slender, athletic Cornish. The Asil developed in India as a fighting bird, but different than the English games--an Asil is like a boxer (versus a fencer) and is valued for stamina. They are heavy boned, heavy muscled, very hard feathered birds (bare breastbone), with somewhat of an upright carriage. The eyes are a sort of pearl white with a greenish tint and a heavy brow ridge (like a hawk). Both sexes have a small pea comb, but no wattles, and the sloping tail tends to fan horizontally rather than vertically. Hens are poor layers, but very tenacious setters, and will brood for months on end (I usually use Asils to hatch most of my babies as they are the most reliable). Asils are usually very tame and easy to handle, and one of mine ("Ana") is a particular pet that likes to follow me around looking for handouts.
The main drawback to the breed is that thay are pugnacious to an extreme--my hens have learned to leave each other alone, as my dog will interrupt fights, but two-month-old chicks will fight until their eyes swell shut and they can't stand up. "Gez" [the dog] tries to help, but she can only handle just so many at a time, and while she picks one up and carries it away, another couple will be going at it. Fortunately, they are also very hardy, and seldom cause fatalities when young. Are they a nuisance sometimes? Yes. Are they interesting and unique birds that I enjoy anyhow? Yes to that, too. I'll never have lots of them, but I'll always keep a few.
Contact Dr. Muhammad Ayub, MD. MPH at
ayub98516@gmail.com
360-489-2830
DEFINITION OF ASEEL
"Aseel" is an Arabic word meaning "pure" or
"throughbred". The Aseel gamefowl breed might well be
3500 years old as cockfighting has been mentioned in an
Indian manuscript "Manusriti" of the same
antiquity.Probably descended from the Indian red Jungle
fowl it has been moulded through countless generations of
special selection, always on the same lines, into a
magnificent warrior.
What do Asils look like and where are they from? Well, Asils are the ancestors of the Cornish breed, so they look sort of like a more slender, athletic Cornish. The Asil developed in India as a fighting bird, but different than the English games--an Asil is like a boxer (versus a fencer) and is valued for stamina. They are heavy boned, heavy muscled, very hard feathered birds (bare breastbone), with somewhat of an upright carriage. The eyes are a sort of pearl white with a greenish tint and a heavy brow ridge (like a hawk). Both sexes have a small pea comb, but no wattles, and the sloping tail tends to fan horizontally rather than vertically. Hens are poor layers, but very tenacious setters, and will brood for months on end (I usually use Asils to hatch most of my babies as they are the most reliable). Asils are usually very tame and easy to handle, and one of mine ("Ana") is a particular pet that likes to follow me around looking for handouts.
The main drawback to the breed is that thay are pugnacious to an extreme--my hens have learned to leave each other alone, as my dog will interrupt fights, but two-month-old chicks will fight until their eyes swell shut and they can't stand up. "Gez" [the dog] tries to help, but she can only handle just so many at a time, and while she picks one up and carries it away, another couple will be going at it. Fortunately, they are also very hardy, and seldom cause fatalities when young. Are they a nuisance sometimes? Yes. Are they interesting and unique birds that I enjoy anyhow? Yes to that, too. I'll never have lots of them, but I'll always keep a few.
Contact Dr. Muhammad Ayub, MD. MPH at
ayub98516@gmail.com
360-489-2830
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