Breeding gamecocks is a venture that requires a lot of understanding, patience, and organization. One of the most important aspects is to keep track of their offspring.
The breeding record of a gamecock is done using a system of binary numbers as well as punch marking methods to distinguish birds from one another. Here’s how you can extend gamecock markings.
Ways to Extend Gamecock Markings
Many individuals breed gamecocks to ensure that they keep the bloodline and the traits needed to make them suitable fighters. Breeding fighting roosters doesn’t just mean having a hen lay the eggs and pick which chick to nurture to become a fighter in the pit.
When someone breeds gamecocks, they need to keep an accurate record of the chick’s ancestry as well as take note of the identity of the game fowls that produced it. By keeping a record, it will be easy to identify which birds to continue breeding with or to stop if it did not inherit the characteristics needed to make it a winning gamecock.
The easiest way to mark gamecocks is to use binary numbers. These numbers are primarily used due to their ease of recall as well as the completeness of possible permutations. Basic punch marking is done alongside binary numbers as these marks are used to assign the values to the numbers. Two types of basic markings exist: nose and toe markings.
When nose marking a bird, a small hole is punched on one side of the nose of a day-old chick. Toe punching is done by putting a hole in the web between the toes of day-old chicks as the webbing of their foot is still tender.
If you use nose markings, your basic binary number values could be 0 for no nose mark and 1 for a nose mark. The total permutations of basic nose and foot web markings are equal to 64 markings.
However, if you wish to extend your brood, the basic markings won’t be adequate. Additional nose and toe markings are then used to identify a larger number of chicks. Aside from the basic nose slit, nose removal, where a piece of flap from either side or both sides of the nose of a chick, is used. For toe punches, the holes are then done in an alternating or inside-out manner.
These additional markings are then denoted by letters that represent the side where the marking was done. For example, marking the outer left toe and outer right toe of a chick is denoted using the letters LORO. Paired with the binary numbers, the extended marking permutations equal to 729 markings.
Final Note
Gamecock markings are used by breeders to easily and accurately identify offspring. These markers help breeders decide which bloodlines to continue and which to stop. They need to be meticulously recorded in order to ensure that you can tell them apart, trace their origins, see which characteristics they inherited, and find out if they are suited for the fighting pit.
