Gamecock

A gamecock or game fowl is a type of rooster with physical and behavioral traits suitable for cockfighting. The first use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a “game”, a sport, pastime or entertainment, being in 1646. after the term “cock of the game” used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the secular sport of cockfighting in The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. Game fowl are more closely related to their wild cousins "jungle fowl"; a shy wild chicken from forests in South Central and Southeastern Asia. Game fowl are physically more similar to jungle fowl than domestic chickens and are bred to retain these physical attributes as well as the jungle fowl's natural territorial instinct. This instinct among sexually mature males is the driving force behind their desire to dominate (and eliminate) other males that would compete for breeding rights in their territory. Hens also will often have an above average need for territorial dominance. In some bloodlines the hens must be kept separate, just as with the cocks. Domesticated chickens – in contrast – have been bred over many generations to cohabitate on farms or other smaller pieces of land. Because of this change in environment, the aggressive attributes found in wild chickens (and modern game fowl) are not desirable for farm life. The "gameness" or fighting spirit has been bred out of domestic chickens. Domestic chickens are primarily bred for egg and meat production.