asil

Asil History
"Asil" is an Arabic word meaning "pure" or "thoroughbred, and is also spelled 'Aseel'. It is a very old game breed from the INDIA/PAKISTAN area and has been bred there as a game bird for many centuries, specifically for its aggressive behaviour. The Asil gamefowl breed might well be 3,500 years old as cockfighting has been mentioned in the Indian law, religion and philosophy manuscript "Manusriti" of that date; and in one of India's oldest manuscripts the "Dharmastrastra Manu, a classic work on law, order and ethics dating back to 1,500 B.C the first remarks about them were recorded. The breed was popular with the rulers of India (Mughal emperors & some Nawabs of states in India). They established the Asil for gaming and also developed their beauty. It is recognised as the oldest established breed of gamefowl, and this family of birds is a large one with many regional variations in size and type. Asil were developed primarily as a fighting bird, and this aspect of their development has had an overpowering influence on the breed's structure, constitution, and temperament as well as influencing its role in the development of more modern breeds. They are also known for their intelligent defensive and tactical thinking to keep power for long times in a endurance fight. The oldest evidence of organized cockfighting (based on archeological finds) has been found in the Indus valley (today Pakistan but Indian territory till 1947). The breed is difficult to keep due to these aggressive tendencies.


SAAB VIPER ASIL

This is how the Saab Viper Aseels were bred as from Mr. Nasser Saab that he sent to me back in 2008...

Saab Viper Asil Breeding History

Hello again Chris, ok in 1994 I bred a very game tested cock to a very game tested hen, both had very similar qualities but I liked the cock more. This bird had all the points I was looking for in an aseel. You see it is all about the breeder's personal preference. This cock had square shanks, very tight feathers, etc... These are qualities I liked. This first breeding produce seven chicks (F1’s) and they all came very similar to the father, after the chicks matured I tested the pullets and the stags then kept one pullet (F1) that had everything I was looking for in a brood hen. She was very game, aggressive, thick beak and black spurs and also after testing the stags (F1) I kept the best one that looked just like the father. I never since then used the original hen. I took the daughter (F1) and bred back to her father and then out that breeding I kept the best hen (F2) and then used the stag (F1) that I had saved from the original breeding and bred to the hen (F2) I saved from the second breeding and so on. I hope this helps if you need more info Please let me know. Happy New Year.

Hello Chris, happy new year to you and yours also.

Out of the off spring of pullet (F2) and stag (F1) I saved some of the best pullets (F3) and bred back to the original cock and saved one stag (F4) and bred back to pullet (F1). From that point I felt that I made a family with basically the male line and female line and started breeding cousins (F5) and every now and then I would take one of the of springs and go back to original cock or to pullet (F1). I never bred brother to sister.

Best regards,

Nasser

story of vizzards

pareng rod,you`ll love reading this story.

ORIENTALS

I probably have had more first hand experience, or a least observtion, of Oriental grades than anyone now living. I am forty five - forty six next February - and my first recollection of anything wearing feathers, started with Aseel grades and pure Aseels or McCoy Jungle as they were then called, at the time the Graves Aseel (Atkinson blood), Rossiter Aseel and a couple of other families were in existence. There were bitter argument between oriental fanciers as to the relative merits and gameness of the Akinson or Graves Aseel, the McCoy Jungle, the Shamo (large) Jap, the Tuzo (small) Jap. My father have scant patience with theoretical arguments, and bought out about every Aseel or Jap man of his day, or at least procure some of the blood, graded it on various American families in halves, quarters, eights, and three eights and through the years he and I fought hundreds of pure and graded orientals in our back yard in 1 1/4 peg awls. He also corresponded with or was visited by most of the oriental fanciers of his day, such as Anthony Greene, etc. After a few years Dad said that all the birds of moderate size were Aseels, and the distinction between Aseels, Japs, and Jungle disappeared. We found that there were good and bad families of Oriental fowl, and aside from great power and toughness, more mediocre ones than otherwise. Anyone who says there are no game Aseels, however, just hastn't seen enough grades to know all the answers. We found that all of the McCoy Aseels were game in the sense of taking their death and claiming viciously while being punished. But McCoy receive three importations and they were not as uniform as Whitehackles and Warhorses -- All were Aseels after first importation of bantam "Jungle Fowl" but different types. Some threw grades that would break a cock to pieces with a couple of licks, and then loaf and fall to finish and be counted out in the old California rules under which opposing pitters counted on the other cock. By selection from about three individuals my father was able to carry a line of Aseels from which pure ones will hammer a dead cock as long a he is left lying. Even theses may occassionally throw poor finishers, but I have seen a lot of modern pit cocks that were not too hot on a down cock.

Incidentally Anthony Greene told Dad in my presence that his best grades came from a medium sized black hen that was almost identical with our "Blackie" aseel hen at whom they were looking at the time. He got her from a Jap skipper who came up on ship to Sacramento - so called them Japs. His best grades were a mixture of this hen with Shawl and Muholland Grey. By coincidence the Aseel Grades bred by us as a family, and now linebred for over thirty two years, was a blend of Aseel-Shawl-and Mahoney Commodore and Gull, which apparently would be very similar to the Muholland Greys.

At that time the Blackie Jungle or Aseel fowl had become well known in the Pacific Northwest in the hands of Jule Snider to whom Dad gave some. They were smaller and finer than most Aseels as they were 7/8 and 15/16 of the old Blackie hen. The pure ones could move as well as the average peg awl cocks of that day. Snider graded them on his Bacon Warhorse, but his best grades were Aseel and Mahoney graded on Warhorse. Meanwhile Nicholsen Grim, Fullerton and Leonard were raising the Jungle-Shawl that became famous in the Orland tournaments. They were out of medium sized Grey McCoy Aseels (The Hagenback and three-hundred Rupee cocks) that a local man procured from my father and sent to Grim to breed.

At that time Nicholsen was sending a lot of Jap-Clairbornes from the Northwest. They varied in gameness and ability. The early ones appeared dead game and were hard to whip. The later ones were not always so game but still hard to whip. This opinion is based only on fowl sent to this part of the state, and some were bred here by customers of Nicholsen.

Meanwhile Ed Williams of this vicinity (he died 30 odd years ago) was winning main after main against Whitehackle fowl used by San Francisco parties. They fought in 1 1/4 heels for stakes that were mighty big for those days and for our locality. he used a lot of Jap-Shawls, from medium sized red oriental fowl. He actually used more of my father's grades from the McCoy Aseel, but to the crowd they were Ed's Japs, as they looked a lot alike, expcept for color, as his were bright reds, ours mostly Greys. Fowl almost identical with these Ed Williams Japs (and I believe from the same source) have been used with tremendous success by a lad north of here for several years. He has whipped plenty of so-called major circuit fowl and has whipped me in a little main last season. All the ones I have seen have acted mighty game but I have met only his peak cocks at the peak of the season.

A lot of self-appointed experts claim that Aseel-grades cannot be inbred or linebred. I know of several families that carry 1/8 and 3/16 Aseel that have been carried along for better than 20 years and seem to hold up. Of course any cross presents a problem for inbreeding, and an oriental cross presents a more radical problem than the average cross. Actually the successfully inbred oriental blends go strongly to the American side and while tough and strong, do not seem to preserve the animal-like power of the winning oriental grades. Our Greys, tho 3/16 Aseel, can be crossed directly over straight Aseels, and throw finer and better plumaged birds than many Aseel crosses over reputedly straight American fowl that have not been deeply inbred.

Our experience was that the best average result was a 1/4 blood secured from breeding Aseel cock over the American hen. And then breed the half blood daughters to an American cock of some different American family. The best American fowl for grades seem to be families that hit straight and spar rather than the rolling shuffling type. Using Aseel over Gilkerson Whitehackle and going back on Shawl or vice-versa often gives good results. But successful grading is more a matter of individuals than families. For example one starting with good game aseel blood - slow but not biters, and say an inbred family of Shawl, Calirborne, Mahoney etc., will find that the majority of his crosses will be tough game cocks that are hard game in brush hacks but not necessarily big league fowl. And in each mating the level of ability will tend to be uniform. Then some certain hen or cock of either side, or a certain hen and cock in each side will nick. Such a nick will probably throw consistently high quality in cocks, and when you get such a blend you seldom improve on the half-bloods by cutting down to quarters. But a full brother to the father and full sister to the mother my produce only fair, or even mediocre cocks.

In my opinion the beginner who must keep his fowl in small quarters and who will take the edge off nervous fowl by awkward handling, etc., and who fights in average company, will do better with Aseel grades that with many other type of fowl. He probably would not stay with any family for any length of time anyhow. In fact very few men do. Start them with good fowl and they try to gild the rose by crossing, and end up nowhere. If a man gets some good Aseel, he should get several kinds of American fowl and try several crosses by fighting the stags and eating all pullets. When and if he gets a good nick he sould try to get more of the same American blood, discard the other American hens, and ascertain if he has found some American family that blends well with oriental. Over the years I have seen few disappointments in using Gilkerson and Morgan Whitehackleson Aseel and have seen few succeed too well Sids, Gordons, Mugs or Warhorse over Aseel. Starting with good families ou have a pretty good chance to get superior Hatch-Clarets or Claret-Roundheads for example but good Aseel-Shawls or Aseel-Whitehackles depend on trial and error with individual brood stock. And when one hits on a good mating, stick with it, and experiment just a little in hopes of hitting another one. Thus the Aseel man has about as good a chance to get average fair fowl, as the miscellaneous crosser who comprises about 90 percent of the fraternity.

Furthermore, Aseel grades will probably do better in a hot climate rather than a cold climate. We stayed with them because a shot of oriental means strong thrifty chicks, and fowl that don't wilt when it begins to warm up to a hundred plus in March and April. My father probably fought more oriental grades and blends and with greater success than any other man in the history of cocking, but his ideal fowl were Morgan Whitehackles. He loved them but the chicks just wilted away in our desert heat. He always maintained that if he had continued to live east of the Rockies that he would have used one of the old eastern families. Eventually he ended up with own family, built on eastern peg awl blood with enough oriental to withstand the heat and give some additional power, plus a dash of Shawl when he had to speed them up for long heel competition some thirty years ago. He had a sixth sense in selecting brood fowl so perhaps his case is the exception. The point I wish to make however, is that the man who will cross fowl from year to year anyhow, and fights for a few dollars in average company, can probably do as well and often better, with oriental grades than with big name fowl that he can't walk, condition, or pit like their owners do.

Hoping this may give a space filler in the future, but will be just as happy if it his the waste basket.

----JIM VIZZARD

Cocker's Gazette, issue no. 44, 1988