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The Asil or Aseel is a breed of chicken originating from South Punjab/ Sindh area of Pakistan and India. Similar fowl are found throughout Southeast Asia and have names like Shamo, Taiwan, etc.

A Reza Asil cock and two hens

Description and history [edit]

Asils were first used for cock fighting and may be considered fighting cocks. Aseel is noted for its pugnacity. The chicks often fight when they are just a few weeks old and mature roosters will fight to the death. Hens can also be very aggressive towards each other.

Towards humans Asil are generally very tame and trusting. There are anecdotes where they have come to their keepers for other things than food, for example to get the keeper to open the door to the coop so they can get to roost.^[1]

The hens are not good layers, but are excellent sitters. Laying depends on the Asil variety, the small Asil are known to be very poor layers, sometimes laying just 6 eggs a year, whereas larger Asil can lay around 40 eggs a year.

In the U.S., the breed is on the "Watchlist" (2012), by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The Aseel breed is found in almost all states of India, but abundant in Andhra Pradesh.

Varieties [edit]

Portrait of Kulang Asil rooster head

There are many varieties of Asil, some are standardized for shows such as the Reza Asil in the UK, some are simply named after the area where they are bred such as the Mianwali Asil from Pakistan or the colour, red/wheaten Asil are generally known as "Sonatol".

There are also hen-feathered Asil knows as "Madaroo" these are found in various colours, but the cocks come with feathers in hen colour, don't have sickle feathers in the tails and miss the large hanging feathers on the saddle. This variety is very rare.

Asil with feather beards under their beaks known as "muffed" and with tufts on the top of their heads known as "tasseled" are also seen, but are very rare especially outside India/Pakistan.

Bhaingam Asil variety have a have a large single comb but confirm to all the other Asil standards.

Broadly speaking, Asil in Europe are categorized and shown under these three types:

MADRAS ASIL,,

is from the southern state of Tamil Nadu and is called locally Kattu Seval or the fighting bird. These birds are big and strong. Madras Asil is the first fighting chicken in history. They seem to have been taken by the Tamil people to various parts of south Asia including Thailand and China. Madras Asils comes in two varieties, one medium height but heavier and the other`s very big and muscular. They can get up to 32" tall and the main colours are black,red,grey,blue and green.

Reza Asil

Height: Up to 50 cms tall. Weight: Maximum weight for the hens is 1.8 kg, max weight for the cocks is 2.7 kg.

This type is standardized by the Asian Hardfeather Society in the UK and is seen at shows throughout the UK, but is quite rare.

This group of Asil reached worldwide popularity due to books and articles written by gamefowl experts such as Herbert Atkinson, Siran and Paul Deraniyagala from Sri Lanka and Carlos Finsterbusch from Chile. The Reza Asil family according the old (Western) gamefowl literature is subdivided into following strains: (Amir) Ghan (Dark-Red), Sonatol(Light-Red), (Siyah) Rampur(Black), Kalkatiya (Kaptan)(Speckled-Reds) and Jawa(Duckwing). All these strains are identified by their specific color, these colors do not necessarily correspond with the area where the birds come from.

In colonial times other colors such as whites, spangles, golden etc. were regarded as inferior. At present day the "classic" strains and names given mentioned by Atkinson are more or less forgotten. The native people in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka only know the Reza-type Asil by their local names.

Kulang Asil

Height: Up to 75 cms tall. Weight: 5 to 7 kg.

The large Asil are divided into sub-varieties : North Indian, South Indian and Madras type. The North and South Indian varieties don't differ much. Only type of comb, shape of the beak and body shape are different. For example : Northern type = slender, Southern type = heavier build. The Madras Asil however is significantly different. They have a lower station, are heavier build and stronger boned. These birds often come in a bluish colour. This variety is found in the deep south of India, the Tamil Nadu state.

Sindhi Aseel

It is one of the tallest and biggest breed of Asils. Main colours are red and blue. They are mostly fought in the Sindh area of Pakistan. These aseels have good endurance and usually their fights last longer than Mianwali Aseels.

Mianwali

This breed is mainly found in Mianwali district of Pakistan. However since its arrival, this breed has risen to popularity in Pakistan, currently the primary game breed used in the pits also preferred by gamblers. It is smaller compared to Sindhi aseels weighing between 1.5 to 3.5 kg depending on the preference of breeders. It is much faster and a better head hitter usually comes in small to medium height. A good Mianwali aseel should kill its opponent within a few minutes. They have been known to kill bigger roosters because of their speed and accuracy. They come in various colors such as Java(duckwing), Lakha (reddish), black and various others depending on the combination used in breeding. Very hard and a brave fighter with attitude to inspire, excellent in naked heels and metal spurs. There are many sub breeds of this breed owing to the combination used in breeding. A good tested Mianwali rooster would usually have offspring of a similar quality. Typical description would be small curved beak, strong joints, pearl/white/yellow eye color, short crow, small comb and do not have heavy body structure. May look smaller than other breeds but is excellent spurer.

Jawa Aseel Java aseel is one of the most used and best fighter cock in Pakistan/India. It is mainly found in Punjab region, it's orign was from Mianwali district, jawa aseel is recognized by his black and white colour.

Amroha

This is a rare breed of Aseel used in Pakistan and India. Very few of these roosters exist in their pure form. They are known to be small to medium like Mianwali. It is also known that they are champion of naked heel fighting. In simple, it is a fantasy of most aseel breeders in Pakistan.

Bantam Asil Weight: Up to 0.75 kg.

Bantam Asil have been created at the end of the 19th century by an English breeder named William Flamank Entwisle. The breed got very popular after its creation but after a couple of decades interest in this variety slowly died out. Until the beginning of the 1980s nothing was heard about these little Asil. A Belgian breeder named Willy Coppens created them again using Shamo (chicken), Indian Game and Reza Asil. The breed was also introduced again in Holland and United Kingdom. At present day Bantam Asil are quite popular and they are bred in various colors.

Footnotes [edit]

References [edit]

• Oriental Gamefowl, Horst W. Schmudde, Authorhouse, ISBN 1-4208-7681-3
• The complete encyclopedia of chickens, Esther Verhoef & Aad Rijs, Rebo International, ISBN 90-366-1592-5
• "The Aseel (or Asil)". The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities. 
• "Aseel". mypetchicken.com. 
• "International World of Asil". 

External links [edit]

• Asil Club