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Match report of Irish staffordshire bull terrier champion Psycho versus English bull terrier champion Stormer (historical interest). .
Hybrid vigour (heterosis) as related to game dogs (battle crosses) and working dogs.
indigenous pit dogs of the British Isles.
If anyone doubts the size of a Taiwan look at this bird. I am 6ft 2 inches and 200 pounds. Compare the bird to myself to get an idea.
Taiwan (Formosan) fighting cocks known to most as just "Taiwans" are originated from Vietnamese, Thai, Malay and Japanese birds. They probably also contain genes from mainland China as well. Many cockers say that Taiwans are among the best cocks in the world in terms of fight endurance & power their weak point is their slight lack of speed. Although smaller Taiwans have been developed with faster speed while retaining endurance. Taiwans are naked heel fighters. They can fight for a very long time and are very large birds making them powerful. Taiwans come in a variety of shapes sizes and colors. Remember that Taiwan's are derived from Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Malay fighting birds (they have a lot of variety). Shown below is a variety of birds taken in Taiwan 2007 and 2008 by me Doug Link. These pictures are fairly rare as I was the first foreigner (Westerner) to be admitted to the Lai family farm and certainly the first to see these in their homeland.
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Doug Link with the son of Mr Lai 2007. Lai is one of the most famous Taiwan cocking families. These are some of his smaller birds designed or fighting abroad. Birds like these have fought well in such places as Thailand and is not the type seen in Europe where breeders prefer the larger birds. Mr Lai's son face is covered for obvious reasons. Mine is not as I do not fight any animals and never will.
This is what is known as a standard Taiwan by most people
and the only type seen outside Taiwan. The UK breeders love this type.
However there are other types such as my favorite below.
A different type of Taiwan. These ones are a line from this farm and have not been seen outside Taiwan before. Beautiful bird indeed.
Not forgetting the ladies! A Taiwan Hen and a very good producer
There has been some confusion as to what exactly is a Taiwan. Therefore I asked the Lai family who have the longest line of Taiwans in terms of generations in Taiwan. This is what they told me and I translate
"A Taiwan is a fighting rooster that has been bred for many generations in Taiwan. There is no standard for the Taiwan and rightly and they are a varied group." However there are a select group of western breeders especially in the UK that have been breeding Taiwans to a more fixed type around 30 years. It is also said by some that these are as good in the pit or maybe even better than the Taiwans in Taiwan at pit fighting. Personally I don't care for the fighting part so they can compete amongst themselves. However as far as beauty and health so far I have only seen birds in the UK that appear on the level or approaching the level to birds in Taiwan itself.
If you are interested in looking for or buying a Taiwan it is best that you understand the line it is coming from rather than just buying something with the name Taiwan. It is sometimes incorrectly assumed by some breeders that Taiwan fall into such categories as Shamo type or Malay type etc The truth is unfortunately far more complex than this. Taiwan is a highly diverse culture having many different ethnics groups going back hundreds and sometimes even thousands of years. Since the 1960's many Taiwans in Taiwan have had an infusion of Shamo blood. So the Japanese influence on Taiwans is also substantial. Every area has its own variety so there are many differences sometimes not seen in other so called "pure" varieties.
There is one reason I love the Taiwan Game Cock more than any other and that is their gentleness and fondness of humans. Surprisingly enough they really do make wonderful pets. It is for this reason that I dislike to hear of them getting hurt in fights. If you ask any breeder as to why he loves Taiwans and nearly all will say because of their friendliness and intelligence. They are truly a wonderful breed of game fowl.