Colonel Madigan's Claret was by far the best perfected Claret fowl ever created. Two great fellow cockers have kept the bird what it should be. According to cocker lore, the original Clarets were bred by accident. Colonel Madigan was a racehorse person and he turned some hens loose to walk with the rooster at his horse barn so the first Madigan Clarets may have been yard bred. Some say there is Whitehackle blood in the original bloodline to give them their speed and power.
Juan Garza originated this fowl with his father from Mexico and from this cross they created a type of fowl that dominated Texas for over half a century. During this time they developed a gamecock which no other fowl could compete with in any derby which was a Roundhead, Claret, and Kelso called their 3-way.
The “old-timers” are dark red, some are spangled and come pearl legged and black spurred and they fit the profile of what Colonel Madigan established as his Claret gamefowl. Their legs are very wide a part from one another and because of this they do very good in any competition.
Both
the Madigan Claret from Wallace and Garza are a perfect match of pure
stains that have been vigorously culled and improved for several
generations. The Clarets come from two breeders and have pearl
legs and black spurs the two families both have won over 85% with
these birds in major competition.
Clarets will improve any breeding program.
Gamefowl
breeders of the Old Guard are raised on the premise that if a rooster
can't fight and win as pure
stock, they can't fight even if they are crossed. Most breeder who
keep the bloodline keep their clarets pure. Because of the philosophy
that keeping a strain pure will let you know if they are still any good
in the pit and as base for crosses.
After 60 odd years with fighting Clarets in the pit everywhere in the world, if they weren't winning gamefowl they
wouldn\'t still be around.
Phenotype
Clarets
are mostly straight combs,
black breasted and wine red in color. They also possess wings and tails
that have white streaks and usually white legged. While having a broad
back and compact built, their weight ranges from 1.9 to 2.3 kilos.
Clarets are high stationed roosters, have heavy feathers that are dark
red wine in
color, are pearl legged and black spurred. These have big heads with
white
streamers in the tail with no other white anywhere.
