By D.H. Pierce
It may be well to state first: That in conditioning cocks for the pit, no single rule or method can be practiced with satisfactory result to all cocks to be conditioned.
Some cocks are brought in very fat, other thin, and still others in good medium flesh. These last mentioned are the easiest and most satisfactory to condition.
All must be treated according to their respective condition, hence forethought, reason and good judgment is absolutely necessary.
A fat cock must be more thoroughly cleaned out, given less food, necessarily less water and more work than a cock which comes from his walk in medium flesh, while a thin cock should be treated just the reverse.
My advice is: that if a cock is to be fought for large stakes, which comes from his walk very fat or very thin, never undertake to condition him in the length of time required by this rule - which is twelve days.
CONDITIONING QUARTERS
Good, comfortable, dry quarters, well ventilated, with plenty of light, should be procured in which to condition.
Your conditioning coops should be neat and clean, and all cocks to be conditioned should be placed in the conditioning coops the same day; during the evening of this day I saw off their heels, the length of the stub left depending upon the length of socket on the heel which is to be used; in case the stub should billed, apply a red hot iron, which will immediately stop the blood.
Dust all cocks with Persian Insect Powder to free them of vermin. This powder can be procured at all drug stores.
Provide yourself with a well padded work bench about six to eight feet long and at least two feet wide. A suitable piece of cardboard should also be procured on which to register the number of each cock; it should be placed directly in front of your scales. All cocks should be weighed on the evening of the first day; their weight registered on this card and each day thereafter; after each has been worked and before he has been fed in the evening he should be weighed and his weight registered. By so doing you know the exact weight of each cock, each day, whether he gains or loses, and how much.
I have always considered it harmful to physic cocks as most conditioners think is necessary at the beginning, and my only way and method of cleaning them out preparatory to getting them in shape is by feeding them boiled oats. These act as food and will also loosen the bowels sufficiently for every purpose desired. We must not physic, starve or in any way weaken our fowl at the start, but keep them strong at all times, and by careful work and feeding gradually obtain the desired results.
Our object is to remove the fat from the intestines. Work removes the fat from the surface and hardens the flesh, but a cock to be in the best possible condition should be free of inward fat; this can only be removed by careful feeding.
The first couple of days should be devoted to handling and taming them; they should all be taken from their coops morning, noon and night, handled carefully and gently, giving each a few tosses, say from ten to fifteen each, and as many runs.
FIRST DAY: Give them all a good heaping wineglassful of boiled oats for breakfast; take them all out of the coops and handle them carefully and gently on the running board, giving each a few tosses and runs to teach them what they are expected to do. I work them three times a day during the winter months, beginning in the morning between 6 and 6:30, again about 1 p.m., and in the evening between 7 and 7:30.
For the evening feed of the first day I give half oats and half barley, boiled same as the oats were for the morning feed.
SECOND DAY: Give the same kind of food and about the same amount; handle them in the morning, again at noon and again in the evening, but give them just a trifle more work than you did the first day. They should have whatever water they may want to drink during both of these days.
THIRD DAY: I start regular work, giving each from fifteen to twenty flirts and as many runs; all the coops should be thoroughly cleaned, refilling each with clean, dry straw, and for breakfast I feed them a mixture of dry oats, wheat and cracked corn mixed with the whites of hard boiled eggs about as follows: 1/2 oats, 1/4 wheat and 1/4 cracked corn. I use the white of one boiled egg to mix with the food required by every three cocks. Beginning on this day I water the cocks three times each day, a few dips after their morning meal, four or five dips after the work out at noon, and again in the evening I give them four or five dips each after they have been worked, weighed and fed.
After you have cleaned out your conditioning coops nicely on this day, you should also clean up your cocks - wash their legs and feet with warm water and soap, wipe them dry, and apply a little sweet oil to their joints to soften them. It if well to add a little turpentine to the oil you use, it dries better, cleans up their heads nicely, and use just a little of this oil, and turpentine there also. It makes them look rosy and fine, seems to freshen them up, and it surely limbers up their joints. This should be done every two or three days, and especially just the day before you fight them, or better still on the morning of the day you fight them.
After the third day their food consists chiefly of the following grain mixed as follws:
Two-sixths cracked corn
One-sixth oats
One-sixth wheat
One-sixth barley
One-sixth kaffir corn mixed with the white of hard boiled eggs (in the same proportion stated above).
I feed them only twice a day, in the morning directly after all been worked, and in the evening after all have been worked and weighed.
Good judgment and careful thought must be exercised at all times in working, feeding and watering; some require more work than others some more food than others, some more water than others, etc. The amount of work given each cock must be determined by your best judgment. A small cock usually requires less work than a large one, one quite heavy in flesh requires more work, less food and a trifle more water than one that may be in good medium flesh. A cock given too little water will get feverish and will not digest his food well. Always watch out for this trouble. When a cock gets feverish he is apt to act dumpish. You can tell whether he has fever or not by feeling his head or knee joints, they will be very warm. A cock in this condition is not fit to be pitted. A drop of nitre, however, in his water at the noon hour will generally overcome this trouble; but give him a trifle more water until his fever subsides.
FOURTH DAY: I give the same amount of work as I did on the third day; his food from this time on should consist of the mixture given above.
FIFTH DAY: Increase their work a little so that by this time you are giving them from 20 to 25 flirts apiece and as many runs. Beginning this day I do what I call "LUNCH MY COCKS." After the cocks have all been worked at noon I go the rounds of each stall giving each cock a small piece of lean, raw beef, or a few bites of a good tart apple, occasionally a little green food of some kind, such as lettuce, or anything which will sharpen up their appetite and make them feel snappy.
By this time you should have prepared a good scratch coop or two in which should be thrown some dirt and grit, also a considerable quantity of straw, and from this time on each day your cocks should be thrown out into these scratch pens for from fifteen to thirty minutes each so that they may scratch and exercise and obtain sufficient grit to digest their food properly. Do not forget that at all times it is necessary to keep your cocks supplied with grit and gravel in order to digest their food.
SIXTH AND SEVENTH DAYS: I work and feed the same as I did on the fifth day.
EIGHTH DAY: I again increase their work a little so that by this time I am giving them from 25 to 25 flirts and as many runs, which is the maximum amount of work given a cock at any one time, unless he happens to be a cock very heavy in flesh in which event I might give a little more as my judgment deemed best. But I never work a cock until he is very much fatigued.
NINTH, TENTH AND ELEVENTH DAYS: I work and feed the same as I did on the eighth day instead of working the cocks as usual, I match them as nearly equal as possible in weight, muff and spar them one or two very short pitting. This is done not only to determine your better cocks and those desired for main use in case a main is to be fought, but also to teach them score quickly.
On the eleventh day I watch their bowels closely and should any be inclined to be loose I reduce the amount of water allowed them just a bit. Sponge and oil up their heads and legs a little on this day so that they will be feeling supple and fresh for the twelfth day or day of battle.
TWELTH OR LAST DAY: Do not work them. Let them rest; they will probably gain just a trifle in weight, which is a good indication that they are in good health and feeling fine. If you have not already done so, sponge and oil up their heads and legs just a bit, so that they will be feeling supple and fresh for their battle.
I give them their usual morning feed, but only half their usual amount of water, should the hour of fighting be reasonably early, I give them a very little more to eat about 2 p.m.; but if the hour of fighting is late each should receive about half their regular amount of food about 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
It is well to keep the conditioning room darkened during the afternoon of the fight, that they may rest and feel wide awake during the evening hours.
I prefer to have a cock have a small bit of food in his crop just previous to fighting him, than to have him perfectly empty and exceedingly hungry.
If you have used fairly good judgment your cocks should now be in pretty good shape and able to give a good account of themselves; but be careful when heeling them that some unmindful person does not injure your cock's eyesight by holding a bright light too close to his eyes. After heeled, give him two or three tosses, rub the muscles of his legs a bit, and after entering the pit always endeavor to keep his attention on his opponent. The moment the referee says "Let Go," deliver your cock - a quick delivery oftentimes wins a fight at the start. Never push your cock; first, it is unfair, and secondly, it puts you to a disadvantage, as it unbalances him and it usually requires a second or two for him to regain his equilibrium.
Trusting that this information will benefit those desiring it,
D.H. Pierce, Appleton, Wis.
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