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.
Similar to Asils are Sadal (called Malay in Europe). This is a very large breed of chicken from Pakistan and India. They have longer legs with thin thighs and little wattles with pea-combs. The difference between the two is that Sadal are not game (do not fight), and Asil do.
Asils were first used for cock fighting. 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 listed as Critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Aseel breed is found in almost all states of India, but abundant in Andhra Pradesh.
Breed Standard
The Asil has a distinctive upright stance, drooping tail, and well-defined musculature.asils are good fighters The color ranges from white to black with black breasted red being the most common.
Asil head
The ideal Asil head is more or less round-shaped and broad, the eyes pearl white and protected by protuberant eyebrows and cheekbones, a small low set pea or walnut comb (except the single-combed Bihangham variety) with a relative short and thick beak. The color of the face is generally red. Asil with a dark-colored face are seen on South Indian Asil. Wattles should be absent. Only rudimentary presence is allowed.
Asil comb types
Asil show a variation in comb types and beak shapes. In generally we can say that North Indian Asil types such as the Reza Asil have (triple) pea combs only. The South Indian varieties such as the Malay and the Madras Asil show (triple) pea combs as well as walnut combs. Comb colour is red. Some varieties such as the Bihangham carry a single comb due to a throw back to the red jungle fowl, however these type of Asil are uncommon even in their homeland.
Wattles
Wattles should be small to absent, absent is preferred.
Asil beak types
The smaller the comb the better on Asil. North Indian type Asil have (triple) pea combs and a fairly large beak with the shape similar to an eagle. The birds from Southern India generally show a short but massive triangle shaped beak. Beak colour is ivory white. Reddish yellow colour is also acceptable.
Asil eyes
Original asils have blue colour eyes when young and may turn pearl-white when grown up. Red or orange-colored eyes are rear depending on the breed. Pale yellow-colored eyes can be seen in young birds which lighten with age into a pearl-white colour. Sometimes pearl-white colored eyes are seen showing tiny blood veins running in the eyes, so called "bloodshot" eyes. In some areas these are regarded as a sign of vitality.
Asil legs
Leg colour is ivory white. Black legs are acceptable for black colour Asils. The other main leg colors within the Asil breed are pale,grey and white,black, though they are considered inferior. The dark-colored leg colors are generally seen on the South Indian Asil. Some Asil show very rough scales pointing a little bit outwards. one the ways you recognise a asil(aseel) is by the legs if they are yellow it means there not pure aseel. what they could be is a shamo,taiwaan or other game birds.
Asil body description
The Asil should have broad shoulders and wings are carried against the body. The body of an Asil is very muscular but also compact.
Varieties
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 madras asils a very big and muscular. They can get up to 32 inches 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 breed
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. With the arrival of Mianwali they have started to disappear from the fights.
Mianwali breed
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 with in 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.
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.
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