When you search for the meaning of “Texas chicken” on Google, you will be provided with tons of fried chicken from Texas. If you are a cockfighter living in Manila or any part of Luzon and are looking for a gamefowl to buy, you just used the wrong keyword.
Texas gamefowl meaning in cockfighting vocabulary
In the Philippines where cockfighting is a multi-billion dollar industry, Filipinos especially in Tagalog-speaking provinces in Luzon refer gamefowl to as Texas or teksas. The local term is “manok panabong”, “panabong na manok”, or just “panabong”. However, in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, this is not the case. Texas is seldom used. Locals call gamefowl “inog-bulang” in Ilonggo/Hiligaynon or “manok pang bulang” in Cebuano. “Bulang” has two meaning in Hiligaynon (1). cockfight or sabong (2.) gaffe or tari. In short, Texas is not a chicken breed.
Origin of the term “texas chicken” in cockfighting
Texas always referred to red junglefowl but is also used in all types of gamefowls. There is no documented history of why this term is being used to refer to gamefowls in the Philippines but the following is the best possible theory.
Many of the first American breeders that are known today were from Texas. These include but are not limited to Bobby Joe Manziel, Sr., Walter Kelso, Cecil Davis (Red Kelso), Sweater McGinnis (Sweater), and Harold Brown (McLean Hatch).
Bobby Joe Manziel Sr. was one of the very first Americans to export gamecocks and breeders to the Philippines and he was from Gatesville, Texas. Other names on the list all become popular bloodlines especially Kelso, Hatch, and Sweater which all originated from Texas.
Since early Filipino cockfighters had difficulty memorizing the bloodlines, they just called all imported gamefowls from the US “teksas” and the term just carried from generation to generation.
So, if you are from Luzon and looking to buy a fighting cock online, don’t use Texas chicken” as a keyword when searching online. Instead, use “gamefowl for sale” or “manok panabong for sale” to get the best result.
Texas or teksas is just a generic term for gamefowls. It’s like using “Colgate” when buying toothpaste referring to other brands.
See Also:
- What is Labuyo Chicken
- What is Kabir Chicken
- What is Intercropping and How it is Done
- What Is Hubbard Chicken
- What is Dominant CZ Chicken