Are Aseels good for showing?

Yes — the Aseel is a classic exhibition hard-feather breed, shown in the APA's **All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB)** class by variety. Judges reward extreme muscle and hardness, an upright carriage, a small pea comb, and tight, glossy feathering. Handle birds from young to keep them steady on the table.

How hard are Aseels to hatch?

The eggs incubate like any chicken egg — about **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**. The hard part is supply: Aseel hens are poor layers (roughly 6 to 40 small eggs a year) and fertility can be low, so set fresh eggs in small batches. Aseel hens are excellent broodies and will happily hatch their own clutch.

Why are Aseels so aggressive, and how do I house them?

Aseels are an Oriental Game breed and are naturally combative toward other birds — hens will fight each other and even chicks spar. House mature birds individually or in small managed groups with plenty of space, keep extra pens on hand to separate combatants, and avoid crowded communal grow-outs. Notably, they tend to be personable and calm with their human keepers.

How many eggs does an Aseel lay?

Very few — the Livestock Conservancy reports hens typically lay only about **6 to 40 small eggs a year**. The Aseel is a meat-type, heritage, and exhibition breed, not an egg producer, though hens are exceptional broodies and mothers.

What varieties of Aseel are there?

Common color varieties include **Dark, Spangled, White, Black-Breasted Red, and Wheaten**. The Black-Breasted Red (Wheaten), Dark, Spangled, and White varieties were admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection in 1981.

Aseel: The Ancient Indian Oriental Game Breed

Q: What color eggs do Aseels lay?

Small **tinted** eggs — an off-white to light, pale-brown shell, with some hens closer to cream. Color varies bird to bird, and Aseels lay very few eggs per year, so they are kept for type and heritage rather than production.

Verified September 2026Tinted eggs

The short version

The Aseel (also spelled Asil) is an ancient Oriental Game breed from the Indian subcontinent, prized today as a hard-feather heritage and exhibition fowl. It has an extremely hard, muscular body, an upright, on-the-toes carriage, a small pea comb, and a short curved beak. It was admitted to the APA Standard in 1981 and is shown in the All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class. Aseels are poor layers — hens lay only a handful of small tinted-to-cream eggs a year — but they are famously determined broodies and mothers. Because birds are aggressive toward one another, breeders must pen them carefully.

APA class: AOSB

Egg color: Tinted–Cream

Broodiness: Frequently broody

Varieties: 5

Egg-color genetics

Aseels lay a small egg that reads as tinted — an off-white to pale, light-brown shell that sits between a clean white and a true cream. There is no blue or dark-brown pigment at work here; the shade is a light surface tint over a pale base, and it varies bird to bird. Egg color was never a selection priority for the breed, so expect some spread across a pen rather than one uniform hue.

What is an Aseel (Asil)?

The Aseel is a hard-feather Oriental Game breed native to the Indian subcontinent, where birds of this type have been kept for a very long time. It is built for substance rather than production: a compact, extremely muscular body carried in a distinctive upright posture, broad shoulders, a short curved beak, a small pea comb, and short, hard, close-lying feathers. Birds are much heavier and denser in the hand than their size suggests.

In the United States the Aseel is a rare heritage breed — the Livestock Conservancy classes it as critically endangered — kept by exhibitors and conservation breeders. It reached the APA Standard in 1981 in a small set of color varieties.

What color eggs do Aseels lay?

Aseel eggs are small and tinted — an off-white to light, pale-brown shell, with some birds closer to a soft cream. They are not white-shelled layers in the leghorn sense, nor do they lay dark brown; the color is a light tint that varies from hen to hen. More to the point, Aseels are poor layers: a hen may produce only a handful to a few dozen small eggs in a year, which is why the breed is valued for type, hardiness, and heritage rather than for the egg basket.

Breeding notes

Aseels are one of the oldest domestic fowl known — a hard-feather Oriental Game breed from India, with the name meaning roughly 'pure' or 'thoroughbred.' Approach them as a conservation and exhibition breed: the Livestock Conservancy lists the Aseel as critically endangered, so every well-bred bird matters to the gene pool.
Select for the signature type: dense, extremely hard muscling, broad prominent shoulders over a narrow stern, a short close-feathered coat, an upright carriage, a small firm pea comb, and a short curved beak. These are the traits that define the breed — describe and cull to them in your own words rather than reproducing standard text.
Pen management is a real husbandry problem with this breed. Aseels are notably aggressive toward other birds — hens will spar with each other and even young chicks squabble — so you cannot run them in crowded communal grow-out pens the way you would a docile utility breed. Plan on extra pens, individual or small-group housing for mature birds, and space to separate combatants.
Fertility and egg numbers are both low, so build your breeding season around a small egg supply: collect and set eggs promptly, run tight single-variety trios or pairs, and expect to hatch in small batches. Aseel hens are excellent, fiercely protective broodies, so a good hen can raise her own clutch if you would rather not incubate.
This guide frames the Aseel purely as a heritage, meat-type, and exhibition breed. Cockfighting is illegal across the United States; keep and breed Aseels for conservation, show, and their remarkable type — not for fighting.

Showing notes

Aseels are exhibited in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class; enter by variety (e.g. 'Dark Aseel, large fowl'). The Black-Breasted Red (Wheaten), Dark, Spangled, and White varieties were admitted to the Standard in 1981.
Judges reward the breed's extreme hardness and muscle: a bird that feels rock-solid and heavier than it looks in the hand, with broad shoulders, thick muscular thighs, and a proud upright stance. Short, hard, glossy feathering that hugs the body is part of the picture — soft or loose plumage is a fault of type.
Condition matters as much as type. Show birds should be firm, well-muscled, and in tight feather, with a clean small pea comb and bold eye. Handle birds regularly from a young age so they present calmly on the show table, and keep white and light varieties clean and free of staining.

Hatching & incubation

The real 'quirk' is quantity, not technique: Aseel hens are poor layers, reportedly laying only about 6 to 40 small eggs a year, so hatching-egg supply is the limiting factor. Fertility can also run low, so set eggs fresh and don't count on high hatch rates from a small collection.
The eggs themselves incubate like any chicken egg — roughly 99.5–100°F in a forced-air incubator, lockdown around day 18, and a 21-day hatch. No special temperature or humidity is required.
Because hens are strong, protective broodies, many keepers let an Aseel hen set her own small clutch rather than fighting the low numbers in an incubator.

Recognized varieties

DarkSpangledWhiteBlack-Breasted RedWheaten

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Aseels lay?: Small tinted eggs — an off-white to light, pale-brown shell, with some hens closer to cream. Color varies bird to bird, and Aseels lay very few eggs per year, so they are kept for type and heritage rather than production.
Are Aseels good for showing?: Yes — the Aseel is a classic exhibition hard-feather breed, shown in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class by variety. Judges reward extreme muscle and hardness, an upright carriage, a small pea comb, and tight, glossy feathering. Handle birds from young to keep them steady on the table.
How hard are Aseels to hatch?: The eggs incubate like any chicken egg — about 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. The hard part is supply: Aseel hens are poor layers (roughly 6 to 40 small eggs a year) and fertility can be low, so set fresh eggs in small batches. Aseel hens are excellent broodies and will happily hatch their own clutch.
Why are Aseels so aggressive, and how do I house them?: Aseels are an Oriental Game breed and are naturally combative toward other birds — hens will fight each other and even chicks spar. House mature birds individually or in small managed groups with plenty of space, keep extra pens on hand to separate combatants, and avoid crowded communal grow-outs. Notably, they tend to be personable and calm with their human keepers.
How many eggs does an Aseel lay?: Very few — the Livestock Conservancy reports hens typically lay only about 6 to 40 small eggs a year. The Aseel is a meat-type, heritage, and exhibition breed, not an egg producer, though hens are exceptional broodies and mothers.
What varieties of Aseel are there?: Common color varieties include Dark, Spangled, White, Black-Breasted Red, and Wheaten. The Black-Breasted Red (Wheaten), Dark, Spangled, and White varieties were admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection in 1981.

Sources

Aseel Chicken (breed history, type, egg production & conservation status) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Aseel Chickens (breed characteristics & standard varieties) — Oklahoma State University — Breeds of Livestock (University extension)
Aseel Chickens in the Heritage Breed Spotlight — Cackle Hatchery (Hatchery)

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