Pre-conditioning stage is when breeders or cockers prepare the fowls for the game. These are the notable activities during pre-conditioning:

• Put the candidate birds to perfect flesh before they enter the keep.
• Identify the ideal fighting weight of a specific gamebird.
• Set time to prepare candidate birds by deworming and delousing.
• Give owner ample time and judgment in selecting the final line-up for the keep through sparring.