Kraienköppe

History
Kraienköppe (singular: Kraienkopp), also called the Twentse, are a little known about breed that were developed on the border region between Germany and the Netherlands, around 1850. For many people, if you mentioned the breed name they would not even know what it was, let alone where it came from or the history behind it. This is due to the lack of information regarding this breed that is available, especially in the English language, and the breeds intense rarity throughout the North America's, as well as a lack of breeders within the country of origin.

Most of the time if one were to ask someone-even those who are rather knowledgeable of the breed- about the history they may be able to list basic things that can be found fairly easily; such as their name, region, date they were developed, and more than likely they will refer to them as Pheasant Malay and Leghorn crosses. I am not going to say that information is inaccurate, but there is far more to the story I believe than what is out there, and I hope to bring this out with this article. If we trace the history of the Kraienköppe fowl, we can find that they originated from crosses between Belgium game, Malay, Old English Game and Twents/Drents landfowl.

Their main purpose originally was that of the cockfight, during this period they were even given the name Biethaon (biting fowl). I have not been able to find any information regarding Twents landfowl, but every other breed within the development of the Kraienköppe were gamefowl. Some people I have noticed tend to look over their gamefowl heritage, or even try to argue it away and prefer to think of them only as Pheasant Malay and Leghorn crosses. Malay, as well as Old English Game's histories can be found pretty easily. But with Belgium Gamefowl however, this is not always the case. When we look at Belgium Gamefowl, we find three different types, the main one being the Brüges game, the eldest of the three, with the other two being the Liège and Tirlemont Gamefowl, which are crosses of the Brüges Gamefowl.

The Brüges fowl were developed from crosses between Old English Gamefowl, The Combattant Du Nord (Fighter of the North, basically French Gamefowl), and Asian Gamefowl; most likely that of the Malay by their appearance, among others with even Sumatra being a contribution to the breed as well since at one point they were a game breed. When looking at the rarest of fowl in these breeds again, the inevitable breed of choice would be the Combattant Du Nord.

When we look at the Combattant Du Nord, we find that it is a breed dating back to that of Julius Ceaser, roughly between 100-44 B.C. It is said the breed was discovered by him when he invaded Gaul. They were bred in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, originating from Oriental game crosses with most likely that of the Old English Fowl, or even their progenitors that possibly came from somewhere like Phoenicia, which had and fought gamefowl over three thousands years ago and introduced them into other countries by seafarers.

However, despite the gamefowl heritage of this breed, they are no longer a game breed. When cockfighting was outlawed in Belgium, and exhibition interests were not of great importance, Leghorns were added to the breed to develop a hardy egg layer. In 1925, the breed made its first debut as a exhibition breed, and shortly thereafter in the 1940's the bantam version (ZwergKraienköppe) was created by Dutch breeders Zienmerink, and Ten Carte.

During this period, the bantams could be found only in the Silver Duckwing variety, and by the 1950's they had been imported to Germany and became recognized by the SV. Later they developed a Black Breasted Red variety, and on the 10th of August, 1958, the bantams were introduced to the AGM, and by 1963 they were approved by the BZA.During this period, the Silver varieties were superior over that of the Black Breasted Red; though both were well represented. The Dutch Specialty Club (THC) agreed upon the average weight for cocks to be from 2 pounds to 2.2 pounds, with hens having an average weight from 1.3 pounds to 2 pounds. This resulted in the bantams being considered better than before, as they had broad shoulders where it was often too short, the head was rather pointed and the wings often had a very angular transition.

After 45 years, by modifying the standard it opened the possibility to develop new varieties. It was agreed though, however, that they would support only the original varieties. Immediately afterwards, the Blue Red and Wheaten varieties appeared and were recognized in 2004. There are some breeders that are working on Blue Silver Duckwings, as well as Golden Duckwing bantams with hopes of getting them recognized. In the Netherlands though, only the Silver Duckwings and Black Breasted Reds are recognized.

Breed Characteristics
Externally, there are a few visible characteristics to that of their Oriental Gamefowl heritage, such as the curved, short, broad head with a protruding brow ridge and walnut comb, as well as the short, strong beak and small wattles. They also possess very strong, powerful yellow legs from that of their Malay heritage and tight-fitting feathers with fairly broad shoulders.

Personality wise, they're a lively and active breed that is quite hardy. The cocks are protective and will sometimes even fight off predators, but are generally tame and docile towards humans and are very curious. The hens are good layers especially during the cold months and can lay up to 200 off-white eggs per year if given the proper care and breeding selection.

Due to poor breeding in the United States, the American Kraienköppe differ from that of the Europe fowl in that they may have white legs, high set tails, single, walnut, or even pea combs. They also can be rather flighty, while the European birds have been said to be similar to puppies that will follow you around the yard much like that of Oriental Gamefowl. It is believed that Old English Game may have been added to the American Kraienköppe, given that among the white legs and single combs one can also find birds that almost resemble Old English in every way, as well as them having a broody nature while Kraienköppe from their homeland are not broody. Other breeds that have been suggested may have been added to the mix are Cubalaya due to the white legs, pea combs, and some birds having rather long tails. Still yet, some suggest Leghorns to have been added which is why they have single combs, white legs, and white earlobes sometimes.

There are plans to hopefully correct these faults and help make the Kraienköppe more popular in North America, but as of right now literally only a handful of breeders have them and most are just hobbyist's. The only difference that may possibly differentiate between the American fowl and European strains in years to come would be that the broody trait may be kept.

Dutch Standard
Origin: In the Bentheim area, both sides of the German/Dutch border. 1925 was the first time it was shown in Germany.

Breeding Goal: An early maturing laying hen with 180-200 eggs in the first year of lay, 150-160 in the second year; non-broody; very rich in tender white meat; minimum weight for hatching eggs is 58-60 grams; shell colour: white to tinted.

General Impression: A sleek, powerful type of country chicken, giving the impression of a game bird; especially in the head, and then carriage, and thighs; the tail that is set wide and carried ‘attached’; tight feathering, which gives them protection from moisture; feathers on both sides of the quill are narrow; a trusting but very lively temperament.

Standard weights: Rooster (2.5-3.0 kg: 5.5-6.6 lb), Hen (2.0-2.5 kg: 4.4-5.5 lb).

Breed Characteristic

Rooster:

Body: powerfully built, sleekly elongated, with broad shoulders, upright, elongated carriage; hold themselves like a game bird.Back: good, medium-long, straight, barely narrows from the powerful, wide shoulders to the back; lightly slopes, with a wide, rich (but not too long) saddle.

Tail: A bit more than medium-long, with a pronounced tail angle; it carries the feathers lightly spread, with a lot of rounded, hard-shafted sickle feathers which lean toward the body in a beautiful semi-circle; set wide.

Breast: wide, full, carried somewhat high and bulging slightly towards the front.

Stomach: pretty wide, fully developed.Wings: pretty long, slightly open, but not carried lose/floppy; they lay close to the body; the wing tips are under the saddle feathers.

Head: short, wide, rounded, with small brow ridges, and a 'mare's neck' (hackle feathers that curve out from the head). Face: red, fine skinned, free of feathers, short.

Eye: vivacious, fiery, yellow-red to red, deep set.Beak: short, strong, yellow; horn-striped

Comb: not too narrow, laying well on the head, a knot of flesh on the front part of the skull; in the shape of a half, rather long strawberry; shouldn’t go on past middle of eye; in a well-bred specimen it has tiny points.

Ear lobes: small, red.

Wattles: very short, do not obscure the red throat.

Neck: A little more than medium-long, powerful; feathers are not too long in the hackle; the hackle really highlights the mare’s neck, and does not cover the shoulders due to the short feathers.

Thighs: muscular, pronounced forward placement with smooth feathers.

Legs: good; medium-long, slim; unfeathered, yellow without red stripes.Feathers: tight, no fluffy or loose plumage.

Hen The powerful, slender body is carried almost horizontal; she shows a well-developed laying stomach that reaches far toward the back; a tail that is carried slightly open (spread), easily visible thighs, hard plumage, the comb is pretty small; wattles almost invisible; ear lobes small and red -- if pale like a game bird, this is not a fault.

COLOUR STANDARDS
Silver Duckwing Rooster:
Head: white; hackle is silver-white with pronounced black shaft line; back, shoulders and saddle are pure silver white, but with pronounced shaft lines; the wing covers are silver-white; cover feathers (‘Binden’) are black with green sheen. The secondaries are white on the outside, but black on the inside and tip; the primaries are black with narrow white outer edges; the breast, stomach, and thighs are black; the tail is deep black with green sheen on the sickles.

Silver Duckwing Hen: head is silver-grey; hackle is silver-white with black or grey shaft lines; back, shoulders, and wings are grey with a fine silver-grey sprinkles and white feather shaft; and so every feather shows a narrow light silver-grey edge. No "glitter" (light, shiny, unmarked edge of a speckled feather). Breast, powerful, salmon-colured; stomach moving toward tail a light ash-grey; tail is black-grey, looking as if sprinkled with flour.

BBred
Rooster: head, orange-red; hackle, with black or grey shaft lines; wing bows and back are gold-red; saddle feathers are gold-yellow with weak shaft lines; wing covers are gold-red with black cover feathers with green sheen; secondaries are brown on the outside, black on the inside and the tip; primaries are black with narrow brown outer edges; breast is black; rest of feathers are black; sickles have green sheen.

Hen: gold-yellow head; hackle is gold-yellow with black or grey shaft lines; the body feathers are of a light brown main colour – colour tone even throughout, with fine black stripes or peppering; every feather has a yellow shaft and fine, equally wide narrow gold-yellow edges, with no glitter; breast is salmon coloured; stomach and toward tail are brownish to ash-grey; tail is black with brown marks.

Major faults: short or narrow body; thin or short neck; too high or too low position; Malay back; wings that hang down, are floppy; a steep tail or one that has few feathers or is flat; white or grey speckles in dark feathers; either a plump or narrow pointy narrow head; an abnormal comb; wattles that are large; fish eyes; plumage that is soft and fluffy; narrow sickles; duck-footedness; cowlicks in the neck feathers; twisted feathers;

COLOUR FAULTS
For Silver Duckwing: a rich, strong grey shaft line; a too long shaft line; black dots in the hackle; any impurities in the white – brown, red, yellow tones; faded colour, or rust colour in the body feathers; neck without marks; mistakes in the salmon breast.

For Black Breasted Red: if it has one coloured, dark, or straw coloured hackle; impure marking; brown breast; if instead of a salmon breast, visible white fluff at the bottom of the feather shaft is visible; black dots in the hackle; black dots in any feather; noticeable rust colour.

Sources
Daniel Thornton

Additional Notes
Throughout the article, one may notice that the breed name is spelled differently than seen elsewhere; it is spelled "Kraienkoeppe" rather than the common "Kraienkoppe". The actual name has an umlaut over the O in "koppe", so anytime one is not able to use an umlaut there is supposed to be a e that follows the letter.

The second note, since many (including myself for some time) were not sure of the correct pronunciation; the name is pronounced "cry-in-cope-uh" or for a single bird "cryin-cope".