Tomaru Longcrowers...

[Wynette]

Thanks for posting, NateD! Interestingly, mine are not nearly as large as the description you posted states. It says cocks are 8.3 lbs.! Goodness, my boy is more like half that, and the pullets smaller than him. I wonder if they are just extremely slow growers (they are 25 weeks now) or if they've been bred smaller? It will be fun to watch them mature.

So, big developments in that breeder pen! The cockerel began to crow last week! I have to say I was equally as excited & disappointed; it is getting a tiny bit longer each time he crows, and it's most definitely a longer crow than any of my other breeds, but...not as long as I was hoping for. OH well, it's definitely interesting, and I'm sure will get a bit longer since he has just started. I have to stop & listen each time he crows! I have not been able to get it taped yet. He's still being shy about crowing, and I have a radio playing in my barn that would likely drown in out. But, I'll continue trying to get a recording of it to post.

And - yesterday, I got my first egg from the girls! One had been acting irritated all morning yesterday...the cockerel was hanging out in the nest box and she kept hopping in & out, obvioulsy annoyed that he wouldn't leave. When I got home from work, there it was!

It's the one in front to the left; what impresses me is that all the rest of the eggs in the pic are from seasoned layers! This egg is quite big for a pullet and a first egg! I'm shocked at the size of the thing!

Alright - anyone interested in doing a test hatch once they are up & laying well?


92caddy? Come on, you know you want to! I'm near Flint, so not far from the border! I don't go to the Wolf Lake swaps, but how far are you from Cabelas? Maybe we could meet there?

 

[NateDomRIR]

American Long Crowers
“ORIENTAL GAMEFOWL” by Horst W Schmudde


Originally they were the Japanese Tomaru, of course. I saw the breed at my friend in Holland and was very impressed with the way they looked and the of course the totally unexpected and unusual crowing technique of the males. So I took some hatching eggs with me to the US and raised two males and three hens, which grew to some very attractive birds. But I gave them to a fancier Jim Allen in Oklahoma the following year but then lost track of the strain until this fancier reported about his continuing effort to save it:

My strain found its way to the US thru Mr. Horst Schmudde of New Jersey who had imported them Holland. There remains one breeder of them in Holland, but only one. It was in the early 90s that I obtained my first stock from Mr. Ron Nelson who resides here in Wisconsin. He informed me that his birds came from a man in Missouri who was forced to mate the Long Crowers with Minorcas for some reason or another. Just how much was lost in the way of crowing length as a result of the cross is unknown. A Black Sumatra would have been a better choice for the cross. I say this because of low tail carriage and type. The true Tomaru is a real gamey looking bird. A single combed, beefed up version of the Sumatra if you will.

I have not had a rooster crow more than seven seconds in my strain. Even so, it is long enough to get quite a charge out of listening to it. From what I have learned, it is common for them to crow from 10 to 12 seconds in Japan, with exceptional specimens crowing for up to 20 seconds and longer! I recently inquired about the availability of the Tomaru in Japan, as well as the price. The cost of a rooster that is guaranteed to crow for at least 15 seconds is $1,500 (US)! Pairs run $200-$300 with roosters that crow 10-12 seconds. The cost quarantine in Japan for three days is $500, before they even leave the country! Needless to say, the cost is prohibitive to import any new blood these days.

I have obtained a few good birds from my good friend Lowell Barber in North Carolina that descended from a different Dutch line than mine do and these could very well provide the impetus that mine need to increase the length of crow.

I find the Tomaru to be quite a friendly chicken, at least in comparison to the Black Crested White Polish I raise. They are pretty good layers of light brown medium sized eggs and appear to be non-broody. The plumage is characteristic “beetle-green” that is common to the Minorcas, Australorps, Sumatras, etc. and more importantly the original color of the true Tomaru. The chicks hatch out colored black and white and are steady, but not fast to mature. I wait with much anticipation for the roosters to “come of age” and begin to crow at about six months of age. I place them in a pen close to the house here so I may monitor each rooster and choose ultimately the one that crows the longest to retain for my breeding flock. I place one or two hens in the pen and introduce a new rooster every two weeks, monitoring the crowing length of each subsequent rooster. This has been a good system for me. Now that I have some new pure Dutch blood to introduce, I will be waiting ever so patiently for the male progeny to reach that Magical six months of age. It is then that I will learn whether or not the young cockerels will sing me an even longer song.

The new male does crow longer than my current stock but Tomarus usually produce their longest crows very early in the morning, the first songs of the day, and I haven’t been able to get an actual measurement of his maximum length as of yet.

Source: Clark Kidder, Wisconsin USA (1997 SPPA Bulletin)

 

[Wynette]

NateD, I've seen this and have saved it to my files. It's a neat read, I think! Thanks for posting.

 

[NateDomRIR]

Quote:
I would love to do a "test hatch" for you.

Tomarus are my new breed of choice this year. I first discovered Tomarus last year while I was looking into Cemanis.

I'm definitely getting some chicks...but where? These are the only options that I have found so far...Toni-Marie Astin, Megumy Aviary (eggs), Wm. Tracy Pardy Jr.(SPPA member), Sand Hill, maybe this other fella on BYC and of course now YOU! I will gladly purchase chicks/eggs from you.

I have a "BLACK CHICKEN" project going on already with my Black Sumatras, Black Jersey Giant and Black Thais! Tomarus would be icing on the cake!!! (of course I will keep a line of Tomarus pure).

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

A couple of the posts had quotes that listed the Tomaru as the baritone of the longcrowers. So which breeds are base, tenor, alto & soprano? I would love to find a sight that compares the sounds of the different long crower breeds.

 

[Celtic Hill]

Have you checked out Toni-Marie's site? Bantamlongtails.com (i think that's the website url)

 

[Wynette]

Nate, I have only heard of Toni-Marie Astin and Megumy Aviary - Megumi concentrates more on the longtails, as does Toni-Mari, I believe (but I could be wrong). My trio is from Sandhill, and I am sure they are not nearly the best out there. But, they are a start for me, and raising this trio up gave me the opportunity to get to know this breed and decide if I will or won't have a long-term interest in them. Thus far, I am really, really liking them! I'll get with you when both of my girls are laying.

Sonoran, that's an interesting observation, and I'd also love to see a site with comparisons of all the longcrower crows! From what I did find out, it sounds like many, many folks have been crossing the Tomaru, and that it is increasingly difficult to find pure stock now.

 

[easttxchick]

Wynette, if you need another tester, I'd love to try and I'd pay the shipping for the eggs.
These would be a blast to have!

 

[BayouPoules]

Wow! What a big egg for a young pullet! I wonder if that's a sign of things to come?!

We sure will be watching to see what you do with these interesting birds. Wish we had the room to do a test hatch for you,. but we will just have to enjoy watching what comes of your new project,..

 

[Wynette]

Thanks, easttx! I'd love to have a couple folks test hatch for me!! I'll PM you.