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Kraienköppe

History Kraienköppe (singular: Kraienkopp), also called the Twentse, are a little known about...
Pros: eggs, looks
these birds r very pretty and have great coloring and laying abilities! they r gr8 mothers and can live very very long any where from 8-18 years!!!! i have 1 hen that is 16 years old!!
Pros: Fly well, alert, excellent mothers that will brood anytime, feed themselves free-range, lay in winter
Cons: Broody at the drop of a hat, very good at hiding eggs, not very meaty, smaller hatchery stock
Kraienkoppes are very alert to predators, and are perfect free-range birds. They lay tinted eggs in great quantities if you can find the nest and leave some dummy eggs because they will move their nests if you take them all. Even the pullets that have just started laying do this and go broody in the fall/winter! Hatchery stock is smaller than it is supposed to be (common in all breeds), and not as meaty as it should be, but 'koppes aren't a big time meat breed to begin with. They fly great distances and so would be able to escape any run with no top, I would imagine. They are flighty but can come to trust you if you are calm and try to earn their affections, but still don't expect to pick them up. The one cock I had was as mean as the devil, but I know this is not supposed to be typical of well-bred birds. Overall they are great birds for high-predator areas where you range them, and are supposed to lay right through the winter, but my birds basically go on maintenance diets in the winter, so I don't know about that aspect. They deserve and need conservation breeders, as they are uncommon even in their native country, and especially in the US.
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