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People always list Leghorn and "Oriental" as the Kraienkoppe history, but really they have far more than that to their heritage
. Here is some info researched/typed up by me with some help from a breeder in the Netherlands as well.
Kraienkoppe
"The Kraienköppe (singular: Kraienkopp), also called the Twentse, is a breed of chicken originating on the border region between Germany and the Netherlands. The latter of the two names is the Dutch language version, while the former is German. Kraienköppe appear in two color varieties: Black-breasted Red and Silver. Males weigh 2.75 - 3.00 kilos (6 pounds), and females weigh 1.8-2.5 kilos (4 pounds). They have yellow skin and a small walnut-type comb, wattles, and ear-lobes.
The Kraienkoppe was developed around 1850 from crosses between Belgium game, Malay, Old English Game and Twents/Drents landfowl and were used for cockfighting. This period the breed was called Biethaon (biting fowl). The name Kraienkoppe comes from their loud crow (' kraaien' in Dutch). When games and exhibition interests became less interesting they decided to increase the egg production by crossing Leghorns into them. Because of this cross the Silver duckwings emerged. It is rare today in countries outside Germany and the Netherlands, and is best known as a layer and a show bird. " (As a note, they appear in Silver and Black Breasted Red commonly, in American you will find Silver, BBred (the BBred's throw Wheaten birds), as well as whites (which can come out of the BBred fowl). In the Netherlands one can find Golden Duckwings, BBred, Silver, White, Blue Red, and Red Pyle. There maybe more, but those are all I've seen and heard of with only the Silver and BBred being recognized.
Brueges Game (variety of Belgium game, there are three specific types, The Brueges and the two crosses Tirlemont and Liege)
"The Brüges game are the oldest of the three Belgium games, dating back to at least 1858 with the breed standard being in 1908. They were developed in Bruges, Belgium, created from Old English Game, Northern Fighter, and Asian gamefowl lines, with Sumatra also contributing to it's creation. The Brüges games were primarily used as a pit fowl in Belgium, and was considered to cockers as a cockers best friend. They also appear in a bantam form. "
Combattant Du Nord (Northern Fighter)
"The Combattant Du Nord is an old breed dating back to around the time of Julius Ceaser, who discovered the fighting cock while invading Gaul. They were bred in Nord-Pas-De-Calais, and originated from Shamo crosses. These birds come in three sizes, The Grand Combattant Du Nord, The Petit Combattant Du Nord, and Combattant Du Nord Nain; which translates into The Great(or large) Northern Fighter, Little Northern Fighter, and Northern Dwarf(bantam) Fighter. "
Taken from the Ultimatefowl Poultry Wikipedia (there is more information as well, but this is the history specifically posted on those breeds).
God bless,
Daniel.
{impressed whistle}
Thanks
Banny
No problem, I enjoy history on breeds. Especially breeds that can't be commonly found in the US. Here is another, all of the info found on it was always in German. I never found them in any English websites.
Ramelsloher
"Ramelsloh were first developed in the 1800's between Ostfriesland and Hamburg in the village of Ramelsloh (which is the district of Harbug) as a simple-white farm chicken; Baker A. Timme, from Lüneburg, described these birds between 1866-1871 during his journeyman years as a journeyman baker. A shipowner by the name of A. D. Wichmann from Hamburg is the man responsible for developing this breed, he decided to set them as a breed and in 1874 showed them in a poultry exhibition in Hamburg, under the name of the "Ramelsloh" making for their first public appearance.
Some sources suggest that monks in that area developed the Ramelsloh breed and it spread from there, but it is a unlikely story given that the area of Ramelsloh had already became Protestant by 1529 and the monastery was closed shortly thereafter. A more plausible story is that they developed as a local variant of the German Country Chicken, even though they have already lost the speckled pattern - unlike other related breeds.
The breed took part in a general revival of poultry during the imperial period and became more popular. By 1890, the current type had been set in place for comb size and color of the earlobes, but it took several years before the breed had a uniform pattern description.
By 1893, a group of poultry breeders visited Ramelsloh in hopes to see the original birds only to realize upon their arrival that no purebred Ramelsloh birds were left. This was due to the intensification of "spring chicken breeding". During the winter, small farmers would raise chicks in baskets on a warm stove while fattening them up for early spring when they would sell them as meat at the Hamburg Market. They were crossed with heavy Asian type fowl, such as Cochins to improve the loss of broodiness and to develop a type of chicken with lean meat, the crossing resulted in breeds like the Stuhr Winsener, or the Stuhr Masthuhn.
Although the breed disappeared in their home area, they were still found in Germany as laying hens. The early cross-breeding of Andalusions (and possibly Minorca also) had the breed looking slightly different outwardly from their relatives and other similar Mediterranean breeds.
On March 4, 1905, in Magdeburg, the breeders association of white Ramelsloh was founded by 21 breeders, the goal was set to breed a chicken with medium-high carriage, strong body and not too much of bone strength, which to this day has proven successfully. The yellow variety of this breed appears in 1878 where it first surfaced in literature, it is probably as ancient as the white variety. This would be very coherent, as white and yellow are the classic colors of almost all northwestern European breeds.
Ramelsloh are spread nationwide with a local focus in northern Germany. Currently as of 2005, there are a total of 56 males and 270 females nationwide. Near their place of origin, there are a total of two active breeders, with the Ramelsloh breed association being a small group of ten active breeders. About a handful of other breeders nationwide appear in poultry shows, as well as some other breeders from the GEH being interested.
Characteristics
The Ramelsloh have a relatively small single comb, which is bordered on each side with a series of bristle-like feathers and the head of the hen is significantly smaller than that of the cocks. They have a strong beak, which a distinct blue color with a light tip.
A striking feature that is different from that of many other breeds is that they have a deep, dark, almost black eye coloration with a black ring around their eye as well.
They have blue tinted earlobes, which can especially be seen on that of the hens. They have a erect neck, as well as a strong body; slightly sloping in a female to horizontal. They have medium-length legs, the legs should not be too rough, which also indicates the tendency to want a more fine-boned chicken. They should be of slate-blue color, with white toenails, matching the beak coloration. It must be emphasized that the intense blue tones of the beak and legs are an absolute breed characteristic. The Ramelsloh breed also has a tight fitting plumage, which shields them from the cold, harsh winters.
A Ramelsloh cock weighs in at 2.5(5.5lb) to 3 kg(6.6lb), with the hen being 2(4.4lb) to 2.5kg(5.5lb). Hens lay a 150 white or cream colored eggs averaging between 50-60 g. They are a dual-purpose breed that lays moderately during the winter, as well as their broody nature sometimes still being present though they are not excessively broody.
If the birds are hatched in a incubator and raised from chicks allowing them to imprint on humans they are some of the calmest birds you will ever see. They have no fear of anything and love to be around people. However, if one allows them to grow up without handling they tend to be a very shy breed that is constantly on guard and very critical. Even towards their keeper they cannot be convinced of their harmlessness.
They can be self-sufficient and learn quickly. They have a very active personality and tend to make good foragers if allowed to free range. "
-Ultimatefowl Wikipedia. I found them to be kind of a interesting bird myself. Here is a site with videos/photos, for the photos go to Galerie and click on the individual links (about four with lots of photos on each). Videos are under Charakter der Ramelsloher. http://www.ramelsloher-huhn.de/index.php/charakter-der-ramelsloher.html
People always list Leghorn and "Oriental" as the Kraienkoppe history, but really they have far more than that to their heritage
Kraienkoppe
"The Kraienköppe (singular: Kraienkopp), also called the Twentse, is a breed of chicken originating on the border region between Germany and the Netherlands. The latter of the two names is the Dutch language version, while the former is German. Kraienköppe appear in two color varieties: Black-breasted Red and Silver. Males weigh 2.75 - 3.00 kilos (6 pounds), and females weigh 1.8-2.5 kilos (4 pounds). They have yellow skin and a small walnut-type comb, wattles, and ear-lobes.
The Kraienkoppe was developed around 1850 from crosses between Belgium game, Malay, Old English Game and Twents/Drents landfowl and were used for cockfighting. This period the breed was called Biethaon (biting fowl). The name Kraienkoppe comes from their loud crow (' kraaien' in Dutch). When games and exhibition interests became less interesting they decided to increase the egg production by crossing Leghorns into them. Because of this cross the Silver duckwings emerged. It is rare today in countries outside Germany and the Netherlands, and is best known as a layer and a show bird. " (As a note, they appear in Silver and Black Breasted Red commonly, in American you will find Silver, BBred (the BBred's throw Wheaten birds), as well as whites (which can come out of the BBred fowl). In the Netherlands one can find Golden Duckwings, BBred, Silver, White, Blue Red, and Red Pyle. There maybe more, but those are all I've seen and heard of with only the Silver and BBred being recognized.
Brueges Game (variety of Belgium game, there are three specific types, The Brueges and the two crosses Tirlemont and Liege)
"The Brüges game are the oldest of the three Belgium games, dating back to at least 1858 with the breed standard being in 1908. They were developed in Bruges, Belgium, created from Old English Game, Northern Fighter, and Asian gamefowl lines, with Sumatra also contributing to it's creation. The Brüges games were primarily used as a pit fowl in Belgium, and was considered to cockers as a cockers best friend. They also appear in a bantam form. "
Combattant Du Nord (Northern Fighter)
"The Combattant Du Nord is an old breed dating back to around the time of Julius Ceaser, who discovered the fighting cock while invading Gaul. They were bred in Nord-Pas-De-Calais, and originated from Shamo crosses. These birds come in three sizes, The Grand Combattant Du Nord, The Petit Combattant Du Nord, and Combattant Du Nord Nain; which translates into The Great(or large) Northern Fighter, Little Northern Fighter, and Northern Dwarf(bantam) Fighter. "
Taken from the Ultimatefowl Poultry Wikipedia (there is more information as well, but this is the history specifically posted on those breeds).
God bless,
Daniel.
{impressed whistle}
Thanks
Banny
No problem, I enjoy history on breeds. Especially breeds that can't be commonly found in the US. Here is another, all of the info found on it was always in German. I never found them in any English websites.
Ramelsloher
"Ramelsloh were first developed in the 1800's between Ostfriesland and Hamburg in the village of Ramelsloh (which is the district of Harbug) as a simple-white farm chicken; Baker A. Timme, from Lüneburg, described these birds between 1866-1871 during his journeyman years as a journeyman baker. A shipowner by the name of A. D. Wichmann from Hamburg is the man responsible for developing this breed, he decided to set them as a breed and in 1874 showed them in a poultry exhibition in Hamburg, under the name of the "Ramelsloh" making for their first public appearance.
Some sources suggest that monks in that area developed the Ramelsloh breed and it spread from there, but it is a unlikely story given that the area of Ramelsloh had already became Protestant by 1529 and the monastery was closed shortly thereafter. A more plausible story is that they developed as a local variant of the German Country Chicken, even though they have already lost the speckled pattern - unlike other related breeds.
The breed took part in a general revival of poultry during the imperial period and became more popular. By 1890, the current type had been set in place for comb size and color of the earlobes, but it took several years before the breed had a uniform pattern description.
By 1893, a group of poultry breeders visited Ramelsloh in hopes to see the original birds only to realize upon their arrival that no purebred Ramelsloh birds were left. This was due to the intensification of "spring chicken breeding". During the winter, small farmers would raise chicks in baskets on a warm stove while fattening them up for early spring when they would sell them as meat at the Hamburg Market. They were crossed with heavy Asian type fowl, such as Cochins to improve the loss of broodiness and to develop a type of chicken with lean meat, the crossing resulted in breeds like the Stuhr Winsener, or the Stuhr Masthuhn.
Although the breed disappeared in their home area, they were still found in Germany as laying hens. The early cross-breeding of Andalusions (and possibly Minorca also) had the breed looking slightly different outwardly from their relatives and other similar Mediterranean breeds.
On March 4, 1905, in Magdeburg, the breeders association of white Ramelsloh was founded by 21 breeders, the goal was set to breed a chicken with medium-high carriage, strong body and not too much of bone strength, which to this day has proven successfully. The yellow variety of this breed appears in 1878 where it first surfaced in literature, it is probably as ancient as the white variety. This would be very coherent, as white and yellow are the classic colors of almost all northwestern European breeds.
Ramelsloh are spread nationwide with a local focus in northern Germany. Currently as of 2005, there are a total of 56 males and 270 females nationwide. Near their place of origin, there are a total of two active breeders, with the Ramelsloh breed association being a small group of ten active breeders. About a handful of other breeders nationwide appear in poultry shows, as well as some other breeders from the GEH being interested.
Characteristics
The Ramelsloh have a relatively small single comb, which is bordered on each side with a series of bristle-like feathers and the head of the hen is significantly smaller than that of the cocks. They have a strong beak, which a distinct blue color with a light tip.
A striking feature that is different from that of many other breeds is that they have a deep, dark, almost black eye coloration with a black ring around their eye as well.
They have blue tinted earlobes, which can especially be seen on that of the hens. They have a erect neck, as well as a strong body; slightly sloping in a female to horizontal. They have medium-length legs, the legs should not be too rough, which also indicates the tendency to want a more fine-boned chicken. They should be of slate-blue color, with white toenails, matching the beak coloration. It must be emphasized that the intense blue tones of the beak and legs are an absolute breed characteristic. The Ramelsloh breed also has a tight fitting plumage, which shields them from the cold, harsh winters.
A Ramelsloh cock weighs in at 2.5(5.5lb) to 3 kg(6.6lb), with the hen being 2(4.4lb) to 2.5kg(5.5lb). Hens lay a 150 white or cream colored eggs averaging between 50-60 g. They are a dual-purpose breed that lays moderately during the winter, as well as their broody nature sometimes still being present though they are not excessively broody.
If the birds are hatched in a incubator and raised from chicks allowing them to imprint on humans they are some of the calmest birds you will ever see. They have no fear of anything and love to be around people. However, if one allows them to grow up without handling they tend to be a very shy breed that is constantly on guard and very critical. Even towards their keeper they cannot be convinced of their harmlessness.
They can be self-sufficient and learn quickly. They have a very active personality and tend to make good foragers if allowed to free range. "
-Ultimatefowl Wikipedia. I found them to be kind of a interesting bird myself. Here is a site with videos/photos, for the photos go to Galerie and click on the individual links (about four with lots of photos on each). Videos are under Charakter der Ramelsloher. http://www.ramelsloher-huhn.de/index.php/charakter-der-ramelsloher.html
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