Kraienkopp

Kraienkopp

Other names	Twents Hoen Twentse
Country of origin	Germany Netherlands
Classification
PCGB	rare soft feather: light[1]
Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus

Silver cock bird

The Kraienkopp (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁaɪənˌkɔp]) or Twents Hoen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtʋɛnts ˈɦun]) 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.

History

The Kraienkopp breed was developed in the late nineteenth century from crosses of local types with Malays, and later with silver duckwing Leghorns. It was first shown in the Netherlands in 1920, and was shown in Germany in 1925.[2][3]

Characteristics

The Kraienkopp appears in numerous colour varieties: in the United Kingdom silver, gold, orange/lemon, blue-gold, crele, pile, blue-silver, cuckoo and silver cuckoo are recognised.[4]: 174  Males weigh 2.75 kilos (6 pounds), and females weigh 1.8 kilos (4 pounds). They have yellow skin and a small walnut-type comb.

Use

It is a rare breed, and is usually kept as a layer or as a show bird. Hens lay a fair number of off-white eggs, and will go broody. It is an active bird with excellent foraging abilities.

References

1. Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
2. Chickens. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.
3. Victoria Roberts (2008). British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424. p. 152–55.
4. J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119509141.

Further reading

• Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
• Chris Graham (2006). Choosing and Keeping Chickens. London: Octopus Publishing. ISBN 9780793806010.