The lines of Bantam Yokohamas present in Europe
today were all "dwarfed" by using already "dwarfed"
gamefowl with hard feathers. The results have had one negative aspect: in
gamefowl with already short and hard feathers, the older the cocks become,
oftetimes the shorter the tail feathers become. It is now apparent in many
dwarf Yoko lines that the roosters, instead of gorwing each year slightly
longer tails as in most longtail breeds, they shorten with age. This is
a problem that internationally acclaimed breeder Hansjoerg Haltiner has
been working on for years. The birds are usually of extreme figure refinement
and beautifully spangled, but the feather length is present only in 1 -
1/5 year old roosters.