Breeding the "Singers"

I am basically new to breeding the Long-Crowers with only a couple of years of experience, but I listen very carefully to "the Experts" and would like to share/publish here some important, general information. I have found a few points of great importance that these breeds have in common in breeding. At first, when I was asked over this website whether it was a good sign in a Long-Crower that a hen would also crow, I responded that she could have too high levels of testosterone and was probably no longer capable of laying eggs. I have now learned that it is a very cherished sign in the Long-Crowers when a hen crows, and these hens are considered extremely valuable in breeding excellent sons. So I stand corrected. I have one Tomaru hen and one Totenko hen that actually crow very well! Initially I thought that they were wheezing with some dangerous lung infection, but they never showed any signs of illness and continued to lay eggs.

 

DENIZLI

With the Denizli, which is the longest crowing breed on the average, even though one Koeyoshi line in particular set the Guinness World Record by 1.5 seconds, importance is placed on the length and quality of the voice and its powerful presentation. Their voices are not as rich in timbre as those of the Tomaru nor as resonant as the deep, voluminous crow of the Koeyoshi. One visitor here made the comparison of my line of Denizli as "remaining in first gear" due to the sound of its rather rough and powerful voice. In Turkey there are many more levels and shades of differences to the voice, but the ones we have in Europe are excellent in length and in strength of the voice. The Denizli that Mr Wolfgang Vits developed from Turkish stock are excellent egg-layers but are not as fertile as some utilitarian breeds and up to 35% of the eggs may not be fertilized even by a young rooster. The Denizli were crossed with the Tomaru to develop a completely black Denizli. There existed near-black birds but never completely black, so the cross was made to purify the colour. The results are red-faced (Tomaru have black to black-speckled faces) power-house crowers.

The Tomaru are generally very poor layers, so there is a need to try and get every egg each spring for hatching. Young hens often lay elongated, actually near-deformed eggs in the beginning of the laying seaon, and should not be set in the incubator. As soon as they have started well with laying and when they are older, the shape changes often to a normal oval form. The Tomaru, in my taste, have the most beautiful voice, often two-toned - deepening distinctly toward the end of the crow. Many Kurogashiwa have this same type of voice, but Kurogashiwa are not considered a long-crowing breed in Japan, even though they have been interbred with the Tomaru on many occassions and have the resulting (beautiful!) deep, long crow. In general, the Tomaru are very gentle, even though our main rooster has developed a very bad attitude this year and is a bit dangerous.

The Totenko is a breed after my own heart, but it is the one that has given me the most heart-aches. I have 5 hens now but have lost every rooster that we have had (5!!) in the past 2 years. It is heart-breaking indeed, as this breed combines the long tails with the long crowing ability and embodies, to me, the most exotic poultry breed on earth. The Totenko are a light breed, very gentle in attitude normally, even docile, and are very delicate as chicks. They must be protected from coccidiose at all costs, at least until they are fully grown. The more breeders that work with this breed, the more we can work to strengthening them. Now, in the beginning of its existance in the West, it is disheartening to say the least, to struggle every hatch to get them to reach maturity. Others in Germany have had less problems than I, but on the average, the Totenko and the Koeyoshi are the two most difficult breeds to raise of the longcrowers.

Great improvements have been made already with the Koeyoshi in terms of health and stamina, but it should still be considered a weak to delicate breed. Hardy to cold but very susceptible to colds and infections, this breed needs a well-insulated coop in colder areas. A moderate layer, the hens start laying, for me, rather late - not like some breeds that start at 6 monts. Like the Tomaru and the Totenko in amiable personality, the Koeyoshi is sometimes even comical in stance and gaint. Our pair is so tame that they walk on our shoes to beg for food.

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