OHIKI

I have scanned two sketches of mine to give a better impression of a Standard for the Ohiki. The body is low, the comb form single, the size of which varies according to the particular line or colour of the birds.

I had one line that is a Black Breasted Red (Red Duckwing - UK) and that is very feather rich and has medium large combs. We recently acquire a second bloodline from Mr Wolfgang Vits of Germany which is longer in the back, but smaller in the comb. I have also displayed on this page two BBSilver lines - on we acquire thanks again to Mr Wolfgang Vits, and another, which could be of the same lineage, of BBSilver Ohiki in Belgium (see picts above above)

What is very important in this breed is the Chabo or Cochin-like carriage, with the rump of these little birds being raised distinctly and well rounded. There are also different strains of Ohiki as far as feathering goes, some of which show more Onagadori blood with tail lengths up to 3 feet. Not all Japanese are agreed with this line of breeding. Please link on to Page four below of our own OHIKI to see examples.

Our strains have moderate lengths of 60 - 80 cm, which is much easier for these little gnomes to drag behind them, but the strain originally from Knut Roeder has had, on the average, longer feathers.

The saddle hackle must drag the ground. The leg colour is olive (willow), and this colour is reflected in the earlobes until the feathers are finished growing and go dry. As long as a bird (any) is in blood-feathers, the earlobes reflect the colour of the legs and this is very noticeable with the Long-tails as they need many more months to "finish" due to the extended growth period of the tail feathers.

The Ohiki has presented us with just a few problems in breeding, but is not, in general, as delicate as some of the other newer Japanese breeds here in Europe.

THE OHIKI                  <return to JAPANESE BREEDS index

little gnomes and jewels of the garden!

A very popular breed in Japan, this is the most diminutive member of the Long Tail breeds native to Japan. It is not a "dwarfed" large breed as the Bantam Phoenix and Bantam Yokohama, but rather a true Dwarf (or Bantam). The colours existing are black breasted red and sliver. The types in Japan range from the typical rounded rump, short-legged, simple-combed, white ear-lobed birds with 60 - 70 cm tails to lines or strains with over 90 to 150 cm tail feathers. The latter is believed to carry more Onagadori genes. The tail feathers are subtle and slender like the Onagadori and even though I've had Ohiki in my hands on numerous occasions, I have yet to count the tail feathers.

A wonderful addition to the Long-tail breeds, new imports of Ohiki are now in England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Holland began showing up at national and international shows as early as the mid-late 1990’s.

Ohiki is a very calm breed, easy to handle and care for when treated well. They are easy to keep and steal the hearts of many at first sight.

There are are many directions of Ohiki breeding in Japan. One is more like a bantam Onagadori, with a cumbersomely long train of luxurient feathers. Another line maintains a more manageable length of ca. 2.5 - 3 feet. Take a look for yourself below at these images from Japan. Copyrights are unknown. If you are the owner of the copyrights of these images, please contact me with your wishes.

This phenotype is present in a line of birds in Germany, Switzerland and Holland that were hatched out of eggs given to Wolfgang Vits by Knut Roeder. It is a particularly feather-rich line with manageable lengths of 80 - 90 cm tail feathers that can reach to over a meter when single feathers don't moult each year. This line has a much more rounded body form along with larger combs than another phenotype present in Europe to-date. This second type has longer body forms and much smaller combs.

Of the two examples below: I have never seen Ohiki with this type of feathering in Europe and am not aware that it has been imported as yet, but it seems much closer to the Onagadori ancestor from which it arose.

The HEAD: The single comb is medium large for the small birds but not massive as in many Chabo lines. The earlobes are a greenish-yellowish white while the birds are moulting and growing new feathers, otherwise they are white with a yellowish cast. The legs are olive-willow green. The illustration below is of an exemplary head and comb. Eye colour is a fiery orange.

The neck hackles are extremely full and long, nearly covering the duckwing triangle on the wings. The saddle hackles varied in different specimens I've seen from long to very long, i.e. touching the ground and dragging ca. 5 centimeters to dragging 15 centimeters. The length of saddles hackles is a very difficult aspect to fix genetically and this variation of length can be seen in all the Long-tail Breeds.

JAPANESE STANDARD for the OHIKI:

Standard for Ohiki (translated from the Japanese)- sent to my Julia Keeling, Asian Gamefowl Society, Contact person for UK and the British Isles:

OHIKI (O ­ tail, Hiki ­ dragging)

Single Comb,

White Earlobe,

Red-Brown Eye Colour

Weight: cock 937g, hen 750g (young birds 600 ­ 750g)

Colour: Red or White Hackled (Black Breasted Red or Red Duckwing and Black Breasted Silver or Silver Duckwing)

Long tail has 30 angle and drags behind