KRAIENKOPPE

Product Description

This breed is originated in the Netherlands as a fighting chicken and developed in Germany as an ornamental breeds. The origin of the breed name is unknown and most likely is a German dialect. Krihen is the German word for crow, perhaps in reference to the similarity of the shape of this chicken’s head to that of a crow. The Kraienkoppe has the body conformation of a Leghorn, one of its ancestors, with the tight feathering and fierce expression of a fighting breed (Malay is another ancestor). It has a small walnut comb and a beetle brow, comes in a few colors (not all of which are found in North America) , and may be large or bantam (although the bantam size is not found in North America).

These chickens are capable fliers, excellent foragers, cold hardy. and disease resistant. The hens lay eggs with slightly tinted shells. The breed is still quite rare in North America and differs from the same breed in Germany in that the North American Kraienkoppe is smaller; the hens don’t lay quite as well; and the hens brood more readily.