Long-crowing chicken breeds are characterised by the unusually long-drawn-out

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientific ...

of the cocks, which may in some cases last for up to 60 seconds. The oldest references to long-crowing cocks are from China. Long-crowing breeds are found in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, in the Balkans and in

western Germany The old states of Germany (german: die alten Länder) is a jargon referring to the ten of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) that were part of West Germany and that unified with the eastern German Democratic Republic' ...

History

The earliest reference to long-crowing cocks is in the writings of Li Ji, dating from the reign of

Emperor Xuan of Han Emperor Xuan of Han (Liu Xun 劉詢, né Liu Bingyi 劉病已; born 91 BC – 10 January 48 BC) was the tenth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty, reigning from 74 to 48 BC, and was one of the only four Western Han emperors to receive a temple n ...

(75–49 BC). In Japan the first references are from the early eighth century, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles. The Bergische Kräher breed of Germany was imported from the Balkans in

Mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times. In Russia the Jurlower or Yurlov Crower was bred in the nineteenth century.

Characteristics

Chicken breeds which to a greater or lesser extent display long-crowing behaviour include the

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, Bergische Kräher, Jurlower and Kosova Long Crower and breeds of eastern Europe, the

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

of Turkey, and the Koeyoshi, Kurokashiwa, Tomaru and Tôtenko breeds of Japan. In general, long-crowing breeds are tall, with long legs and neck.

Cock crowing contests

In Germany,

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and

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, there is an old tradition of cock crowing contests with local longcrowers. The length of a crow is measured, but also the number of crowing calls, the tone and melody can be judged. More recently, longcrower contests with nonlocal breeds are being organised in Germany and the Netherlands.

List of Longcrower breeds

* American Long Crower * Achal Tekkinski * Ayam Ketawa ("Laughing Chicken", also named "Ayam gaga") * Ayam Pelung * Bekisar * Bergische Crower and Bergische Bantam Crower * Brazilian Crower (Galo musico) * Bosnian Crower (Berat Crower) * Changkuo Crower * Denizli Crower (Denizli horozu) * Yurlov Crower (Jurlovskie golosistie) * Kokok Balenggek (Ayam Kokok Balenggek) * Komotini Crower * Kosovo Longcrower * Palama Crower * Shôkoku * Tômaru * Tôtenkô * Koeyoshi * Kurokashiwa

References

{{Long-crowing chickens Chickens Poultry breeding