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The love of the people for morning cock singing led to the emergence of a breed of chickens, the main task of which was not to provide the owners with eggs or meat, but to beautiful cock singing. The Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens appeared due to “folk selection”, when a tribe of roosters was selected for the beauty of singing, not paying much attention to appearance. The stories about the fact that Count Orlov-Chesmensky was a multi-machine breeder and, in addition to horses, bred two more breeds of chickens: Orlovskaya and Yurlovskaya, do not have documentary evidence.
A more plausible version says that the Yurlovskaya breed of chickens appeared near the city of Livny, which is located almost on the southern border of the Oryol region. Previously, not far from Liven, there was the now-defunct village of Yurlovo, from which the chickens took their name.
Origin and description
The exact origin of the breed is unknown. It is well established that she is not related to other “singing” chickens. It is believed that the Yurlovskaya breed of chickens appeared as a result of crossing Chinese meat chickens and Asian fighting birds with local “village” laying hens. In the future, the selection of roosters was based on singing qualities. Moreover, the standard beginning of the cock’s cry was considered undesirable, and the rooster had to sing for as long as possible.
Good singing is impossible without a certain body structure, therefore, in parallel with the selection for voice, the formation of the exterior of the Yurlovsky vociferous was going on. Even in the absence of breeding knowledge, cock crow lovers unwittingly selected certain types of cocks. Today, Yurlovsky chickens are relatively few in number, and lovers of this breed are selected not only for singing, but also for their exterior.
This is due to the fact that unscrupulous breeders these days are pouring the Turkish breed of Denizli chickens into the Yurlovsky vociferous.
Standard
In the absence of official directions “fighting” and “singing” in modern chicken breeding, the Yurlov breed is classified as a meat and egg type. This is a fairly large chicken, but there is a significant variation in live weight in the population:
- adult chickens 3-3,5 kg;
- in adult roosters, the spread is greater: 3,5-5,5 kg.
In roosters, this difference is connected precisely with the selection for singing, and not for productive characteristics.
Externally, adult roosters give the impression of a very powerful large bird. The matured male is just such, as can be clearly seen from the photo of the rooster of the Yurlovskaya breed of chickens.
Exterior requirements for a rooster
Large head with a round nape. The beak is powerful, curved strong. Depending on the color of a particular bird, the beak is dark bronze, black or yellow. There is a fold on the lower half of the beak. The color also affects the color of the eyes: red, brown or red. In healthy chickens, the eyes should be clean and shiny. Superciliary ridges are large.
The comb can be of almost any shape: leaf-shaped, rose-shaped, walnut-shaped or pod-shaped. The pod-shaped and leaf-shaped ridges should clearly follow the line of the back of the head, without rising up. With a leaf-shaped form, the comb should have 7 teeth, and its height should not exceed 4 cm.
Earrings of medium size, oval shape, with a smooth surface. Bright red, small lobes. The face is unfeathered, red.
The neck is long, vertically set. The angle between the body and the neck is 90°. The body is powerful, very wide, slightly tapering towards the tail. Seen from the side, it appears triangular. The back and loins are very wide and straight.
This expression means that the back and loin are not only even and very wide, but also located horizontally in relation to the ground, as can be clearly seen below in the photo of the rooster of the Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens. The tail and neck outline the other two sides of the upper “rectangle”. In males, a more upright body position is desirable, so they usually have a slightly lower body towards the tail.
The chest is well developed, wide. A large chest provides plenty of room for the lungs, one of the important factors that ensure the duration of singing.
Shoulders are broad and powerful. The wings are well developed, close to the body, of medium size.
The tail is small, lush. Placed at an angle of 90° to the lower back. The plumage in the tail is tightly compressed. Well developed, well defined belly. The lower legs are powerful, long, with dense plumage. The length of the legs is sufficient to be visible from under the integumentary feather on the body.
The metatarsus is very long, their length from the sole to the lower leg is 15-18 cm. The metatarsus is thick. The color of the metatarsus is also in direct proportion to the color and, like the beak, is dark bronze, black or yellow. Nails are either black or light yellow. The sole is light.
The plumage is loose, it can be almost any color. Yurlovsky vociferous in color have never been bred. Regular colors 5:
- the black;
- golden black;
- matte black;
- Colombian;
- salmon.
But other colors are also possible. Often come across speckled individuals that cannot be brought under any of the five types of colors.
This situation arises due to the fact that multi-colored lines are not bred clean.
chicken standard
The requirements for the Yurlovskaya vociferous laying hen are almost the same as the requirements for a rooster. The differences are only in the size of the comb, earlobes and earrings, which are smaller in a chicken than in a rooster. The length of the metatarsus also differs. It is shorter by 3 cm. The length of the metatarsus in a chicken is 12-15 cm.
Laying hens are late. They begin their first laying only at 6 months. The egg production of the Yurlov vociferous is average for the meat and egg breed: 130-160 pieces per year. According to the owners of the Yurlovskaya breed of chickens, individual laying hens can produce up to 200 very large eggs per year. The owners of laying hens claim that each egg can weigh up to 90 g. True, they do not specify how many yolks are in such eggs. The eggshell of the Yurlovsky vociferous is creamy.
Exterior flaws
Disadvantages differ from vices in that, under certain conditions, a defective chicken can be bred. For example, if the number of breeding stock is small, the laying hen is allowed to breed, picking up the “ideal” rooster for her. Birds with defects under any circumstances are sent only to the soup.
Disadvantages of the Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens:
- small brow ridges;
- white coating on the earlobes;
- lack of folds on the bottom of the beak;
- long earrings;
- flesh or bluish-gray metatarsus and fingers;
- a clearly horizontal set of the body of the rooster;
- a side-turned comb on a chicken.
Usually, females are “forgiven” for more shortcomings than males, since one rooster for a dozen hens is enough for breeding. Roosters are subject to more stringent requirements. A male with defects goes into breeding in a completely hopeless situation.
Exterior flaws
In the presence of such signs, Yurlovskaya vociferous is definitely sent to the soup:
- processes on the ridge;
- the height of the leaf-shaped ridge is over 4 cm;
- the rooster’s comb falls to one side;
- the comb does not fit snugly against the back of the rooster’s head, but is raised above it;
- the tail is turned in relation to the body;
- crooked;
- Belichi;
- feathered metatarsus;
- feathered face;
- crest on the head;
- short legs;
- shortened neck;
- shortened and narrow body;
- lack of a well-developed keel.
An undeveloped keel reduces the depth of the chest, reducing the cock’s ability to sing for a long time. In the sources, you can usually find only a description of the defects of the Yurlovskaya breed of chickens without a photo, so it is quite difficult to get an idea of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbwhat this or that type of defect is.
What is a “feathered metatarsus” is usually clear to poultry farmers without explanation. This trait is inherent in Chinese meat breeds, which are among the ancestors of the Yurlovsky chickens, and sometimes it is split off in modern individuals.
Raised crest is quite common.
A weakly developed keel is sometimes difficult to notice without feeling the birds. But often the shape of the rooster’s body “without a keel” resembles a duck.
In the video, the breeder of the Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens tells in detail what this bird should be like and how to select roosters for a tribe.
Development of the young
The safety of adult birds is relatively low, only 77%. At the same time, the safety of young animals up to 17 weeks is 96%.
Often the description of the young growth of the Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens from the owners sounds like “looks like ostriches”.
Some roosters, with a larger and more developed body, really resemble ostriches. But most look like the bird-like dinosaur Ornithomiumus. Moreover, chickens “do not go out of character” even in adulthood.
Pros of the breed
Adaptability to climatic conditions and the preservation of the instinct of incubation in some laying hens. Thanks to the latter quality, some hens of the Yurlovskaya vociferous can be used as hens.
How to select a rooster for a tribe
Reviews about the Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens as “long-playing” singers are true. Although the beauty of the low voices of the Yurlovsky roosters is a moot point. Rather, such singing is for an amateur.
Yurlovsky chickens are selected for the tribe according to several criteria:
- the duration of singing is at least 8 seconds;
- as low a voice as possible is preferred;
- to obtain “singers” in the uterine composition, hens with a low bass cackle are selected.
There are also a couple of signs that a rooster can become a good “singer”. Usually the most unsightly outwardly individuals sing well. Future good “singers” start singing very late: after 7 months. Ideally, the rooster should crow at the age of one year.
Reviews
Conclusion
The population of Yurlovsky vociferous chickens today has less than 7 thousand heads. The breed is bred at breeding stations as genetic material for breeding new crosses. You can find these chickens in private backyards and in non-specialized poultry farms. Due to mixing with Turkish Denizli, the original qualities of the breed disappear. So the choice of the seller must be approached very carefully if you need a real Yurlovskaya vociferous breed of chickens.