Pictures are our birds that we have raised and breed. Some are still with us and some have been rehomed.
We started raising Longtails in 2009 and haven't stopped loving and admiring them! Since we moved to Sparta, Georgia in 2017, we have transitioned to free range rearing. We live on 10 fenced acres with a large Barn and they all sleep inside on their favorite roosting spot, in the rafters or high 2x4 perches we installed.
We switched to a free range model primarily due to heath reasons and have found that our birds are thriving. They are more robust, have very few health issues and they also eat less, as they get lots of bugs, fresh air and grass! Our approach is simple. We strive for a beautiful, well balanced Long-Tailed Fowl, breeding to expose Onagadori traits.
As mentioned in previous sections of our website, the Onagadori are extremely rare, and only a small few here in the US, if that? So we know we have a up-hill battle and may not win the Onagadori war, but regardless we continually try to improve the Longtails we raise.
Our Hens happily raise baby chicks on their own, so no more incubators! Chicks always thrive and grow twice as big, in the care of a free range hen! The only downside to free ranging is our males do loose some of their really long saddle and tail feathers, and they get muddy at times. The males do spar with other males, but nothing too extreme to cause harm, which is good because they all learn to socialize with each other. It's interesting to see them form small breeding flocks, which btw are usually separated by color! The Golds hang out with each other, Silvers with Silvers, Blues, etc.. so we are able to keep colors well intact. That said, we don't necessarily breed for color, except for our Whites. We primarily focus on the Onagadori standards, breed for long feather qualities, white ear lobes, willow and yellow leg color, non-molting and a good temperament.
Our Longtails also free range with a variety of other farm animals: horses, pig, dogs, cats, etc. So they are well socialized all around, making them great pets. They also do amazing well when caged properly and can grow extra long saddle and tail feathers, but great care must be taken. Check out the pictures of our birds in a Tombaku's! Those were less than 1 year old when pictures were taken! (pics courtesy of our LA customer ;-)