Belgian d'Uccle

These chickens are so nice, and they are real lap chickens!

I have one that's the bottom of the pecking order and whenever she gets chased or pecked she'll come running to me!

She loves to be snuggled! Unfortunately she is too scared too eat on her own so I have to hand feed her.

And she goes through phases where she won't eat a certain type of food for a few days ,and a lot of the foods the other chickens love, she won't eat.

After a while of me being gone she'll come looking for me.

Here are a few picks of her:

Her name is Millie!

I only have one belgian d'uccle and I know all chickens have unique personalities but out of my mixed flock he has the most comical and winning personality of the bunch.  Aloysius, my  belgian d'uccle rooster, is extremely inquisitive.  He follows me around the yard, eats out of my hand, and is the head man in charge.  He is the head rooster even though my LF golden laced wyandotte rooster Goliath is 3-4 times his size.  If Goliath is making my hens squak when mounting Aloysius runs over to make sure they're okay.  His crow is way nicer to listen too than Goliath's.  I'm in the process of integrating more hens into the flock and it's so funny to watch this little bantam chase the LF hens around.  I would recommend this breed to anyone.  They are docile and great entertainment to have around not to mention stunningly beautiful. 

They're great! 

I have 5 D'uccles hens, and 3 cockerels of various colors.  These birds are the best!!  They fly onto the feed tray in the morning, eat out of my hand, the roosters are not aggressive AT ALL, and they come in many lovely colors.  I really can't say enough good things about this breed! 

I really LOVE d'Uccles!!!!!!! My favorite color is Golden Neck. We have had Golden Neck, Mille Fleur, Black Mottled, Self Blue, and Porcelain. All have the same sweet personality in my experience.

I first had some d'Uccles last year I think...or the year before. I sold them thinking that I would go back to large fowl, and ended up missing them so much that now we have ordered more from Welp Hatchery (where we bought them the first time). We are only ordering Mille Fleur, Golden Neck, and Porcelain this time.

They are so very docile. Even the roosters were not aggressive. They never seemed to want to free range with the other birds- they wanted to get to the feeders instead! That''s when I learned they were happier in a bantam-only pen. This might not be an issue with others, but at the time I had some very aggressive hens and they had a hard time getting to the feeders whenever they wanted.

So, they enjoy staying close to home (even after they filled their crops at the feeders), and can fly like a helicopter- straight up and hover!!! What is so interesting is that even though they could fly right over our fences, they didn't go far. They didn't want to come up to the house and mess up my bark nugget flowerbeds like the large fowl did when they got out.

I love to see them hopping along, raising their feet so high as they walk or run! They are just adorable and love interacting with humans. My children held them on their laps and they grew to enjoy that cuddle time, unlike some other breeds.

My favorite thing about them is that I wanted a breed where I didn't have to send away the roosters. I don't like to send away an animal that I have promised a home to by buying chicks. I know that I might need a rooster pen eventually, but these guys really don't eat much.

D'Uccles (I pronounce it "duh-ooh-cull" with the emphasis on oooh.) are so wonderful and are very pet-like. They are more like having a cat or dog. I tell my DH that it doesn't matter how many eggs we get or what size the eggs are (we have Orpingtons for eggs), because they have won my heart.

UPDATE: I have 5 d'Uccle roos now and one of them has done the wing dance for me. I am watching to see if I will have to get rid of him...I am giving him some time to see if he will show more aggression- then he is out of here. The other 4 roos are just so sweet.

Update again: I am getting rid of my roosters. 3 out of 5 have turned aggressive on me. Granted, they are only 10 inches high and they do try to make friends with me after they kick me. But I am not looking forward to dealing with spurs when they come in.