Chantecler

Tell me all about them!
Do they lay good are they friendly?

I would also like to know about this breed

i haven't heard much about em.. but the ones i heard about are year round layers. lay big brown eggs. cold hardy. friendly, not very noisey. and pretty much all i've heard

do Partridges breed pure?

Partridge breeds true.

HI All

CHanteclers were developped in Quebec by Brother Wilfred, in the early 1900s. He wanted a winter hardy dual purpose bird.

They have cushion combs and very small wattes so are very resistant to the cold.

They are very good winter layers - mine are laying like crazy! -they are such good girls.

They do become broody - I have one girl that I have to pry off the nest every time I go to the coop- it's only february- way too early girls

They love to forage, when the snow if gone but do like to go out in the snow to check out the scene.

They are friendly and mild tempered. I have three roos in wth my girls and they do not fight.

There are 2 recognized colours -white and partridge (yes the partridge breeds true) BUff's are becoming quite popular.

The hardest thing with breeding Chantecler is getting the nice cushion comb. Sometime you will get pea combs which you don't want for breeding.

All in all they are great breed and I really like them
Hope this helps
N:_)

Cushion comb is the combination of Rose and Pea comb types. You could introduce something with rose comb to fix that problem. Wyandotte was used in the development, right?

It may be better to just only breed the ones with cushion combs, as you may have problems breeding type back.

Chanteclers are the most cold hardy breed around, right?

Quote:
unknown, some people say Sumatras are. others. Gamefowl. and then some say chanteclers.

Quote:
unknown, some people say Sumatras are. others. Gamefowl. and then some say chanteclers.

Thank you - I've tried to figure out on my own for a while which breed's the most cold hardy, and now you instantly narrowed it down to three!

Can I go further off topic and ask - what makes a breed more cold hardy? From the top of my head, I can think of:

- Small comb/ wattles. Reduces frostbite.
- Thick/dense feathering.
- Bulk, since big objects retain heat better.
- Thick legs, to keep leg surface to leg mass ratio to a minimum, to prevent the air from cooling the legs.
- Short legs, to keep as little skin as possible in contact with the air.
- Facial feathers, for the reason stated above. Might have the opposite effect though, since they can get dirty without the chicken being able to clean them.
- More efficient metabolism.
- More efficient water retention.
- A more active behaviour, since you get cold when you stand still.
- An aptitude for seeking out warm places to roost, or to roost sitting right next to one another.