Chantecler

[DTchickens]

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

 

[Henrik Petersson]

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.

 

[Montana-Hens]

I got one last year just to try out the winter heartiness factor and egg production.

I she is a partidge. She is marked beautiful. Her comb is great. She weather my subzero windy Montana weather fantasic in an unheated insulated coop. From a winter heartiness factor she is stellar.

Now on to the egg situation. She is 9.5 months old....yes that old and has yet to lay her first egg! I am a little frustrated b/c everyone one else in my winter heartiness trial for breeds has laid. Two of them laid all winter in an uninsulated coop with no supplemental lighting.

The word is they are slow to mature. I am going to hope she starts laying soon, though she has no signs of such. I would like to try her thru next winter, but right now I would have to say that as much as I really like how she wintered, and her personality is nice, Chantecler is not high on my egg list. Feeding a lady for 3/4 of a year with no eggs, just not what I am looking for.

 

[cgmccary]

From a winter heartiness factor she is stellar. . . .I am a little frustrated b/c everyone one else in my winter heartiness trial

. . .

A better choice of word here is "hardy." or "For winter hardiness, she is" & "winter trial of hardiness."​

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

Is it difficult to find a source of the breed? I've searched for hatching eggs on Eggbid and Ebay and not found any.

 

[slc]

Just ordered a couple tios (buff and partridge chicks) from Ideal Poultry. Maybe they sell eggs too?
Perhaps I'll be selling eggs next year

Quote:

 

[chickenbuddy]

Just fyi, in Henry Chaucer's Cantebury Tales there is a fable about a rooster named Chantecler, this breed imediatly popped into my head as I read it.

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

I've looked at the Ideal poultry site, looks like a good place to get them. But before I get too excited and order any I'll have to see about building more chicken pens, I already have Brahmas and Araucanas.

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

I did it--- I ordered some Chanteclers from Ideal Hatchery. They offer Partridge, Buff and Red and I chose the Red, got 10 female and 5 male, and also got some Buff Brahma chicks.

I understand the original Chantecler color was white, and Ideal doesn't have those. I guess now that Chanteclers are a rare/endangered breed people like the colors better.

I'd like to get some whites someday, though. Since it is the original color (and an official color, unlike the Red and Buff which are prettier.)

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

I would think that white would be a bad color for winter hardy chickens. Since white reflects warmpth rather then absorbs it. And white also attracts miscitos more (sp?)