Faverolles Thread

[hcammack]

I am getting a little flock of Bantam Salmon and Blue Salmon Faverolles from Hattricksilkies this weekend. I am really excited about them as I love the breed. I had two LF Faverolles in my laying flock and they were wonderful girls. Sadly I don't have them any more but I am excited about these new birds. It would be great if Breeders of both Bantam and LF Faverolles posted talking about their birds. It would also be great to get some pictures of these beauties. Its an underated breed with all of there great qualities! I have found them to be some of my favorites. I will post pics after I pick up on Saturday.

Henry

 

[andreanar]

I have 2 Favs, and one is bottom of peck order, Rosie. She hangs by herself a lot. Stays in the coop instead of free ranging with the others. Her Fav sister hangs out with her sometimes. I recently put 2 bantam cochin in the coop and now Rosie has been their best buddy. The 3 of them hang together all day. The cochins are so docile and so is Rosie, its a match made in heaven.

 

[keesmom]

Really? I had several people on the faverolle sites on Facebook tell me that it looks like a Roo. Certainly would be fine with me, I can’t have a rooster in our neighborhood.

It's a cockerel. If the comb isn't a giveaway the red leakage in the wings definitely is.

 

[Chickassan]

Can we just talk about how cute this is? Seriously!

 

[Chickassan]

This years babies three girls and two boys. So far lovely personalities. First we have Prince, he looks like his mom.

Next is Henry, he protects me from sodas.

This is Miss.Kim

Miss.Stacey

Miss Barbara.

And dad Negan, and mom Rene.

 

[sandiklaws]

Yes, it surprises me too - over, and over, and over again

I promise I'm not making this stuff up..... It was always part of my plan to select for temperament, but at this point I wouldn't have a rooster left for breeding! I have hope for one boy right now, so far, so good.

I must be doing something to provoke it and I just can't see what it is......I had a French Marans roo and he was wonderful, he would take treats from my hand and give it to the girls - he was never aggressive.

The best rooster I ever had....

1) You mentioned wearing red, using red container etc. all of which can cause a roo to appear mean when he goes nuts because of a color trigger
2) Excessive handling of ANY animal that doesn't like to be handled can cause a strike first policy. This is especially true of reptiles, and chickens are not too far from them (in fact it was recently discovered that chickens are modern descendants of T-Rex!), personally I only handle birds that are going to be shown so I can see what the true temperament is like. Picking up a roo and carrying him around in a NEUTRAL fashion can sometimes work, but go the distance with it; in other words have nice treats to offer him the second he gets put down, hold him with his feet on the ground in a calm manner and wait for his body to relax before releasing him and do not give treats until this has happened. This creates in his mind a held-carried-put down-treats behavior chain, which *should* improve your relationship.
3) Any roo worth his salt will have some potential for being feisty, it is a balancing act as a breeder, breed too far towards docility and you get weak birds with no gumption or go-get-em', For example, I just culled a hen from my flock for being too passive, she would allow any roo to mount her and would squat if any roo got within 5 feet of her. Ordinarily I would not cull a hen for this, but she was thrashed in the feather department and had been bred so much she was way past the point of merely loosing condition, she was getting to the point were removing was the only thing that would save her from wasting away. In the other direction, I had a roo that I kept because he successfully ran off a fox when he was 10 months old. His chicks display a very good vigor, and while he sometimes would resist handling for worming and whatnot (to the point of mild warning bites) he never would try to jump at a person. Also, anyone who is "feisty" gets watched and then a 3 strikes you are out goes into effect- for genuine aggression.
4) Keep a journal. You will never figure out the problem by guessing. EVERY TIME he has an issue w/ you write it down (big calendar works great for this) note the time of day, feed and water status, did you get between him and a favorite hen (some roos toss all the rules when it comes to a favorite in peak breeding season) ask yourself these types of questions and try to be observant and CALM.
5) Judge by what he produces as well as how he seems, sometimes it has to do with stuff you had no idea happened. For instance, he might be convinced you are going to shut him in a door or something- who knows what goes through their bird brains. If his offspring have no issues, then use him carefully, watch the brooder- not to talk to them and make friends but to observe. Are they mock fighting under 4 weeks? Are they crowding out small fry birds? Do they go nuts if you put in a grape tomato? Take notes and band them so you can watch potential issues as they grow out.
6) Take a page out of the professional dog trainers book (that's me since 1986 BTW), take the time to watch the group and take notes; who is boss? Who is second banana? Who is sneaky... etc. The results might surprise you, and you will learn TONS about your flock' unique dynamic... you also might discover a problem you had no idea you had. If you know you have issues, figure out management techniques to get around it while training- DO NOT try to train in a hurry without preparation, or while doing chores. Feeding and watering in the dark for the next day with a head lamp so your hands are free will totally eliminate the problem. Perhaps giving each other a breather and addressing the issue separate from routine will help fix it. Also, remember animals do not speak English or like eye contact, being NEUTRAL and CALM often will fix problems regardless of species we humans are having difficulties with.

Hope this helps
Sandi

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Hey all...just popping in for a minute before I head back over to the fair...

I've thought long and hard about whether or not to post on a certain subject, and I have tried to ignore it, but it keeps gnawing at me. There isn't a super nice way to put this, so I'm just going to do the best I can...

Recently I saw a post from someone, which I believe was on Facebook, stating that she had chosen a farm name, that is VERY similar to mine. This person lives less than an hour away from me, and also raises large fowl salmon Faverolles. I am not pleased.

The real reason I am throwing this out there, is to clarify for people that are new to the Faverolles breed, and also to put the word out there to people that already know me. I get A LOT of traffic on my Facebook page and my website from people that were just doing an internet search, or from word of mouth. I don't want people to get confused by this, if they start typing in "Clover" and "Oregon" and "Faverolles" if multiple farm names start coming up. I do NOT want her name associated with my birds, or my name associated with hers. There is a huge difference in our lines.

Bottom line here for the newbies is: do your research and make sure you know where your birds are coming from. And I ask that, of the rest of you, if you hear of someone getting stock from "Clover-something" in Oregon, PLEASE ask and make sure they know whose birds they are getting.
Thanks.... :/

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Vaccines....

I'll start this by saying that I do not vaccinate. For anything. I prefer to breed resistant birds.

Anyway...I was told by my state Vet's office, (so true for my area, not sure of others, your state vet's office would be who to ask) that I should not vaccinate for things like Fowl Pox or Newcastle, as those are "hot" vaccines, and are intended to be used in the event of an outbreak, to try to keep active disease from spreading through your birds, and to minimize losses.

ILT - there are two forms of that vaccine, and if you are going to do it, you need to make sure that you use a tissue culture vaccine, and practice strict quarantine for 60 days after vaccinating. Jean Ribbeck (pipsnpeeps on here) is a good source of info on this, and also sells single vials of the vaccine.

Mareks - there used to be a killed virus vaccine you could use without issue, but it isn't around anymore. You have to use a modified live now, so while the risk is very low, there is the possibility of your birds shedding live virus with this vaccine.

 

[mame1616]

Quote:
If you're looking for true SQ lines, always buy from an experienced breeder. No matter how careful and conscientious hatcheries are, in the end their goal is to make money. (Although, I must admit, those Coastline birds are the nicest hatchery examples I've seen. Most hatchery birds are immediately identifiable.) Having said that, be prepared to wait for eggs - the best breeders have a waiting list. But, it's always worth the wait. The first time I got true exhibition quality birds, I could tell right from the hatch, and the difference was impressive. Well worth the wait and the expense!

Keep in mind: Even from excellent lines, no matter the breed, for every 100 chicks hatched, only six have the genes to make it to Champion Row. Amazing, right? So, while not every clutch of eggs will produce a winner, the better the foundation, the better the chances of hatching great birds.



Lemme get on my soapbox for a mo:

Picture this: three swimming pools. One has been treated and filtered, and the water is crystal clear. One is cloudy, with some algae, and debris floating on top. One is in the middle of the two - pretty clear, but with some stuff one top.

Now - take ten samples of water from each, and compare. Which ones look better?

When you breed birds, every egg is like a sample of that pool water. The genes that come together to create the birds are floating around in the pool. Every egg is a random sample from the million of genes available in the pool. The Faverolles pools are few, and small. The clear pools represent the best lines; the cloudy pools the poor lines. Every time someone breeds and passes on genes from poor birds, like those with four toes, or no beards, etc., those poor genes cloud the few clear pools that exist, and it takes years of filtering and skimming to get those pools clear again. Starting with birds whose genes came from the better quality pool will produce better birds, and help maintain the clarity of the pools.

Sometimes an experienced breeder makes a choice to deliberately cloud their own pool to add certain attributes, but that is done knowing ahead of time that heavy filtering and skimming will be required for several generations, and some bad genes, once in the pool, can never be eliminated. Most good breeders will also not sell birds from this line until they are back to SQ level, thus keeping the poor genes from entering the rest of the pools.

Knowingly breeding and selling poor birds because they are what you have to work with, or you want to make some money, or whatever the excuse, clouds the pools we have available, and, unless careful skimming and filtering is applied to the pools, the breed is harmed as a whole, as the number of clear pools - already small - is now reduced. Because there is no perfect bird, even the best Favs have room for improvement, so the goal is to start with the best, and improve - not start with hatchery and go from there. It can take DECADES to get SQ from that method, and damages all the pools if the results from those poor matings get spread around to multiple pools. Clear as mud?

With every mating you set up, ask yourself - is what I'm planning going to improve the breed, or is this for myself, because I love hatching chicks? (Or whatever the reason.) Of course, if you're going to keep all the birds to yourself forever, this does not apply.

Hence, the reason for educating yourself, and researching the breeders, and waiting for the opportunity to get the right birds from the right breeders.


Sorry for the speech - guess I've read too many posts about excessive hatchings already this season, and it makes me twitchy. My personal opinion is that it's better for all animals if there were fewer, but more conscientious breedings, than multiple pairings producing too many less-than-ideal results. We all want the Favs to be as great as they can be, and if we all get on the same page - and take samples from the clear pools - it's better for all involved. For the birds most of all!

 

[mame1616]

"Roo" is an unfortunate slang term for a male chicken. The correct terms are cock and cockerel. A cock is a male chicken approximately a year old. A cockerel is a male chicken under a year.


FYI - to those who hope to get serious with any breed: say "roo" to a professional breeder/exhibitor, and their eyes will glaze over. They won't take you seriously unless you use the correct terminology. BYC has gotten a bad rep with the serious breeders because of all the people using the term "roo." You'll never see that word on any of the sites the professionals hang out in. If you're not comfortable using "cock," say "cockbird." I'll admit, it took me a bit to get used to it, but that is the correct term. Has been since the chicken was domesticated thousands of years ago.