Amers d’Anvers

[Amer]

The quails are still my fave.

I think they’ve become my favorite because they’re far more pleasing to look at because they are better bred.

also... this revelation... they just feel good in the hand
When I lifted up my quail pullets and compared them to my blues pullets, I noticed something remarkable. They felt totally different in the hand. The quails are far more well bred. They feel really good in the hand. They’re well balanced, and have nicely rounded off muscled breasts. The backs are quite broad and if you draw your fingers along the sides of the body, you feel the angles of the hips, but they aren’t painfully sharp. The feathers are glossy and broad and have this nice tightness, if you push them they have a bit of pressure, if you pull them back they snap back into place. Meanwhile, the blues seem almost “floppy.” They’re unsubstantial. The angles are painfully sharp and the back is narrow. The feathers are softer and looser and narrower, less shiny and snappy. They get the same environment as the quails.
I’ll have to remember to select for blues with more full, muscled bodies. The quails are just a pleasure to behold.
Who here breeds for frame in their d’Anvers? It’s not something I’ve ever paid attention to in such a small bantam until now.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

I hatched a few babies recently but didn’t bother photographing them. That’s okay, a larger hatch is hatching right now.
Here are my lovely breeding pens. (I forgot to photograph Ziggy and Nate together. So far, no eggs from Ziggy. Really annoying. She’s also really old. But all I need are like a couple! My other pens are laying good, but the fertility and hatching rate is sketchy.)
View attachment 2601598 (Idk why but the quails look like some aristocrats posing for a painting.)View attachment 2601599
Also check out this cool German site. It’s fun to compare the German and American Standards. https://www.sonderverein-antwerpenerbartzwerge.de/

So cute and beautiful! I love them!

 

[Amer]

There are one dozen, and I figured out that with one scooping motion betwixt the hands can bring 9 of them into a handful and three between the arms. So you could carry them all at once, except they’d probably jump off.
And in your hands! It’s like a snuggle pile!
How do these little bumblebees ever become chickens?

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

There are one dozen, and I figured out that with one scooping motion betwixt the hands can bring 9 of them into a handful and three between the arms. So you could carry them all at once, except they’d probably jump off.
And in your hands! It’s like a snuggle pile!
How do these little bumblebees ever become chickens?
View attachment 2605303View attachment 2605305View attachment 2605312

I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmm....
They are the cutest things that I've seen all week.

 

[The Moonshiner]

@Amer
These are what you have right?

 

[Amer]

@Amer
These are what you have right?
View attachment 2660345View attachment 2660347

Correct

 

[The Moonshiner]

How do they look from what you can see?

 

[Amer]

How do they look from what you can see?

Poor compared to the Standard. The tail is squirrel, a DQ. D’Anvers females should have 65°. The back is just a bit longer than “very short” and the neck doesn’t look very thick like the bull neck d’Anvers have. The beard is a far cry from “full” and the body does not look “cobby.” D’Anvers should have some musculature, you should be able to feel it in your hand, and when a bird is well muscled, the breast is full and it stands with better posture (d’Anvers have a very upright station). Also they just look super healthy. I will give that this bird appears to be young.
The feathers don’t appear to be firm, broad, and close-fitting (a problem my blues have.)
Actually, my blues have all these issues.
Here’s the color issues (now I don’t know if she’s a cockerel breeder, in that case the color would be acceptable, but I will judge her as a show bird.)
Quail females should have “chocolate black” on each of their feathers, even the wing coverts, which is often and issue among even the best breeders. It needs to be clearly laced and shafted in gold. (Idk who’s bird this is but I know I took the photo)

These look like they will be beautiful, excellent pets that will love you forever. Breeding fowl? Show winners? No.

 

[Painted Calls]

Should have stayed at the sale? Yes.

 

[Amer]

Should have stayed at the sale? Yes.

Why?