Appenzeller Spitzhauben anyone?

[chrisf]

Can anyone explain exactly the genetic leucosis that the appenzeller Spitzhauben carry?........I would like to get some but I do not want to spread something among my flock............Thanks................................................Chrisf

 

[sophiejw]

Ditto to above, what is this condition? I have possibly 3 chicks that I hatched out 10 days ago, not keen if they are carrying something that could go to the rest of my flock later. Can be transmitted from mother to unborn chick in the egg? I think 2 of the chicks aren't actually that breed (bought the eggs at auction) but one might be....

 

[allen wranch]

This is some basic information I wrote for the Spitzhauben Yahoo group.

There are two types of Lymphoid Leukosis viruses. One is only transmitted
vertically, that is it passes from the mom to the egg. It will not spread to
other chicks unless they are in the same hatch as the affected birds. The other
is the "J" virus. It can spread through the egg as well as horizontally to
other birds through feces, contact, etc. My Spitz do not have the "J" virus.

If a chicken has LLV, it may develop lymphoid tumors and die. There is no cure.
If it is only a carrier, it could live a long life and never develop tumors. A
lot of my Spitz are pushing seven years old and are fine and healthy.

Do your Spitzhaubens have LLV ? Probably, but you won't know unless blood tests
are performed or a necropsy reveals the tumors. I said probably because LLV
almost always shows up in "fancy" breeds with a limited gene pool that have been
bred within that gene pool for several years (per Texas A&M vet).

You can look up Lymphoid (or Avian) Leukosis on-line and it will give you lots
of information. What I have stated above are the basics and come from extensive
conversations with an avian disease expert (vet) who works exclusively with
chickens. He has written several articles for books and magazines.

I still have and breed Spitzhaubens and don't worry about LLV anymore. The first time I became familiar with it was when an Ameraucana hen died of LLV the first year I had chickens. This was 8 years ago and none of the rest of my layers (not counting Spitz) have it that I am aware of.

It is not necessarily a death sentence. I still have some of my original Spitzhaubens and they are fat and sassy girls. They carry the virus, but are not affected by it. Only 4 or 5 of all of the Spitzhaubens I have raised have died of the disease, and they usually were older before the tumors grew enough to cause death.

I would not let LLV determine whether you get the breed or not. As mentioned earlier, there are other chicken breeds that have it. Just be careful when you hatch Spitz eggs and not hatch other breed eggs with them.

BTW, I just put 15 Spitz eggs under a broody. Wish me luck !​

 

[EweSheep]

Good luck Carla!

 

[NYRIR]

Here are my hatchery quality Spitz...I love them...they are really friendly little girls.I ordered from MPC..

Sorry I know nothing of the disease...

 

[classicsredone]

I don't have Spitzhaubens, but I do have Hamburgs from McMurray. There is some difference between the hatchery birds and exhibition birds, but the girls I got from McMurray are nice looking birds. They're definitely higher quality than I expected for a hatchery. I've had them mistaken for Spitzhaubens, but the only similarity is the small stature and spangles.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
And top mohawks.

NYRIR, I dont know about the standards for crests but there is too much black going on. The pullet on the left has too much of a Polish mop while the other one was OK. I know where the hatchery got their Spitzhaubens from and I am not too crazy about their breeder's line. I avoided that breeder and that hatchery's Spitzhaubens. Other than that, they are lovely in their own way. Ideal Hatchery by far has the better hatchery type Spitzhaubens, IMO.

Carla got the BEST ones I've seen so far! And OKCarla does too but she is working on hers.