Are Black Sumatra slow to mature?

[easttxchick]

I know there aren't a lot of people on BYC that have Black Sumatra(and information on them is pretty scarce), but I have a couple of questions about them.

1. Do they tend to be relatively slow to mature? My rooster is 5 months old and has not even attempted to crow.
2. At what age do the roosters begin to develop spurs? Not even an indication of a spur on my boy(I guess I thought with multiple spurs they would begin to develop at an early age).
3. My rooster does not seem the least bit interested in "romance" at 5 months old-is that normal?
4. At what age do the hens begin laying?

I may be guilty of comparing my little Sumatra rooster to my giant SLW rooster Maynard(same age as Sumatra roo) who stomps around the property like Godzilla crowing at the top of his lungs and chasing the ladies(much to their dismay).

Any help(even guesses are better than what I know about this) would be very much appreciated.

For anyone who is interested in the Sumatras, they are incredibly sweet little things. I adore my pair.

 

[Fourgirlsoneboy]

I am no help- I have an almost 4 month old trio- but my roo isn't crowing and he has zilch for spurs. I really like them though

I hope someon else has you answers!

 

[easttxchick]

Thanks fourgirls-there are so few of them out there that is is difficult to get any info on them.

 

[Lollipop]

Well, the little that I know about them is that they were originally bred as gamefowl, although show breeding in later years has taken the "game" out of most bloodlines. Being from Sumatra, they are also cosidered an Oriental breed. Orientals as a whole are slow to mature. Pullets will lay between 5 and 8 months and are good broodies. Cockerals, called stags in gamefowl circles, are considered just that until they are 2 years old, when at last they are mature, but they usually start to crow at about the same age as egg laying begins. These are generalities and apply to Orientals in general. I would consider them to be a rare breed. You may find out more info by googling SPPA (Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities). Good luck........Pop

 

[Kennyog]

Yes,they are slow to mature.i have standard sumatras,don't know about the batams,never had those.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I've got bantam black and blues,( pictured on my website)
They are somewhat slow to mature, I mean they are breeding at 6 months??? If that's slow??
They do not crow a lot, that's why he's being quite.
Not all are multi-spured, and usually take 6-8 months to even see the bud starting, a full year to see a decent spur.
Until a min, of 6 months, they will not be sexually active at all, and it's not breeding season right yet either, give 'em another month or 2

Hope that helped, let me know if you have any more specific questions, will be glad to help. Do yours have yellow foot pads?

Aubrey

 

[Fourgirlsoneboy]

I have standard size birds and they do have yellow footpads. I don't have the Standard of Perfection yet (will be buying next month)- is that a good thing?

 

[easttxchick]

Thanks so much for all of the input(it's more than I found on internet).

My pair are supposed to be standards, but that was another reason I was questioning the maturity-they seem a bit small to me for standards.

I don't know if they have yellow footpads, I never looked(I think mine might resist this procedure

).

My little rooster follows me around BEGGING for treats. He is without a doubt the sweetest boy I have. My husband is concerned that he will begin to get aggressive as he gets older due to the background of the Sumatra-has anyone found them to be aggressive? I tend to baby him something awful-am I asking for it later?

Again, thank so much for your input guys.

Boggy Bottoms-I may be calling on you for more info on them-thanks for the offer.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

No problem!
And no, so far mine are just as gentle as can be. I actually have pair all in the same pen, they dont even bother each other, much less me.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

In my experience with bantam and largefowl sumatras the bantams seem to mature alittle faster. We have had many largefowl that get questioned as they grow if a bantam could have slipped into the pen. I have noticed spur growth around 3 months of age on most of the good cockerels. They dont really hit a growth spurt until they are around 5 months or so, so kinda slow to get full size. The tails take awhile to come in on some birds. Most cockerels dont crow until they are older when compared to other breeds.