Barbu de Watermael thread?

[Pampered chicken girl]

When does he graduate to "rooster"?

how old is he? He graduates when he's sexually matured, usually 5 or 6 months

I'm told for American watermael he is too golden. "Technically" the feathers of his body should be chestnut colored and any variation that a real chestnut can have is acceptable range. He is European colored. Personally I think he is stunning. Here is a quail d'anvers I saw at a show recently who has American show quality quail color.

View attachment 3243534

Handsome little rooster!

 

[SarahLadd]

how old is he? He graduates when he's sexually matured, usually 5 or 6 months

Handsome little rooster!

He was born May 22, so he's 163 days/5.8 months old.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

He was born May 22, so he's 163 days/5.8 months old.

Is he mating the hens if so probably can consider him a rooster

 

[SarahLadd]

Is he mating the hens if so probably can consider him a rooster

Oh yeah he started doing that a little before 4 months.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Oh yeah he started doing that a little before 4 months.

So I would say rooster but maybe I'm wrong

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Are you in the US? I love jasper and agate and would definitely buy hatching eggs from them! I want to hatch maybe in December or January, will you have your NPIP by then?

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Roosters are male birds over a year old.

 

[SarahLadd]

I'm not sure how long it will take before I have eggs that I would feel okay shipping away to someone. Rose comb affects fertility by a LOT so odds are I'm going to have to spend some time hatching chicks here for a while to determine my fertility rate before I can consider my options. Something about the gene affects sperm mobility.

It's been a while since I popped any of my d'anvers eggs open and I haven't checked any of the watermael eggs yet. I haven't seen Agate mate all of them yet, just a few.

 

[Tonyroo]

As roosters age like at the 2 year mark there colors look deeper and vibrant and the patterns move around a bit. That's what I notice with my Swedish flower rooster. He's in molt right now.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

I'm not sure how long it will take before I have eggs that I would feel okay shipping away to someone. Rose comb affects fertility by a LOT so odds are I'm going to have to spend some time hatching chicks here for a while to determine my fertility rate before I can consider my options. Something about the gene affects sperm mobility.

It's been a while since I popped any of my d'anvers eggs open and I haven't checked any of the watermael eggs yet. I haven't seen Agate mate all of them yet, just a few.

That's OK, no problem