Brabanters and Spitzhaubens--The Differences PIC HEAVY!

[EweSheep]

They should not be mean at all. Never had a mean one. If I had a roo that flogged me, they would be gone!

 

[ccshambhala]

thank you EweSheep! That is what I thought. Since he/she is so young I figure we will try to work with him/her a bit. But yeah, I am not in the habit of keeping mean animals either!! (esp with kids around!) (tho I've never had to get rid of a girl!!)

 

[andalusn]

Quote:
My main rooster has never done anything like that and the two rooster chicks that hatched from that pen I kept until they were crowing well (5 mos) and they also were prefect gentlemen to be around. They free ranged with the main hen flock until I sold them.

 

[ccshambhala]

glad to hear it andalusn - I do like the looks of brabanters! Hopefully this is just a fluke situation and we can retrain him/her. I'm just stunned at the age - and I am leaning toward it being a girl! I was so excited to find creme brabanters as pullets from a hatchery! sadly this is the one that grew a crest so the other one technically should be culled for not having one

. Mine are just pets so I won't be culling for looks (altho I would like them to look like what they are supposed to

) but temperament......

 

[wingsofglory]

Please keep us posted on how he does.

I have 4 creams and 4 gold roos (Ideal) coming along. They are three weeks old now. All the posts here about bad crests, no crests, etc. so I got 4 of each to choose the best from to keep. Am seeing lots of variation in the hen's sizes too, especially the golds.

 

[EweSheep]

Did you get all of your Brabanter chicks from Ideal Hatchery?

 

[ccshambhala]

i will wingsofglory

I knew hatchery stock was less quality than breeder stock - but I wasn't prepared for the problems I've had with this batch. I ordered 2 creme brabanter pullets (1 no crest, 1 flogging me @ 5 weeks), 4 mottled houdans (1 died a day after I got it - one died a week or so ago but had obvious issues from the beginning (it was always a little squirrely, then developed a crooked neck (i read several posts that suggested adding vit/min to water for this which I did) then got even squirrelier (it appeared to have neurological issues - it would get spastic then fall over - could not right itself and eyes would roll around in its head) - my two lf barred cochin pullets seem ok for hatchery stock - altho they did feather out differently from each other so I was worried I got a roo....) and yes mine were from Ideal as well. I have heard that mottled Houdans are prone to issues- I guess due to their numbers falling so low?

It's frustrating...... but I will wait to see how these develop

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I've never been attacked by mine. I have one that comes and sits on my knee.

 

[wingsofglory]

Yes, all from Ideal: Golds: 5 females + 4 males; Creams 8 females + 4 males.

They are all healthy and developing strong bodies. Not enough feathers yet to tell anything about looks. All are developing crests. A couple might not have beards.

The Brabanters arrived just as I finished brooding a batch of 13 BBS Ameraucana from a breeder with beautiful photos.

I was happy to see the Brabanters from Ideal were alert, vigorous chicks.

The Ameraucana worried me because they mostly slept the first 3 weeks. The Ameraucana still take two long siestas during the day, as a group back in the coop, while free ranging. (Days here are about 50 degrees F so it is not heat) . It was/is worrying me about them - they are big now and still feel like picking up a feather duster, not solid bodies. They are nine weeks old now. I've never had any before so I don't know if this is just their temperment.

But the Brabanters are healthy and active and carry on like chicks, throwing over their water cooler and the usual stuff. No long naps as a group like the Ameraucanas.

Some Cream Brabanters like to fly over and perch on my hands or knees while I change food, etc or just sitting talking to them. However, twice, when my hands have been in the brooder box, I've had long-legged ones (probably roos because 8 of them grew the long legs at the same time and are the biggest) have come running at my hand heels first. ??? Three and a half weeks old. I hope they were just checking for treats, tho I've never seen the heels-first approach before. The golds are much shyer.

I think Ideal deserves credit for delivering healthy chicks and looking as good as they do. I have the breeder Ameraucana to compare to. For three/four times the amount of money I got Ameraucana with white speckles in their black or blue feathers, wide range of size, and some with poor beards which I hope fill in later. They also don't seem very vigorous.

Edited for clarity.

 

[birdwatcherohio]

I saw the post about hatchery stock for Brabanters being of lower quality than breeder stock. I never buy from hatcheries. I did buy some Brabanter eggs from a breeder. I have to say I am quite disappointed in their quality and will not be breeding any Brabanters from the 5 I have. Of the 5 I have, 2 do not have crests. One has an extremely deformed leg, but a good crest. Of the last 2, one has an O.K. crest, but the other crest is completely wrong for a Brabanter. I'll keep them just as chickens to have in the coop and get some eggs for eating.

I know there are good Brabanter breeders out there, but I did not do my homework before I bought my hatching eggs on ebay. All I did was check feedback, which was 100%. Even I gave good feedback based on getting the number of eggs I ordered quickly. Just a watchout since I learned my lesson too late. I won't be getting any more Brabanters. Maybe if I had received better quality stock, I would feel differently about getting more....