Chantecler Thread!

[RhodeRunner]

Quick intro: I have a PC flock from Blehm/Sandhill stock. I took my two best guesses for sq out of the yard Sunday to a judge to assess for me. She had great things to say though did mention one might be starting a molt so that will likely keep me out of showing her in May. I am finding that these PC are the answer to wanting a real dual purpose breed. I have quite a few 'rare' breeds here but these are definitely staying. I would love to discuss more standards information. Is there a better thread for this or did I find it?

Baybrio.... I have Favs here as well. Nice birds

Welcome to the Chantecler Thread! I have found our Partridges to be the ideal breed for keeping dual-purpose fowl too.

This, is the most popular Chantecler thread, but as you can see...it doesn't have much activity. Where, or on what topic would you like to discuss first on the standard? Do you have any photos of your birds?

 

[ashandvine]

I anticipated this question so I snapped a few today but it was so cold out there I didn't linger for great shots or all the birds. Coopslave has nice looking birds from what I could see in the gallery. I would like to learn more about standards and was told that the cushion comb isn't breeding true so pointers on that would be nice. This thread might be short enough I could wade through it all rather than be redundant but I am not at that point yet. (its finally spring here)

Favorite cockerel here, the wind is ruffling those chest feathers


Him again


One of the young gals-- love that 'cornish' eye


Another pullet with young cockerels in back


young cockerel- I believe they are molting or coming off molt. They have a lot of pin feathers.

 

[skookumchuck]

I anticipated this question so I snapped a few today but it was so cold out there I didn't linger for great shots or all the birds. Coopslave has nice looking birds from what I could see in the gallery. I would like to learn more about standards and was told that the cushion comb isn't breeding true so pointers on that would be nice. This thread might be short enough I could wade through it all rather than be redundant but I am not at that point yet. (its finally spring here)

Favorite cockerel here, the wind is ruffling those chest feathers


Him again


One of the young gals-- love that 'cornish' eye


Another pullet with young cockerels in back


young cockerel- I believe they are molting or coming off molt. They have a lot of pin feathers.

Nice looking birds. I am looking forward to having some of these this summer as soon as I get eggs to hatch.

 

[coopslave]

Coopslave has nice looking birds from what I could see in the gallery. I would like to learn more about standards and was told that the cushion comb isn't breeding true so pointers on that would be nice.

Thank you for the complement. Have a look at your cockerels compared to some of my photos and the ones on RhodeRunners website. Yours are to red at the moment. Breast should be blacker and they should have some black in the hackle as well as the wing bars. This will help with the pencilling in your females. Deeper coloured cock birds will also help with the the ground colour in your females to make it a bit darker.
You have a good start there for sure and something to work with. Better than I started with, just keep looking for birds to help improve your line and you will get there.
To be honest, I don't worry to much about comb right now. I will not use a cockerel with a rose or pea comb, but if he doesn't have a great cushion I am not to worried about it. So many other things to worry about first!!
Thanks for sharing you pictures with us, it is always good to see pictures of the breed we are all working on!

 

[RhodeRunner]

Cushion Combs​

The Cushion comb is (or, should be) a genetic combination of two dominate genes. These genes are known as the pea and rose combs.

Pea comb = (P) dominate gene
Rose comb = (R) dominate gene

Cushion comb should = (P/P, R/R)
But, Cushion comb can = (P/p, R/r) (P/P, R/r) P/p/, RR) and (P/P,R/R)

Why do pea and rose combed fowl hatch from Cushion combed fowl? Even if one culls all pea combed and rose combed fowl from their flock, they can hatch pea and rose combed fowl. This is because birds can be heterozygous (have one dominate and one recessive trait), while displaying a perfect Cushion comb. Heterozygous fowl will produce chicks with pea, rose, and cushion comb types.

How to stop this?
Single Pen Mating: You would have to create single matings, and keep track of what hatches. Then you can determine which fowl are heterozygous, and what comb type(s) they are throwing.
Flock Breeding: Many of us breed with the flock method. This way it is impossible to determine which bird(s) are heterozygous or homozygous. You will just have to cull through the chicks for proper comb type (forever)...which, would be best no matter how you bred.

Culling Day-Old Chicks
I have found this problem easiest to handle as soon as the chicks hatch. Select pea and rose combed chicks and cull them. Pea combs are very easy to spot, as they have a middle ridge. Rose combs can be complicated, but if you look closely you will see a little bulb in the back of the comb, and sometimes some bumps up front. Cushion combs should be flat (though many Chanteclers have winkles) and will have little down fuzz on the back of their combs.

Selecting Breeding Fowl
The Partridge Chantecler is so degraded, that one can't be to selective for comb type. But, do not ever breed fowl with pea or rose combs.


Better Combs




Okay Combs
Pullet (take note of the winkle)


Bad Comb
​

 

[unkadan]

thanks for sharing those pictures

 

[RhodeRunner]

Thank you for the complement. Have a look at your cockerels compared to some of my photos and the ones on RhodeRunners website. Yours are to red at the moment. Breast should be blacker and they should have some black in the hackle as well as the wing bars. This will help with the pencilling in your females. Deeper coloured cock birds will also help with the the ground colour in your females to make it a bit darker.
You have a good start there for sure and something to work with. Better than I started with, just keep looking for birds to help improve your line and you will get there.
To be honest, I don't worry to much about comb right now. I will not use a cockerel with a rose or pea comb, but if he doesn't have a great cushion I am not to worried about it. So many other things to worry about first!!
Thanks for sharing you pictures with us, it is always good to see pictures of the breed we are all working on!

Great information! I have a little to add.

Coopslave really covered coloration to a T. Your birds are displaying a great deal of red/orange. Roosters should have black chests, and your hens should be a darker shade.​

​

When starting out, coloration is one of last concerns.

I tend to gravitate towards weight and general type first. The first selection I do, is based on body weight, and meat location.
The old standard calls for hens 7.5 pounds and roosters 8.5 pounds. The modern standard calls for hens 6.5 pounds, and roosters 7.5. I prefer the old standards weight, and that is what I bred towards. (Though some of my birds are overweight)

Also, try not to bred fluffy birds into your breeding program. It will prove difficult to get rid of in the future. I like the look of the first pullet, as her feathers are held tightly to her body. The second hen is too fluffy, and is showing poor type in her back.

It is great to see photos of your birds! Even better, to see some more Partridges with tails! I see a lot of bunny tails on Partridges.​

 

[Jake Levi]

Rhode Runner I agree, practical traits first, and weight and egg production over color, but the black breast isnot hard to select for. Combs are important in the north, so should be a selection factor.

Some nice pics here, makes it easy to see what should be selected for. Myself I am far more selective on roosters then hens, their two main selection factors to me are size/weight and egg production.

 

[ashandvine]

Alright... more black and I have poor combs. I have Russian Orloffs here so I can watch the combs the same way.

About culling chicks: how do you do that? I have decided a pair of shears seems quickest but I wouldn't be culling chicks to anything other than the meat pen if we are talking about PC.

A thought from some other breeders for those breeding flocks (not single pairs) who want to keep track of who lays what: start by marking every hen with a colored band or number. Then, depending on how many females you have, use food coloring dropped/squirted (a few drops) into the vent to mark the color of their eggs. The dyes will streak the egg on its way out, though yellow and orange are not great to use. You could just leave one without a color. Then you could have red, no color, blue, green and maybe purple. That's five distinctions. Pick out who you want to hatch from and write on them with pencil your notes because the dye may not make it through incubation. Hatch and keep a log/notebook of which hen threw which chicks. Its the only way I know to make flock breeding trackable.

I have tried finding good pictures of SOP PC but am not getting very far. Recommendations?

 

[chicksnthestiks]

Alright... more black and I have poor combs. I have Russian Orloffs here so I can watch the combs the same way.

About culling chicks: how do you do that? I have decided a pair of shears seems quickest but I wouldn't be culling chicks to anything other than the meat pen if we are talking about PC.

A thought from some other breeders for those breeding flocks (not single pairs) who want to keep track of who lays what: start by marking every hen with a colored band or number. Then, depending on how many females you have, use food coloring dropped/squirted (a few drops) into the vent to mark the color of their eggs. The dyes will streak the egg on its way out, though yellow and orange are not great to use. You could just leave one without a color. Then you could have red, no color, blue, green and maybe purple. That's five distinctions. Pick out who you want to hatch from and write on them with pencil your notes because the dye may not make it through incubation. Hatch and keep a log/notebook of which hen threw which chicks. Its the only way I know to make flock breeding trackable.

I have tried finding good pictures of SOP PC but am not getting very far. Recommendations?

I don't think cull has to mean kill. This is a dual purpose breed and it is just a waste of life to put down a day old chick because its comb is wrong. I am just saying let them serve a purpose. I understand alot of people sell their culled chicks as generic so at least they can provide eggs or a meal later.