Chantecler Thread!

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I am thinking about getting some Chantecler for Ideal. How are they? How are they for meat production? I have heard they are not very good layers.

My chanties are the only consistent layers right now and it's -30C here right now. I've learned my Chanty eggs and what they look like. I have 4 white pure girls laying right now and I get 3 of the 4 every day. Their eggs are smaller than my other birds, pure and mixed. My Orp/chanty mixes lay a little bigger egg, but they pale in comparison to my ISA's. That's something I'm working on in my flock, is larger egg size.
 
My chanties are the only consistent layers right now and it's -30C here right now. I've learned my Chanty eggs and what they look like. I have 4 white pure girls laying right now and I get 3 of the 4 every day. Their eggs are smaller than my other birds, pure and mixed. My Orp/chanty mixes lay a little bigger egg, but they pale in comparison to my ISA's. That's something I'm working on in my flock, is larger egg size.

What are you doing to work on larger eggs? Are you just hatching larger eggs? Or trying to breed it into them?
How would you feel for a meat bird?
 
What are you doing to work on larger eggs? Are you just hatching larger eggs? Or trying to breed it into them?
How would you feel for a meat bird?

Hi Gucci.

We are selecting the larger egg girls. We are also planning to re-introduce some of the foundation breeds as well. We will keep a pure flock, whether their eggs grow in size or not by selecting larger eggs to hatch from, however I will have a project group as well.

I recently sold a White Chantecler rooster to a good friend of mine -- he had corn yellowing and lung damage from his prior, likely ammonia filled conditions. He was a bird that needed attention and no other competition -- he would have breathing problems if he got riled up. He was solid. Tight muscles and a lot of meat. My newest, youngest roo isn't even a year yet, so I can't judge. I also have another 2 hens from a separate line that are nice and solid. Somewhere near a dark cornish, but more elegantly placed and shaped. This coming year we'll have a few more pure boys to harvest for the freezer.
 
Hi Gucci.

We are selecting the larger egg girls. We are also planning to re-introduce some of the foundation breeds as well. We will keep a pure flock, whether their eggs grow in size or not by selecting larger eggs to hatch from, however I will have a project group as well.

I recently sold a White Chantecler rooster to a good friend of mine -- he had corn yellowing and lung damage from his prior, likely ammonia filled conditions. He was a bird that needed attention and no other competition -- he would have breathing problems if he got riled up. He was solid. Tight muscles and a lot of meat. My newest, youngest roo isn't even a year yet, so I can't judge. I also have another 2 hens from a separate line that are nice and solid. Somewhere near a dark cornish, but more elegantly placed and shaped. This coming year we'll have a few more pure boys to harvest for the freezer.


Awesome. I will have to get me some of these birds. They really do sound amazing.. Anyone have hatching eggs?
 
Awesome. I will have to get me some of these birds. They really do sound amazing.. Anyone have hatching eggs?

Something to consider would be your climate. I lived in Georgia and Florida for a while, so I'm relatively familiar with the temperatures Tennessee gets. Your incredibly warm and often humid summers could be an issue for these birds. They were specifically designed in Canada's frigid climate on the Quebec countryside. Their feathers are slick and tightly bound in order to keep the heat trapped into their body in the freezing cold like I have now. While my other birds huddle for warmth by the waterer, where the only source of heat is, my chanties mill around the coop and do chickeny things. However in the summer time, after about 85F, my chanties had real trouble cooling themselves down. They dug foot deep holes in the chicken yard in which to lay in to try to stay cool, wings out on either side -- I ended up spraying them with the hose a couple times to keep them cooled off, which they revelled in. I had a couple blue orpingtons as well -- they have a larger egg and fluffier feathering that allows for the exhaustion of heat from within them. They don't do well if wet for the same reasons, takes them a bit to dry off. My Orp crosses are doing alright -- combs are the only issue for them here, but they do tend to use the heat lamp quite often.

It's just something to consider.
 
Thank you so much for that info. This would be something i really need to consider. If I want to work with this breed it would have to be something i go at 100% and maybe have an air conditioner in the hen house for them. I will have to do a lot more research and thinking before I jump into this breed.
 
Thank you so much for that info. This would be something i really need to consider. If I want to work with this breed it would have to be something i go at 100% and maybe have an air conditioner in the hen house for them. I will have to do a lot more research and thinking before I jump into this breed.

They'd be worth adapting to your climate, it would just take some time. MEssage me any time you like -- I'm not an expert, but experience is a good teacher.
 

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