Chantecler Thread!

[Candy442]

We have a single white hen and I love her! She is very large and the most alert and friendly of the eight others she is coop mates with. She lays a lighter brown extra large egg. She is from John Blehm's flock. My plan was to go with all Chanteclers for the first flock but cheap prices and cute fuzzies found at the feed store were much easier to get for our first flock. Now that I have Pearl, I would go with more of the whites. We looked at the partridge at Birch Run and they were all seemingly docile, but still would go with the whites in the future.
We had a dog attack that took one of our RSL's, Pearl was huddled by a huge brush pile standing out like a white beacon of light, but she was not hurt! She doesn't know that she is bright white, but it was nice to know she took cover no matter how much she stood out from the terrain

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It will all be a matter of preference of what you like to look at in the long run and no, there is no quick answer to whether Partridge or White you start with.

White was my first choice just by research and now that I have one, I don't think I would get any other color Chantecler. She loves to free range and will love being out in the snow where she will get much more defense then

 

[Northie]

I'd like to start my flock with some partridge and buffs in the spring. Problem is I kind of live in the middle of no where and would probably have to travel pretty far to find any. I've been looking at performance poultry's (hatchery in ontario) website and they offer Chanteclers. Does anyone here have birds from them?

 

[coopslave]

I only had a hand full of Whites for a very short time. We just did not click. They didn't mature as fast as my Partridge and that could very well be because of the line they were from. They were lovely birds, but not as laid back as my Partridge were.

My Partridge are foraging machines. Before we moved here in October, they were out everyday unless we were away for the weekend. We lived on a large ranch so they had full run of our house yard and the surrounding hayfields.
Even in the winter, if it was not windy, they would come out even at -20C into the paths I shoveled in the snow. Again, this could just be my line, but they were very good foragers and liked to get out and about.

 

[TheNuttyChick]

I'm gonna try again, Is anyone going to the Congress show in MA in January? I'm looking for white Chanteclers, a pair, a trio?

 

[Chantecler7]

Coopslave, would you mind sharing where you obtained your partridge stock?

 

[Beour3rd]

who has any views on getting whites and partridge both? they will obviously cross-breed but you could keep a rooster of each and make sure you keep the flock from only purebread.. anyone? i was debating this.

 

[Freeholder]

Well, I wouldn't cross the two colors, so you'd need to make sure you separated your breeding pens well before you started collecting eggs. That's why I want to just stick with one breed, one variety, and really work on them. I know it's fun to have lots of different breeds and colors in the yard, but it's hard to do any serious work on a breed in that situation.

I'm glad to hear all the input from different people. It sounds like it depends, with both varieties, which lines they are from. What can you guys tell us about the lines Cackle is going to be selling? (I know those lines have already been mentioned in this thread, but having finally made my way through the whole thread, I'm not sure where to go in the old posts to find the information.)

Kathleen

 

[coopslave]

Coopslave, would you mind sharing where you obtained your partridge stock?

The first birds I got 4 years ago were from a lady that had gotten some chicks from Performance Poultry. I believe there was 5 pullets and a cockerel. I like them and started to research a bit more. That same year I got day old chicks from Cherry Creek here in Canada. My understanding was the breeding pen that these chicks came from had a heavy Sandhill influence. With all those birds I only ended up keeping one pullet from PP and a CC cockerel and pullet. I still have that CC pullet (who of course is now a hen!) The next season I got eggs from a woman in Ontario. I was very happy with these birds and kept most of the pullets to breed to the cockerel I had. The only other input I had was a cockerel from John Blehm last year.

There has been a mix of influences there for sure. I am trying to breed mine to standard not only for appearance but also function. After 4 years I do consider the line mine. I don't mind mentioning where the birds come from, but I think when you start making the decisions about breeding the origins become irrelevant.

 

[Freeholder]

I just wanted to add that while I love colored birds, I'm new to breeding (I've kept production chickens for many years, and raised a few batches of chicks from them just for fun), and one of the factors in my choice of the Whites was that I wouldn't have too much to worry about in the color. I can just focus on production, type, and temperament/behavior. There will be plenty there to keep me busy and learning for many years to come!

Kathleen

 

[Chantecler7]

Coopslave, I do agree with your last statement. I only asked in case others might want to go down the same road, but that might be next to impossible. Does the woman in Ontario ship eggs, chicks, started stock, or adults? It sounds like the birds you hatched from her eggs might be your favorites. Were you happy with the chicks sired by the Blehm cockerel?