Chantecler Thread!

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Looking at the map, we drove right through there Monday afternoon! But I bet you could have guessed that given it is on the road from Sackville to Halifax. Would have waved in your general direction had I known. We are going to Halls Harbor on the Bay of Fundy this morning so will probably take the "back roads" returning to Sackville rather than drop all the way down to 102.


Small world here on BYC! Another member went to Dalhousie. Just looked St. FX up as DD said Mt. A. is a "Maple League" university so I looked up what the other ones are. We'll be going right past Acadia in Wolfville, neither St. FX or Acadia has Japanese. She's already looked at Bishop's but there is no way to get Spanish, Japanese and ESL there with the way their courses are set up. So far Mt. A. looks promising.

I took Spanish @ st.fx, but they cancelled the program the last year I was there.

 

[BigSkyBird]

Our Partridge Chantecler youngsters are nearly 17 weeks old. I was able to get some nice photos yesterday and thought I'd share. I don't plan to breed (the three cockerels will be going to freezer camp at some point) but am enjoying learning about this breed and would appreciate any comments.

We have two pullets, Peanut and Puffin. Here Peanut is on the left and Puffin is on the right. Peanut has a flat comb and Puffin's is, well, a little puffy. Puffin has a tail that looks more striped.

Here is Peanut from above, while she joins a couple of the hens in one of their favorite entertainments: pretending to eat the dots and squiggles off my chicken yard boots.

Here are Puffin and Cockerel #1:

Two more photos of Cockerel #1:

Here are two of Cockerel #2. He is wider than the others, maybe because he is lazy. He is the only one of our chickens who frequently lies down to eat grass when foraging with the others. He is also extremely skittish. So if I were breeding, even if his form was best he would still go to freezer camp.

Here are two photos of Cockerel #3:

And last but not least, a "face off" I caught on camera.

Believe it or not, this pullet chased Cockerel #3 off. It's interesting that the three cockerels currently appear to be at the bottom of the pecking order. There has been no sign of any crowing or any pesky cockerel behavior yet. I don't know if it's partially due to Chanteclers maturing more slowly, or simply due to our year-old hens "ruling the roost" and the cockerels simply haven't realized they are bigger than the hens. Maybe the pullets realize they are more similar to the hens than the cockerels are, and this makes them higher in the power structure...

 

[bruceha2000]

I'm curious about the "lacing" on your pullets. Is that a "standard" feature? I got 2 Partridge Chanteclers in 2012 from Ideal. Big hatchery so SOP is quite unlikely. They didn't have that lacing. Here is one of them at about 6 months

 

[BigSkyBird]

I'm curious about the "lacing" on your pullets. Is that a "standard" feature? I got 2 Partridge Chanteclers in 2012 from Ideal. Big hatchery so SOP is quite unlikely. They didn't have that lacing. Here is one of them at about 6 months
View attachment 1551121

I am not an expert but have seen many photos of partridge Chantecler hens where the “penciling” looks a lot like double lacing, which is how I see Peanut’s feathering.

I am curious as to what comments some of you on this thread who are more experienced would have to say about the appearance of my 17 week old pullets and cockerels in my above post.

 

[bruceha2000]

Oh, dang, just noticed I didn't specify the NECK lacing/shawl!!!!!! Certainly the body feathers would have that partridge pattern. As you can see, my bird didn't have the neck "shawl" though I do have a couple of EEs with it.

 

[BigSkyBird]

Oh, dang, just noticed I didn't specify the NECK lacing/shawl!!!!!! Certainly the body feathers would have that partridge pattern. As you can see, my bird didn't have the neck "shawl" though I do have a couple of EEs with it.

I don’t know if the neck lacing on mine is acceptable for partridge Chanteclers, and I don’t know if it will change any as these girls mature.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm curious about the "lacing" on your pullets. Is that a "standard" feature? I got 2 Partridge Chanteclers in 2012 from Ideal. Big hatchery so SOP is quite unlikely. They didn't have that lacing. Here is one of them at about 6 months
View attachment 1551121

It is supposed to be black, laced with reddish bay and slightly pencilled with deep reddish bay. Most hens I see have pure black centres.

 

[BigSkyBird]

It is supposed to be black, laced with reddish bay and slightly pencilled with deep reddish bay. Most hens I see have pure black centres.

When I look closely at the hackle feathers of Puffin, on the right, am I seeing the slight inner penciling you’re describing?

 

[BantyChooks]

View attachment 1555585
When I look closely at the hackle feathers of Puffin, on the right, am I seeing the slight inner penciling you’re describing?

Looks like it to me. I'm no expert, so I could be wrong.

 

[BigSkyBird]

I hadn’t planned on keeping a rooster, but am now deciding that “Cockerel #1” in my above post deserves a tryout.

Here he is today, at 19 1/2 weeks old:

His coloring looks good to me, and his comb seems okay (though I am a Chantecler novice). He is the least skittish of the 3 cockerels (though less bold than 2 of the pullets).

None of the cockerels are crowing or chasing the ladies yet, so I think he may wait til spring, at which point we can see if he’s not obnoxiously noisy and can learn to be a bit of a gentleman (in which case he will get to stay).

Comments on his appearance? I hope he passes his tryout!!