d'anver lovers,discuss the breed and post some pics!

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

just got a trio of show quality cuckoo d,anvers im hoping to show them next year
i have kept d,anvers before bu that was a few years ago i have them in a indoor guinea pig house is this ok?

great to hear. Good luck with them. and yes as long as they have a little elbow room, most any pen is fine

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I've been lurking for a little while, and wanted to say "hello". I have had 2 quail d'anvers (alas, hatchery, but so sweet) for the last 2 years. Down to one, unfortunately. Here's Midnight. I've posted these pics before elsewhere:

Midnight, or "Middy"

Halloween, or "Beeny" (this pic is entitled Bucket of Chicken)

I must say that I adore the breed, and plan on getting more at some point. Hatchery, for now. But anyhow, why I piped up today to post was because I visited our recent poultry show, and the d'anvers were *fat* and *fluffy*! Mine are much more petite, and I wonder, is it the food? Or the fact that mine run around all day?

I'm not planning on showing mine at a poultry show beyond our small county fair. We are in 4-H, and this breed is perfect for fit and show for my young daughters, even hatchery stock at this point. But we are learning about the breed, especially how our birds differ from what the standard is (I don't mind hatchery stock at this point, as long as we know what the differences are and we are not breeding them for show or sale). I read upthread about quail being a difficult color to show. I noticed that Beeny here had the closer coloring, especially around the face. Middy seems a bit dark.

About the chubbiness, here is a bad picture to see how much more petite she is. I took this picture to help someone identify his bird as a d'anvers, as I managed to catch Middy in this typical pose:



Again, all my questions are purely instructional. We are still very much beginners in the world of chickens, even after nearly 5 years. My oldest is entering the Junior level of 4-H, so we will consider starting to look at breeders instead of the feed store for our birds. That will be another adventure that we will embark on, for sure.

So, hello! And thanks in advance for your replies!

First off, good to see you and thanks for posting

good looking lil birds for hatchery stock... and you pretty much answered your own question.

the differences you saw, are infact the difference between a proper show quality d'anver and the hatchery stocks.
hatchery d'anvers are often slim, long, leggy, thin bearded, and long flat backs....

like you said, nothing wrong with that if that's all you want. But, the proper look for the breed, is what you see at the shows, full thick beards and muffs, fat full hackles, short almost non exisiting backs, V shaped posture, etc... all the fluff and feather makes them look fatter than what they actually are....

that's the only difference, feed really is just up to whats available, doesn't really make or break them, so youre good there.

the tricky part about the color is it has so many areas to focus on. each feather on the hen should be finley laced in a buff /bay color, then shafted down the middle in the same color. big area by standard is lack of black in USA lines. They tend to be more buff and brown with little black, but you see that evem in the best show birds too... I personally think without some importing, that part will be extremely hard to get fixed here, and judges seem to tend to kinda let that part slide..

anyway, if you have any more questions, do feel free to ask away

 

[SweetSilver]

First off, good to see you and thanks for posting

good looking lil birds for hatchery stock... and you pretty much answered your own question.

the differences you saw, are infact the difference between a proper show quality d'anver and the hatchery stocks.
hatchery d'anvers are often slim, long, leggy, thin bearded, and long flat backs....

Thanks for the help! You've articulated perfectly the differences I saw. Every one was fatter and bunchier than mine, and their beards were fuller by far. Glad to know that the differences don't come down to what we are feeding and their level of activity. I love that they are active, bright, bold little birds with heaps of personality that make all our big girls seem dull by comparison (half of our big pullets are still terrified of Midnight!) I know we'll be returning to this breed over and over again.

 

[elsfieldchickens]

great to hear. Good luck with them. and yes as long as they have a little elbow room, most any pen is fine

thats great thanks

 

[kendradillon]

This is cheeks!

 

[Yvonne13]

Anyone know of a good online or breeder that would ship chicks? I love this breed but cant find any near by. Thanks!

 

[chickee]

Anyone know of a good online or breeder that would ship chicks? I love this breed but cant find any near by. Thanks!

Boggy Bottom Bantams of course

That is who I got mine from and they are super nice !!!! LOVE them!!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Thanks chickee!

Yes, I most certainly do ship custom hatched chicken orders.

I start booking the 1st of January for spring chicks. Doesnt take long to get booked up. So anyone interested, let me know early, even if you don't want them until later in the spring or summer. This way I can be sure to have some set aside for you...

 

[Yvonne13]

Ok thank you! i'm so excited!

 

[QuoVadis]

I have read multiple places about D'anver roosters getting aggressive. How common do you actually find this? I got some D'anver chicks straight run (obviously), intending to get rid of any males. Where I am I'm not technically supposed to have roosters, so as soon as they were old enough to tell gender - really easy! I knew by 3 weeks - I stopped holding the males, since I didn't plan to keep them, and I didn't want to get attched to them. Anyway, completely on his own, one of the D'anver roosters has for the last few weeks become my best bud. As soon as I put my hand in the brooder he hops on, puffs up, and cuddles in against me. I really tried ignoring him, but he has been to persistently friendly and such a sweet heart I am considering keeping him. I would be bringing him inside at night so any early morning crowing wouldn't disturb the neighbors. I think as long as I don't get anyone complaining to the city animal control has beeter thing to do than track down rooster owners!

But my question is, how likely is it he will get aggressive? IME very friendly, sweet roos stay that way, but confident, cocky "friendly" roos get aggressive, especially if you keep holding them when they don't want it, but I have always read about D'anver roos getting aggressive. Is this true?