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

[speckledhen]

@K Epp How're they looking today? 14 weeks on Sept 29.


Feather legged guy is sweet for folks who don't much care about that stuff or aren't breeding for show.



Tiny Rusty3 on left, largest male on right, both have stubs but nothing like the guy above.

 

[K Epp]

I think Spike is jealous they are getting all the attention.

 

[speckledhen]

I think Spike is jealous they are getting all the attention.

He sorta photo-bombed, didn't he? Aubrey is even becoming exasperated with them and throwing them off poor Lucy, who is their main target. They're as big as the hens now, larger than broody mama Carly, in fact, except for Rusty. I haven't seen Rusty crow or attempt to grab any of the hens like the larger boys do.

 

[speckledhen]

I gave Tractor Supply ONE CHANCE and they blew it. I can't stand the company, they don't give military discount, they just rub me the wrong way in many levels and I had heard so many stories about moldy feed. So, I bought one bag of Flock Raiser as a grower for the D'Anvers because it was cheaper than another feed store had it. Put it upside down in the can by accident so I flipped it back over then opened it, scooped some out and lo and behold, a chunk of clumped GREEN feed.

Lesson 1: Never buy from TSC (which I knew but ignored today)
Lesson 2: Never buy in one of those plastic bags because it hides that it has moisture in/on it, unlike a paper bag. I have to return it tomorrow and hope I got it all back out of their feeder. It seemed fine at first but if I had not upended it, that moldy clump would have been on the bottom and I woudn't have seem it right away. Grrr! Back to the co-op, who does not carry a general feed, so back to a broiler grower or plain starter again.

 

[SchipAlong]

Ack, all the talk about poor laying has me I'm worried my hens' eggs are going to permanently dry up by next year and I'll have to go back to eating regular eggs. I've been spoiled by the extra delicious bantam eggs. Right now I'm getting nothing, and I'm not sure I will until spring. 6 weeks in and Sel is showing no signs on giving up her chicks. They barely fit under her anymore, but every night she calls them to the corner of the coop to nest lol. Zeste is molting and one of the cockerels stressed her out, so she's gone on strike. Up until then though she was laying phenomenally, sometimes three days in a row. For size they're pretty good. Sel's are usually about 25 grams and Zeste's are between 25 and 32.



Sadly it looks like both of the chicks I hatched are also male. At this point I'm questioning whether I should try again in the spring, or take this as a sign that I'm just not meant to have a black pullet.




On the plus side though, one of the April cockerels turned out to have an amazing temperament. Even though he's only six months old he doesn't harass the girls. I've been calling him Maystay, as in as long as he stays nice he may stay. He's afraid of people and will run if you stand near him, but I've been trying to spend 10-15 minutes a day holding him to see if he calms down. Once he's held he seems happy.



Sel's broody molt has left her posing as a Barbu de Grubbe.


Edit: Almost forgot a question. I was thrust into the care of a LF barred Plymouth Rock after her owners abandoned her, and I'm considering crossing her with one of my cockerels in hopes of getting small bearded sex-linked chicks (and maybe pink-ish bantam eggs if I'm lucky). She also lays jumbo eggs almost every day, so that should bump up my egg production. My only concern is that the chicks will still be too big to house in my little bantam coop. Has anyone crossed their d'Anvers male over a LF female? If so, how big were the chicks?

 

[HotDesertChick]

Very nice-sized bantam eggs, SchipAlong. Wish I could add an answer to your question about resultant-sizes, from mixing "Large and Small DNA". I have never run large/heavy chicken breeds with the bantams that I have had, but this IS a great question. Hope someone offers an answer. Anyone?

I thought we had built a totally varmint-proof habitat for my small d'Anvers,... now four months old. Here is the First Breach of the Security System. The entire run, including "top" is all half-inch x 1" heavy welded wire. Please note, that Mr. Western Diamondback (Only 21 inches long) was Outward Bound, when he was found dead:


Brave hen, and others, peck at the Deceased's tail.



I am guessing that the viper entered the cage, after dark, in the evening before the auto-coop door came open the following morn. Even though he's small, Mr. Snake is highly venomous, if he chooses to deliver a "big shot" of toxin. He may have been harassed enough by the "teens" to leave? Our snakes don't ever hesitate to become aggressive, so it is a bit of a mystery (Note, the snake was not visibly damaged by the Motley Molting Crew.)





A young Lavender roo also struts near the rattles.

I reckon NOTHING, is totally Varmint Proof?


Don't mess with d'Anvers?!

 

[Bine]

I had some wild mix chicks this year. D'Anvers rooster, blue, x bigger Fizzle hen became fizzled hens with the shape of the mother and may end up in size between both parents.
Bigger Longtail rooster x d'Anvers hen ended up as a little rooster the size of the mother, with a long tail and long legs but no beard. He is rehomed.

PS.: Everyone told me, that the fizzle isn't dominat. My two black fizzle hens are very curly. The poodel-like feathers are a big problem, they seem to break without a reason and the poor hens have often naked spots. This was the reason I didn't want them to be coverd by a fizzled rooster. The chicks look like "normal" fizzles and hopfully will have no problem with breaking feathers. I had two blue without beard and a quail colored with a beard.

 

[joydix]

that looked like a big snake to me! i just redid my pen/coop situation and did the whole thing with hardware cloth...1/2". i am hoping it will be varmint proof, i was battling rats....but i figure too that probably nothing is and a matter of time! GREAT pics!

 

[K Epp]

I had some wild mix chicks this year. D'Anvers rooster, blue, x bigger Fizzle hen became  fizzled hens with the shape of the mother and may end up in size between both parents.

Bigger Longtail rooster x d'Anvers hen ended up as a little rooster the size of the mother, with a long tail and long legs but no beard. He is rehomed.

PS.: Everyone told me, that the fizzle isn't dominat. My two black fizzle hens are very curly. The poodel-like feathers are a big problem, they seem to break without a reason and the poor hens have often naked spots. This was the reason I didn't want them to be coverd by a fizzled rooster. The chicks look like "normal" fizzles and hopfully will have no problem with breaking feathers. I had two blue without beard and a quail colored with a beard. 

Sounds like you have a double Frizzle gene. When a bird carries double frizzle its know as a frazzle. They have brittle over curled feathers that break very easy. If you breed a frazzle to a smooth all the off spring should be single gene frizzle.

 

[HotDesertChick]

Joydix, I think you are very wise to use 1/2" mesh for your renovations. The company that I bought my welded wire through does not make wire that small, or I certainly would have considered it. We have many sizes of advantageous varmints surrounding my coop. But alas, even a small venomous snake proved he could get into Fort Knox? . Possibly not out though.

Rats?!. Humanity has been dealing with these clever scoundrels for thousands of years. Ugh. I went through a couple fall invasions of rats in Washington, with bantams, and pigeons. Nasty buggers, they be! Thanks, for the compliments on the pics. Mr. Intruder was quite tiny for rattlers: Eastern Diamondbacks get to a whopping 8 feet. Western Diamondbacks are pretty small critters by comparison. We have not dealt with with anything much over 3 foot in NM. Vipers, large or small, I just don't want. Especially in "bantam homes".

As for "breed crossing"?: Aubrey sent me a so-far-mellow-freebie bantam Phoenix roo chick. Among several other freebies in my order of chicks (THANKS, Aubrey!) "Weird Al Yankovic" is developing into a gorgeous bird, but I DO want to separate him, when "final girls" (& "boys") begin laying in earnest (Initially, we DO intend to eat all of the small eggs). It's such a shame, to kill Weird Al. Unfortunately, we live in an area of few purebred bantams. His future seems limited. Sigh.