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

[speckledhen]

Thanks, he is a cute little snot rag, isn't he? That boy thinks he's large and in charge. He and Aubrey seem to be co-captains most of the time. Rusty grabbed my elderly standard RIR hen by the head feathers and went for a wild ride and when she bucked him off, she started chasing poor Rufus, who was standing nearby and entirely confused as to why she was out for blood.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

haha

that would have been something to see there...rabid hen!!

 

[Backwoods Bntms]

Question for Aubrey. Is a black patterened gold columbian the same as buff? What color is lavender patterened isabel?

thanks,
jj

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

that would be the same as a buff columbian

isabela is what the Europeans call a bird with lavender in it.
Example

I call mine lavender buff columbians

over there they would be isabela buff columbians

obviously on any of these, the black feathers from a normal colored bird will be lavender (or self blue)
reds are diluted to a creamy buff

great example of this would be a millie fluer compared to a porcelain. They are the exact same bird, just with the addition of lavender on the porcelains


Hope that helped

 

[Backwoods Bntms]

Helped alot thanks.

 

[4HDad]

Glad to see the thread still going string. I haven't been active recently due to getting ready for fair. It is finally over and I think I've recovered.

My son's D'Anver rooster decided to molt out his tail feathers just days before fair, so they didn't do well in the show. It was still a good learning experience for him though. The highlight for his chicken project was that he placed 5th on the Skillathon (testing on his chicken knowledge - different from showmanship). There were probably 20-30 kids in his age group.

 

[4HDad]

I do have a question about feeding the D'Anvers. I have been reading a lot lately about proper feeding regarding % protein and type of protein and there seem to be a lot of opinions. I thought I'd ask those that are raising the D'Anvers since this is going to be a breed that my son wants to focus on breeding.

So, what % protein do those of you who raise, breed or show feed your birds? Right now we would be looking at a feed best for breeding vs. showing (if there is a difference).

Also, what are thoughts on feeding animal protein vs plant protein? From most of what I've read the animal protein seems to be better for them as chickens are omnivores, not strictly herbivores. It is said that the animal protein is better utilized for meat and feather development.

You can probably tell from my questions, but I still have a lot to learn about raising chickens. It has been over 30 years since I had any and I wasn't into breeding or showing at that time. The man who had fed my learning up to that time, my Grandpa, has been gone for a very long time as well.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Roger

 

[chicken boy sam]

I feed my d'anver hen the same stuff as the layers get, and she's just fine. I guess if you're really into showing, you could up the protein with cat food, but just as a treat every now and then. I believe Purina may make a show mash, but not 100 % sure.... Also, during the winter, I feed my birds cracked corn as a treat every day, because that ups the protein also.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yall are both right
except the corn and protein thing Sam. Corn is only 8% tops so it lower the protein, but adds lots of carbs and fat, which is good for winter conditioning, I do it to, just cut it off a month or so before breeding. Fat birds dont breed very well.

Animal proteins are always welcomed but best as Sam said as treats.

Mine get nothing different than any other chicken, a 15% feed is it, mixed with grain in the winter for added fat.

For showing, yes, there are show based feeds. Basically like you were saying Roger, animal proteins (especially fish based ones) are better for them on muscular and feather development, they get an over all heathier shine to them if you add in some small pellet sized cat or dog food to their diet, catfish feed would be the ideal one to use though as it is mainly fish meal based and doesnt contain beef and pork by products.
maybe 10% would be all I would add though, you can over do it and cause internal organ damage if you get crazy with the animal protein stuff (more is better attitude)

But for the most part, they do just fine on any store bought mid teen level protein feeds.

Longtailed breeds are the ones who do better on fish meals, and higher protein level feeds than any of the others due to their constant need of it for nonstop feather growth in the tails and saddles. D'anvers do well on anything pretty much

 

[chicken boy sam]

Quote:
Woops, thanks for correcting me