D'uccle Thread

[lilcrow]

Quote:
I've had, and believe Lori and CP, these same color/patternd chicks popping up as well. I also have the blue, black and lavender/blue splash. Would love to see how these develope, Doug...Keep me posted please? Take care, nice looking chicks

Misty

Yep...I had one, called it "Birchen" thought it was a pullet...turned out to be a slow cockerel!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/73072_d.jpg

Oh good grief! Totally fascinating.........it's a Silver Penciled and the penciling is pretty good from what I can see. As a cockerel he'll go ahead and develop an absolutely gorgeous color pattern, if it develops true. I think that it has to, the color and pattern are sex linked.
How cool.

 

[livenwpeeps]

Hey Guys! I have been looking for a breed of chicken that is colorful and and pet friendly and my mind keeps coming back to these beautiful birds. I want to raise them as a hobby. But before I purchase any I wanted to ask some questions and I hope someone can help me out.

1. What kind of feed do they need? I have guineas who are on game bird feed because they need higher protein.

2. Can they free range like the guineas a couple of hours a day and put back in the coop at nights or is it better to keep them locked up?

3. Do they make good mom's? Is it better to let them hatch their own eggs and raise the chicks vs collecting the eggs for the incubator?

4. I live in Virginia where it's hot, humid and hazy in the summers however the winters can be mild except for an occasional snow storm here and there. Can D'uccles thrive in this type of weather? I keep a fan in the coops during the summers and a heat lamp during the winters.

5. Any other characteristics I should know? Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!!!!

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
1. They eat a chicken feed - Hatch to about 8 weeks old a medicated chick starter, 8 weeks to point of lay - a grower and once laying - layer feed

2. I am not sure about free-ranging them with guineas. d'Uccle are bantams and very small compared to a guinea. Not being raised together could present a problem as well as the face that some folks have problems with guineas and even large chickens fighting. I would suggest giving them their own separate area to roam around. They need to be confined to a predator proof coop at night.

3. The are good mamas when they go broody, but they are not overly broody like a silkie. You can inbuate eggs or let a broody hatch...only way to know is to try the broody and see how she does.

4. Being smaller birds, they will handle the heat better than large fowl in most cases. Your conditions sound perfect for d'uccle. Fan in summer and heat lamp in winter.

5. The are a feather footed breed....their feet have what is called "blood feathers", in other words hard feathers on the feet. In heavy snow and ice conditions, you will want to check their little feet for snow or ice clumps but not a big deal.

The only thing I can tell you is that once you have them...you will want more so plan their space with room to expand. The really are wonderful birds, sweet, friendly and very appealing personalities.....and they are beautiful.

 

[livenwpeeps]

Thanks Cetawin for your fast reply. I have three seperate coops so I can switch over the one closes to the house for the D'uccles. They sound more and more like what I am looking for and they are soooooo pretty to boot! Oh and a few more questions:

1. Is there a big market for them to sell off your extras? I have sold off my extra keets and they go fast. Didn't know if that was the same with these guys.

2. Can you recomind any good books or websites for further reading on D'uccles?

Thanks again for your help!!!!

 

[lilcrow]

Quote:
I agree with everything that Cetawin said except for one thing, it's about No 4. I totally agree that your climate sounds wonderful for them, the fan in the summer is fantastic, I wish I could get electricity back to my set up (I'm working on it), but I disagree, (with conditions) with putting a heat lamp in their coop. Please understand I am sharing only what I do and think should be done. There are many, many people who do things very differently, and they get alone perfectly. My issue with the heat lamp are a couple of things: 1. I'm concerned about condensation, and humidity in the coop. With applied heat you could be setting up the perfect conditions for a petri dish, so it could become the ideal place for mold and fungus to begin to grow. I thought long and hard about this when I started with d'Uccle because they have a reputation for not being as cold hardy as many breeds. What I did was build them SMALL coops, about 2 x 4 x 3. I put a roo and his hens in one of those coop. They can hold quite a few because they're bantams. Anyway, those little bodies are furnaces and they either sleep squished up against each other on the perch, or they cuddle up with one another in a corner of coop. Either way, they stay toasty warm and dry when they are in their coops, and I've never lost one to cold, or for that matter, had frostbite from being in the coop. I insulated the roof of each of my coops, particularly because of the summer. I wanted them to be a comfortable place for the hens in particular when it gets hot and it seems to have worked, they do like their homes.
As far as a big market, I don't think I would call it a big one because they are bantams and all bantams are limited in their appeal to folks. I see that as the one big drawback to breeding them, they appeal only to the pet market, so there is the potential for a lot of birds that need to be culled. At lease with LF there is a use for and market for the superfluous birds. However, with their advocates they are VERY popular and some folks end up wanting more and more the deeper they get into the breed, ultimately becoming collectors.
I don't know of any books that are available that a specific to the d'Uccle. That doesn't mean there aren't any, it's just that I don't know of them myself. I believe the d'Uccle thread and the breed web site http://www.belgianduccle.org/ are the best resources available.
All that I've said here is IMHO of course.
So happy to have you joining in on the tread and becoming a fan of these little gems.

Nancy

 

[GypsyChic]

Quote:
Yes it is, Lori, and I believe it is a sex link type issue as well. Believe we spoke about that not long ago

And like many of you, Ive hatched a lot more boys this year than any other time. How are the silvers coming along? Did you decide to place them or are they still a work in progress? I've got a nice little pullet coming up, silver columbian, I still plan to cover her by one of my silver boys and see what type/quality I'll get this go-around. I'm really liking this color as well as the lemons/citrons and my 'blue-reds' or what some call lemon/blue...they've been interesting to watch mature.

 

[lilcrow]

Quote:
Yes it is, Lori, and I believe it is a sex link type issue as well. Believe we spoke about that not long ago

And like many of you, Ive hatched a lot more boys this year than any other time. How are the silvers coming along? Did you decide to place them or are they still a work in progress? I've got a nice little pullet coming up, silver columbian, I still plan to cover her by one of my silver boys and see what type/quality I'll get this go-around. I'm really liking this color as well as the lemons/citrons and my 'blue-reds' or what some call lemon/blue...they've been interesting to watch mature.

Is there any way that we can SEE some of these fascinating colors?

 

[Cetawin]

Okay here are the interesting babies I have just hatched...3 may have to be culled

we will know in another 24 - 36 hours

Okay Pen #1 - Mille Roo over Porcelain girls

2 suspected porcelains:

Splits:

Possible cull from that pen:

From Pen #2 - Project over Project. These are from Wegot and are Mille over Lavender there are 2 possible culls from this pen a Black and a Lavender

this little split has a very red head and red undertones throughout:

Possible culls:

And just to show my first Project over Project baby..hatched 5/14 the baby was acting goofy and trying to turn and get away so the pics are not great

On the topic of heat lamps...yes they are dangerous if not properly installed and maintained. I use hooks, electrical tape and limit the amount of extension cord available inside the coop. Should mine fall, it can fall no closer than 3 1/2' from the floor and hardwire cloth over the bulb assembly makes it impossible for pieces to fall through should the bulb break. I also blow out the connection and the bulb housing weekly.

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

Quote:
I agree with everything that Cetawin said except for one thing, it's about No 4. I totally agree that your climate sounds wonderful for them, the fan in the summer is fantastic, I wish I could get electricity back to my set up (I'm working on it), but I disagree, (with conditions) with putting a heat lamp in their coop. Please understand I am sharing only what I do and think should be done. There are many, many people who do things very differently, and they get alone perfectly. My issue with the heat lamp are a couple of things: 1. I'm concerned about condensation, and humidity in the coop. With applied heat you could be setting up the perfect conditions for a petri dish, so it could become the ideal place for mold and fungus to begin to grow. I thought long and hard about this when I started with d'Uccle because they have a reputation for not being as cold hardy as many breeds. What I did was build them SMALL coops, about 2 x 4 x 3. I put a roo and his hens in one of those coop. They can hold quite a few because they're bantams. Anyway, those little bodies are furnaces and they either sleep squished up against each other on the perch, or they cuddle up with one another in a corner of coop. Either way, they stay toasty warm and dry when they are in their coops, and I've never lost one to cold, or for that matter, had frostbite from being in the coop. I insulated the roof of each of my coops, particularly because of the summer. I wanted them to be a comfortable place for the hens in particular when it gets hot and it seems to have worked, they do like their homes.
As far as a big market, I don't think I would call it a big one because they are bantams and all bantams are limited in their appeal to folks. I see that as the one big drawback to breeding them, they appeal only to the pet market, so there is the potential for a lot of birds that need to be culled. At lease with LF there is a use for and market for the superfluous birds. However, with their advocates they are VERY popular and some folks end up wanting more and more the deeper they get into the breed, ultimately becoming collectors.
I don't know of any books that are available that a specific to the d'Uccle. That doesn't mean there aren't any, it's just that I don't know of them myself. I believe the d'Uccle thread and the breed web site http://www.belgianduccle.org/ are the best resources available.
All that I've said here is IMHO of course.
So happy to have you joining in on the tread and becoming a fan of these little gems.

Nancy

I do not use heat lamps on ours. They have a free flowing watering system that does not freeze in the winter. If there is enough ventalation then there is little humidity therefore no frostbite.
Our winters get down to -30C so we are cool but as ointed out they huddle together and keep warm. we have a 2x4 on wide side for a roost so we don't have issues with toes.
Ours are out in the snow with no issues.

 

[GypsyChic]

Quote:
Yes it is, Lori, and I believe it is a sex link type issue as well. Believe we spoke about that not long ago

And like many of you, Ive hatched a lot more boys this year than any other time. How are the silvers coming along? Did you decide to place them or are they still a work in progress? I've got a nice little pullet coming up, silver columbian, I still plan to cover her by one of my silver boys and see what type/quality I'll get this go-around. I'm really liking this color as well as the lemons/citrons and my 'blue-reds' or what some call lemon/blue...they've been interesting to watch mature.

Is there any way that we can SEE some of these fascinating colors?

Still working on combs, and yes they have been "nit-picking" eachother as most young boys do. May post silvers later. Really windy here today, lucky I got these.