D'uccle Thread

[joanie_maine]

Quote:

 

[Barred4Life]

First of all, ducks waddle when they walk, chickens have wattles below their lower mandible.
Your bird would not do well in a show where there was competition. Neither of the birds pictured have nearly enough of a beard. This usually indicates that they are the result of breeding breaded & non-bearded birds together: a common hatchery practice.
Your male is weak in both type & colour. His ground colour should be more even throughout but his hackle, saddle & wing bow are 3 different colours. Also he does not have enough white: ideally every feather would be tipped with white. Few birds achieve this but your bird has very few white tipped feathers with no white at all in the tail. Your female actually has better colour than your male but neither bird would show successfully.
All of this results from the birds' genetics which you have no control over. However, the birds appear to be healthy & well card for which means that you have done your part, as their owner, well.

Waddle - wattle...whatever I'm french, I think it's pretty good I'm writing in english to begin with...you understood what I meant so it's all good! Now I'm paranoid of my spelling!!
Thank you for the information. I do not plan to show him, I just wanted to know what they look for in this breed as I'm new to the d'Uccle.
These birds are just over 8 months old and haven't molted yet...they will get whiter with time am I correct?
For his beard, the female preen (pick at his feathers) him...is this normal?
Also, given you know so much about them, my hen hasn't started laying yet, is this normal?
I've been raising Barred Rock and Buckeyes and they start around 5-6 months. Do bantams, specifically d'Uccles, tend to be late bloomers?
I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but I want to learn about this breed.
I had adoption an old mille fleur d'Uccle last year and he's the one that got me interested in the breed...but we lost him to a predator.

He was the most friendly rooster of all times. I use to trim the feathers on his feet because they were slowing him down - is that a faux pas?!




Is this what a beard should look like?

 

[NYREDS]

Waddle - wattle...whatever I'm french, I think it's pretty good I'm writing in english to begin with...you understood what I meant so it's all good! Now I'm paranoid of my spelling!!
Thank you for the information. I do not plan to show him, I just wanted to know what they look for in this breed as I'm new to the d'Uccle.
These birds are just over 8 months old and haven't molted yet...they will get whiter with time am I correct?
For his beard, the female preen (pick at his feathers) him...is this normal?
Also, given you know so much about them, my hen hasn't started laying yet, is this normal?
I've been raising Barred Rock and Buckeyes and they start around 5-6 months. Do bantams, specifically d'Uccles, tend to be late bloomers?
I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but I want to learn about this breed.
I had adoption an old mille fleur d'Uccle last year and he's the one that got me interested in the breed...but we lost him to a predator.

He was the most friendly rooster of all times. I use to trim the feathers on his feet because they were slowing him down - is that a faux pas?!




Is this what a beard should look like?

People ask for evaluation of a bird & they always say "be honest" but the only answer they really want is "s/he's beautiful". The first response to an actual honest evaluation is to become defensive & arguementative.
Short of finding a magic wand to use on his this bird will never succeed in a show where there's any real competition. He's not a wellbred d'Uccle, he's a hatchery bird. Chickens aren't like wine & chees, they don't appreciably improve with age. Check out champion row at any show. There will be a lot more cockerels 7 pullets than there will be cocks & hens.
The long & short of it is-don't ask if you really don't want to know.
As to the waddle/wattle issue, it does matter. You talk about wanting to show birds-do some work which is what other people have had to do-learn to speak chicken at a minimum.

 

[Pyxis]

Anyway, my little porcelain d'uccle is growing very well, and she's an absolute sweetheart! She has to be my favorite chick. I'll have to get some pictures to post for you guys. Even though she's nowhere near show quality, she's still cute! What chick isn't?

 

[Overoberyl]

You know what I'd like? I'd really like some people who breed and show D'Uccles to show up on this thread and give us their expertise the way that NYReds has. Maybe some of you are on this thread because you want to chit chat with other people who have D'Uccles, and that's totally fine, but some of us actually would like to learn something meaningful.

 

[teamroper]

You know what I'd like? I'd really like some people who breed and show D'Uccles to show up on this thread and give us their expertise the way that NYReds has. You know why there are so few of those people on this thread doing that? Because of the oversensitive foolishness in the above posts. Maybe some of you are on this thread because you want to chit chat with other people who have D'Uccles, and that's totally fine, but some of us actually would like to learn something meaningful. You don't like the response? Move on.

Be thankful for an honest critique. But if you don't like his opinion, I urge you to go to SBB and ask your question there. Make sure you are strapped in for the response.

http://showbirdbid.proboards.com/

 

[RustysProvider]

Here is my started hen from mstricer.

 

[Lorilyn Farms]

And yes, d'uccles get more white with the second molting. However, beards don't get heavier. That will be a huge point deduction.
And it's never a bad thing if you want to enter your birds in a show. How else are you to learn unless you do so?

To the original question that had us rate your birds, that roo IS gorgeous, even if he is not up to show standards. Try mating him with a heavy bearded lady with too much white.

 

[dcba flock]

I am always very grateful to those that know more than for sharing their knowledge with me and others in all aspects of life! I am learning more and more everyday about lots of things and its always exciting and interesting! So thank you to those willing to be kind and share! (guess that's my teacher side)

 

[RustysProvider]

My newest chicks from mstricer. This is one of the two Milles I got. I'm sure he is the Mille roo I've been searching for. For a change I want this peep to be a roo lol. I'm not sure how many little pullets I will come out with. Mstricer! Do you have any ides of your hatching ratio yet? If not that is fine. I like the suspense any way. It makes raising them that much more fun!