D'uccle Thread

[K Epp]

Mine sleep in the barn together and free range primary in groups of how they were brooded. Although that being said my Blue Polish stick together more than any of the others and my Gold Laced Polish hangs with the Gold Laced Wyandotte.

 

[ESofVA]

Can you tell the difference between citron, lemon and silver as 2 1/2 week old chicks? If so, how? I have 2 that have hatched and they are much lighter than than my Mille Fleurs and gold necks. They are not porcelain or white. I could take some pics but they would not be really good ones. If I could just know the differences to look for.

 

[hdowden]

Two completely different sets of my flocks coming from various places separate by color with the ability to choose.

I free range almost every day - so they really have room freedom .... I have a mixed flock, so they can't all pair by breed -and ALL OF THEM pair or trio up by COLOR ! They are racists! They do mate and eat and roost with all - so they don't seem be be hateful racists like our human species .... but they certainly prefer the saying: Birds of a feather, flock together.

And again - some are back yard mixes, some are hatchery and a small amount are expensive breeder ones - and this is from two different starting years of 4 years apart.

Perhaps if you are not seeing this in yours, they don't have too much extra space? when I leave them in the small run, they don't really pair up - they just mill around. The rooster is not afflicted with color choice. ha ha ha

they have plenty of room free ranging the roo is a white crested black polish with bantam and large fowl ladies some blues some ees some black some of every color hes with them all but stays where the most feed is found while others wonder further away. my bantams are the same way they were always together in a big little flock they never separated, black rosecombs, mille/.golden neck/porcelain/self blue d'uccle, cochins of various colors, old english games, silkies, mixes no one picked a certain group to stay with. now those for which i have bought as adults will stay together but eventually stay with everyone else. guess my birds are all just odd that's when they all were mingling together now they all have their own pens so no more mixed breeds, if they were let out now i am sure they would stay with their own mates/flock unlike before cause its been about 7 months separated by breed and color (large fowl/bantam flock still are in the same pen they are the hen pen used for eggs but more often then not those eggs get incubated lol)

 

[ESofVA]

ooops!

 

[FairLeaBantams]

Godiva,

I love your mille hen and your avatar roo! Gorgeous.

As far as the chicken preferences go, my barred cochins definitely stick together. The three of them were raised with 30 other birds of various breeds but those three are inseperable, it's actually really amusing to watch them run around together! The rest of mine all intermix, my favorite mille hen is actually in love with my black cochin roo. Jungle fever.

 

[Godiva]

Yes, the mixed roo had black skin and 5 toes ... he was serious eye candy - none of my pictures really did him justice.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Quote:Originally Posted by FairLeaBantams Did you ever breed him? I was wondering if it was passed on? I kinda like it, i wonder if that's why he's so mellow? My birds always seem mellow until they get spurs, then BANG they get hateful. It's depressing because i really do love my roosters, i don't like having to have them put down. Was yours mellow too?

Does anyone know the standard? Is no spurs a DQ or points off? I've never shown but getting more and more interested hearing all the great stories

Separation...... well, my ee's stick together. Mostly; different ones were more tolerant and they even kinda adopted a bantam cochin but she still used the roo (ee) for protection when the girls got crotchety. Now my first roo was a GOOD roo to his ladies, and protected even the babies. Can't say whether he had breed preference because he seriously only really wanted one hen, and the other's he did his duty for rather grudgingly. Odd, i've never heard of another rooster being this way; he was my pet but when his hen had heat stroke and died i put him down as well because i knew it was better for him; i doubt he'd have been the same ever. My d'uccles ruled over the bigger ee's when together; my little hen i have with 2 mixed hens rules them, tiny terror! That original flock of the neighbor's did segregate but only at feeding time.

I free feed and only free range when there to supervise, maybe the lack of motive keeps things nice in there?

 

[kbishop33]

Subscribing! I have a couple of Mille fleur d'uccle girls(we hope) on the way. My children and I can't wait!

 

[OldBiddie33]

Mille fleur D'uccle bantams look so cute. Hoping mine grow up to be as sweet as the previous posters have!

 

[FairLeaBantams]

Fuzzybutt Love,
I have bred by spurless boy but his cockerals are too young yet to tell if they will have spurs or not. He is a great roo, very mellow and loving. The brother on the other hand, ugh. he was aggressive toward all other roosters and completely wild and crazy with people, like so overly scared it was ridiculous. i finally had enough of him and decided he could be "free" in our yard so he would stop terrorizing the chickens in the pen. I figured he would be cool to have parading around because he was so pretty and not mean to humans. I thought he would do well because he was wary of predators and could fly well. Not so much, he lasted 2 nights outside. On the morning of day three there were just a few feathers on the ground. I assume it was an owl. I told the rest of the flock that that is what happens when you can't learn to get along.