D'uccle Thread

[Celtic Hill]

How "Bad" is Hatchery Stock? I feel that there are very few heritage D'uccle flcoks in the country, and if there are more it's hard to contact/find the breeders. So that leaves us (people getting started in D'uccles) having to look for non hatchery duccles... But how "Bad" can they be? It gives us something to start with, then we can collect a few birds from breeders or hatch eggs and work from their, cull and keep breeding. So when people say hatchery stock isn't good to start with but i have to question that, it gives you a genetic basis to start with so you can start your own line.

 

[shelleyd2008]

They aren't all that 'bad', it really depends on the individual birds. You can get 'good' birds from a hatchery, but more times than not you'll just get PQ. I got some porcelain d'uccles from Ideal hatchery a few months ago and one of them doesn't even have a beard

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

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I tend to agree with you if you have some good birds to try to correct any potential fault that you find. It is just easier and faster than trying to do it from scratch if you only have lav and mille. I have seen some half decent ones and some poor ones from the same hatchery so it may be luck of the draw. But it is a starting point to move forward from.

 

[Celtic Hill]

We have a standard to breed twards for the perfect bird, BUT what i have ben seeing is a lack of d'uccles at shows. So we have a standard, but it's no good when your the only one exhibiting the birds, so is starting with hatchery stock and breeding up isn't all bad. But this couldn't be said for silkies, or cochins because they are much more popular...Do you guys follow?

 

[shelleyd2008]

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Completely. The main reason I decided to show some of my d'uccles is because the show I went to only had 5 d'uccles and the BB winner wasn't even that good! It sure couldn't hurt, as long as Lori (wegotchickens) doesn't show up with Tennessee...I think he'd beat just about any of them

 

[Celtic Hill]

Yeah, then we would be in trouble!

I talked to a APA Judge/Duccle Breeder and he said Porc's are not common so i really want to focus on breeding them because i think they are beautiful. But if i did hatchery stock porc hens and used a decent rooster from breeder stock, hatched eggs from them, then bred the pullets back then i would have good type.

 

[lilcrow]

I don't want to push my birds on you guys if you're not interested for some reason, but did you all forget I have a nice pair of porcelains, a VERY nice pair of lavenders and a GN pullet for sale. My MFs, which were at the last National are going to Texas. The MFs did pretty well considering their foot feathering was broken. I've been trying to get some nice pictures of these guys, but it's been raining (which we need desperately) and everybody's a mess. With the family stuff that I've got going on I just haven't had the time to bring them in and wash them for pics.
I do want to say that the lavender roo is a particularly nice guy as far as his disposition is concerned, he's just a really sweet little bird. I would fault him by saying that his wattles are a little too big, not huge but larger than I would like, and his foot feathering is not as full as it needs to be. The pullet's wattles are non-existent and her foot feathering is a bit skimpy also. I would say one generation crossed out to a really good MF and then those bred back to each other would have a very positive effect on both of those issues.
The porcelains are just young. They have good pattern to their color, the cockerel is starting to get his saddle feathering in and it looks good. I think they are a really nice pair.
BTW Yeagin1 will have plenty of porcelain eggs this spring and they will be from show quality stock, so if you can just wait till then you can save yourselves several generations of grief and skip strait to the good stuff if you just get eggs from her.
Nancy

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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Though that was pretty much what I said, other than I went with the back cross of the offspring, but yes, breeding back to the parents, that's right

Sorry BBB I was reffering to the post 931 where it was indicating 1/3 mille, 1/3 split, and 1/3 lemon.

yeah, but that's right if you back breed, in other words breed the split offspring back together, you'll get 1/3 each,
If you breed the f1 splits back to the lemon parent, you'll get 50% millies split to lemon, and 50% lemon

 

[shelleyd2008]

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I haven't forgotten, but I've already got 2 porcelain roosters and surely don't need anymore

I'd hate to split the pair.

 

[salunra]

Nancy,

I wish I was already set up for chickens, but we won't be til spring. You live less than an hour away from me and I would love to have a pair of nice porcelains and meet someone near by who is knowledge about them