D'uccle Thread

[OneCrazyCowgirl]

The one that was in the best condition & most closely met the breed standard description as long as it was a variety that has been admitted to the Standard.

I know that. I just wasn't sure what color variation if liked by the judges

 

[nothingbutbirds]

I do not know if either one are show Q but would love to know how they measure up even if they are still fairly young.

hatched September 26th this year.





that was my roo, ^ and below is my hen she has always been a bit slower to develop than my roo so I think she may get more speckles later.







Sabin is the roo and Midge is my hen

your rooster has to much white they dont have very full beards or bull necks the female has little feathering on the feet the male akso looks to have very noticable wattles wich will get much bigger they are pet quality most likely

 

[phoebs]

how do you tell belgian chicks???????????? =)

 

[nothingbutbirds]

how do you tell belgian chicks???????????? =)

do you mean gender wise or color wise or what?

 

[coffeekittie]

I doubt your chicks died of anything you brought home from a show. Shipping is a rough business, and the stress could've finally gotten to a few of the weaker birds.
No, there is nothing sweeter than the trills of chicks!!

About body type: Remember that judges here do not look for the same traits as European judges. So the body type you crave may be unshowable in the US. At a recent show a judge wrote on one card that the rooster was unproportionate because he was so wide in the chest. The biggest problem with US d'Uccles is that they're getting too big. That's the only reason I bought a rooster at the OH show: He was soooo small and cute. He's still in quarrantine. Unfortunately, he is self-blue mottled, so I will have to breed and select for color as well as size and then breed again before I can be sure the mottling gene is gone. I already had it in one aspect from Karl's hen, but it darkened back to lavender. This boy has definite white mottling.
BUT HE'S SO CUTE AND LITTLE!!!!
<sigh>

I did it!!! My first ever multi-quote! WOOT! I somehow missed your post, wegotchickens, for which I apologize. Helpful one, too, so thanks to mstricer for quoting it!
You confirm one of my goals, which is to get very small d'Uccles. I have read somewhere a couple times that the breed is getting too large here, and that stuck with me. So that's good - I'm on track with that.

However, I didn't really absorb the fact that the US judges look for a different, slimmer body type than the European judges. In a way that is unfortunate, as our birds don't truly represent their origins, but it sure does make it easier to work with the stock I have, lol. It's true that I prefer the tiny but beefy look, with extremely heavy cheek muffs and beards, and thick, full looking necks. I will have to relegate that desire to a personal pleasure, instead of working for SQ stock. More pens in the plans, argh!

You have a mottled self-blue? I am absolutely jealous! That is my favorite variety, and you are the first person I've met that has one! Honestly I didn't think they were around in the US at all. I covet them, and think I will be sending you a PM shortly.

That is why I think my girl won in Columbus, it was her size, I thought she was squatty, but no she is just small. I have a girl, I'm looking at right now that looks like she may be too big. I need to get me some scales. I hope my girl I took to the show starts to lay here soon. I'm excited to start to hatch out some of these chicks, it has taken me two years to get to 3 different breeding pens and just the right amount of birds in each pen, 4 to a pen, I can add if I want. I want to show again, but not until spring or summer and not a lot of travel time. This learning thing is fun. The birds are sweet and easy to work with and don't complain about being cooped up, well some do.

Your birds are very gentle and calm, even though I don't handle them much. So you are going with 3 hens to 1 cock then? I am thinking for my breeding pens to go with 2 hens to 1 cock. From the pictures I've seen I think my pens will be smaller than yours, though.

 

[BlueCamas]

I do not know if either one are show Q but would love to know how they measure up even if they are still fairly young.

hatched September 26th this year.





that was my roo, ^ and below is my hen she has always been a bit slower to develop than my roo so I think she may get more speckles later.







Sabin is the roo and Midge is my hen

I also agree with the others that they are Pet Quality. Both of them have very light base-colors (darker is preferred), their beards are not the fullest, the cockerel has a ton of white on him already, and I think I see a very large patch of white on the pullet's tail? They do have nice short necks , no wattles to speak of, and decent enough foot feathering (All good things) so that's a plus! They may not be SQ, but they will still turn into very pretty pets.

P.S- Love their names!

 

[animalsRawesome]

Quote:

BQ??? What's that stand for?

 

[wegotchickens]

BQ??? What's that stand for?

It stands for breeder quality and is a term I personally don't care for.

 

[wegotchickens]

I also agree with the others that they are BQ. Both of them have very light base-colors (darker is preferred), their beards are not the fullest, the cockerel has a ton of white on him already, and I think I see a very large patch of white on the pullet's tail? They do have nice short necks , no wattles to speak of, and decent enough foot feathering (All good things) so that's a plus! They may not be SQ, but they will still turn into very pretty pets.

P.S- Love their names!

The roo has too much white at too early an age. I wouldn't use him for breeding at ALL. All white feathers on a mille fleur is a disqualification for showing. No point in throwing a bunch of pets from him. His brown isn't bad but isn't even.

The pullet is light right now, but even in color. She will get more spots as she matures and it's in her favor that she doesn't have a lot right now. It looks to me like someone has been picking at her beard. Move her away from the feather-picker (if you can figure out who's doing it) and give her some higher protein treats. Her middle toe looks like it could have some nice feathering later on as she matures.
Of the 2 birds, I like the little lady the best. She has potential.

But both are young, so don't ditch anyone until you see what they look like around 6 months.

 

[wegotchickens]

I did it!!! My first ever multi-quote! WOOT! I somehow missed your post, wegotchickens, for which I apologize. Helpful one, too, so thanks to mstricer for quoting it!
You confirm one of my goals, which is to get very small d'Uccles. I have read somewhere a couple times that the breed is getting too large here, and that stuck with me. So that's good - I'm on track with that.

However, I didn't really absorb the fact that the US judges look for a different, slimmer body type than the European judges. In a way that is unfortunate, as our birds don't truly represent their origins, but it sure does make it easier to work with the stock I have, lol. It's true that I prefer the tiny but beefy look, with extremely heavy cheek muffs and beards, and thick, full looking necks. I will have to relegate that desire to a personal pleasure, instead of working for SQ stock. More pens in the plans, argh!

You have a mottled self-blue? I am absolutely jealous! That is my favorite variety, and you are the first person I've met that has one! Honestly I didn't think they were around in the US at all. I covet them, and think I will be sending you a PM shortly.

Heavy muffs & beards are best, and the bull neck. But watch the broad chest. That's where there seemed to be issues, from the judge's perspective.

Got and answered the PM. His mottling isn't perfect, but he's young still. It will be interesting to see what his chicks look like!