Faverolles Thread

[krosfyre]

I thought for sure that my 5 week old LF Salmon Faverolle was a girl, but now I'm starting to question it. I already have a Salmon Faverolle cockerel, and my girl is starting to feather in like him only not as dark. Is it possible she's just of poor hatchery quality or do you suspect roo also? I got her from a local family that runs their business out of their home. I think the family gets their originals from a big hatchery though.

Here is my MPC hatchery girl at 3 weeks



and 5 weeks

and now 14 weeks old

for the longest time I thought she was a he. Now I have a salmon fav roo baby and can tell the difference between the 2 new female babies they are also 3 week going on 4 weeks old, I can take some pictures later this weekend; but from what I have been through with my "Britches" I would say you have a pullet and she does look closer to 3 weeks old in her feathering,
MPC is actually refunding me in full for her off coloring and for my roo that I ended up getting by mistake. I did not expect it, I just wanted to let them know the quality issue so they could work to fix it, they were very nice about everything.

 

[Brookshire11]

Here is my MPC hatchery girl at 3 weeks



and 5 weeks

and now 14 weeks old

for the longest time I thought she was a he. Now I have a salmon fav roo baby and can tell the difference between the 2 new female babies they are also 3 week going on 4 weeks old, I can take some pictures later this weekend; but from what I have been through with my "Britches" I would say you have a pullet and she does look closer to 3 weeks old in her feathering,
MPC is actually refunding me in full for her off coloring and for my roo that I ended up getting by mistake. I did not expect it, I just wanted to let them know the quality issue so they could work to fix it, they were very nice about everything.

This actually is really helpful!
So maybe the black on the chest won't mean an automatic roo

 

[krosfyre]

correct when I saw the black I thought for sure roo, but there was no black other places that there should be and her comb is still light pink. On the other hand my little boy I have now has so much BLACK and its very dark black a total difference next to the girls and even in comparing britches baby picture to him at the same age he is by far much darker.

 

[Lisamowens]

Thank you krosfyre! Your female turned out very pretty. I do believe mine is a female, especially with the light coloring on her wing tips. My boy had black wing tips by this age. I also believe she is a runt as she is growing so much slower than the rest. I will document her with pictures as she ages, in case others need to compare in the future.

 

[Nambroth]

for the longest time I thought she was a he. Now I have a salmon fav roo baby and can tell the difference between the 2 new female babies they are also 3 week going on 4 weeks old, I can take some pictures later this weekend; but from what I have been through with my "Britches" I would say you have a pullet and she does look closer to 3 weeks old in her feathering,
MPC is actually refunding me in full for her off coloring and for my roo that I ended up getting by mistake. I did not expect it, I just wanted to let them know the quality issue so they could work to fix it, they were very nice about everything.

They did not offer me a refund, (they scolded me for mentioning that their salmon favs had some genetic issues) but that's okay-- my birds are very valuable to me as pets (not breeding stock). I also bought directly from Meyer, instead of MPC, so no doubt their customer service is different people! But MPC's faverolles come from Meyer. Or, they did at the time. I don't know if they source chicks from Meyer 100% of the time anymore.

Hatchery chicks can feather in very dark!

For reference, in case it helps anyone:

My Meyer Salmon Favs at exactly 3 weeks old. Both are hens.




Same birds at exactly 5 weeks old :


Same bird at 7 weeks old:

 

[Gittx]

Oh Goodness!

So sweet! My scissor beak girl hasn't gotten severe enough to need help yet. I'm actually kind of proud of her. I think she may be my only pullet too. It's SO hard to tell with hatchery stock. No comb development, but the other has black coming on the chest. It really is a waiting game :/

If you want her to be able to eat, if the scissor beak does get worse, try fermented food. I make a 5 gal bucket of it every day, but you could make much less just for her. You might find they all love it, mine do. Just take the layer food and add about the same amount of water. (It should cover the food and add a few inches) Then you let it set a day. I have two buckets and alternate them daily. A white film of mold will grow on the top. It's a good thing. If you get the black mold, the food shouldn't be used. I've never had black mold. Just search for "fermented food" on this site. You'll find lots more info if you're interested. I think some people file the beak into shape, but I don't trust myself to do that.
I hope your bug eyed baby does as well as mine has. There is an animal antibotic eye drop that might help if her eye gets too irritated. I used my human eye antibotic once and it didn't make any difference. I think by the time the eye gets so you can really notice it, it may be too late to save anyway.

 

[krosfyre]

They did not offer me a refund, (they scolded me for mentioning that their salmon favs had some genetic issues) but that's okay-- my birds are very valuable to me as pets (not breeding stock). I also bought directly from Meyer, instead of MPC, so no doubt their customer service is different people! But MPC's faverolles come from Meyer. Or, they did at the time. I don't know if they source chicks from Meyer 100% of the time anymore.

Hatchery chicks can feather in very dark!

For reference, in case it helps anyone:

My Meyer Salmon Favs at exactly 3 weeks old. Both are hens.




Same birds at exactly 5 weeks old :


Same bird at 7 weeks old:

Your birds are pretty! almost a mahogany with black lacing. that sucks they were rude to you about their breeding mistake! it looks like somewhere along the line some mahogany faverolles must have gotten into the flock. If chickens are like dogs certain colors should not be bred together because the genes interfere creating off colors.
I didn't ask for a refund only on the rooster but explained that I was disappointed that the faverolle did not match the description or pictures and hopefully seeing what their lines are producing will help them breed to the breed standard, they asked for pictures of both birds and then emailed me back saying to call for the refund info that I will receive a refund for both errors. I was like okay cool! that is really nice of them. I also got 2 faverolles 3 weeks ago from Meyers both birds are feathering correctly so I am not sure if MPC get's their birds from Meyers stock there is a big difference, so far. I love my girl despite her coloration, I don't really plan on showing or breeding, they are just my back yard flock for pets and bonus, Eggs!

 

[krosfyre]

Thank you krosfyre! Your female turned out very pretty. I do believe mine is a female, especially with the light coloring on her wing tips. My boy had black wing tips by this age. I also believe she is a runt as she is growing so much slower than the rest. I will document her with pictures as she ages, in case others need to compare in the future.

You'er welcome! mine seemed runty as well, which also made me thing cockerel but when she stopped developing black and developed the lighter wing tips I started leaning towards pullet and double checked on here for experienced help.

 

[grlnamedsue]

Bumping in here. I used to have a few faverolles (mostly as pets for their cuteness) but have recently had a new interest in them as meat birds given their size. However, the American standard seems considerable smaller than their European counterparts. Could anyone here point me in the right direction? I'm not so much interested in correct color, but rather the larger sized birds "of the past". Right now in kind of back into the research phase of deciding where I want to go. The same sad story seems to have happened to all my favorite breeds when they became Americanized, including the speckled sussex...once again, downsized. If nothing else, perhaps a hatchery that's birds turn out larger than average? Or maybe a higher protein diet from the beginning might help?

 

[Farmer Viola]

Bumping in here. I used to have a few faverolles (mostly as pets for their cuteness) but have recently had a new interest in them as meat birds given their size. However, the American standard seems considerable smaller than their European counterparts. Could anyone here point me in the right direction? I'm not so much interested in correct color, but rather the larger sized birds "of the past". Right now in kind of back into the research phase of deciding where I want to go. The same sad story seems to have happened to all my favorite breeds when they became Americanized, including the speckled sussex...once again, downsized. If nothing else, perhaps a hatchery that's birds turn out larger than average? Or maybe a higher protein diet from the beginning might help?

I process Fav cockerels at 23-24 weeks and they are 4.5-5lbs, very good meat birds imho. I would not use hatchery stock for meat though, see if you can find a breeder in your area, it is worth it! Where are you located?