Faverolles Thread

[Farmer Viola]

Can someone critique this male for me?
He is the male I think is the best out of my 5. However, I do not have females to pair him with right now... my question is keep him and pair him with future female SFs, or not. I know he has 6 comb points, but I think his body type and tail are good enough to make up for it. He is 6 mos old. I will also get more males when I hatch for females, but then they would be siblings...

The complication is I have about 12 hens in the egglaying flock that he would be apart of, with another rooster (making 2 roosters to 12 hens) so I do not think that is enough girls. Right now my male SFs are in their own bachelor pad but I plan to use that pen for chicks, and my only other open pen is for turkeys this summer. Plus it would be a sad life to live penned alone. Thank you for any feedback

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Farmer Viola, I don't feel I am qualified to comment on your cockerel but look forward to more knowledgeable critiques. I had a similar problem to yours and ultimately decided to keep one and sell the others. I also needed the space so I just took the plunge. I have plans to build a bachelor pad so I can keep future boys longer but right now it is what it is.

I don't necessarily think that two roosters to 12 hens is too many. It really just depends on your individual flock. It might be too much but I personally would try it and see what happens. If you have a good cockerel to keep he will probably will come in handy for your future hens. It sounds like you are observant enough to make the necessary changes if things just aren't working.

 

[elizmartin]

What is your other rooster??? If another reasonable breed, should not be a problem 2 roosters to 12 hens after an adjustment period. When not breeding i usually have 2 boys with the girls.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Presently I have two BLRW roosters, both just over 1 year old. 1 BLRW rooster is with the 12 egglayers (he is my backup) and 1 BLRW rooster is with the best BLRW hens in a separate breeding pen. So if I keep a SF cockerel he will be the 3rd rooster but would be added in the main area that free ranges with the bossiest BLRW rooster and 12 females.

I have sewn hen saddles for some of my girls because they are starting to lose back feathers, but this was mostly before the separation of the 5 cockerels and BLRW breeder rooster. There were 17 hens at that time. The 5 SF cockerels are very skittish, they stay on the outskirts of the flock, and try to mate when they can but they are often kicked off by the two older BLRW roosters. Some of the hens still dominate/intimidate the SF cockerels.

So in the egg flock a SF cockerel would be younger, more hormonal and wanting to mate, but might be mostly handled by the older BLRW rooster I think..

 

[elizmartin]

Wyndottes are more aggressive than Faverolles, But since you spoke of it being a free range situation where they can get away from each other….you never know, some of the hens may begin pairing up with the Fav boy.

 

[Firefly89]

I have a couple questions and hoping for some advice. I first found Faverolles a couple years ago. I loved them in my little laying flock and started looking further into the breed information and trying to acquire more, better birds. It has been quite a task around here but about a year ago I picked up some chicks from a lady with a beautiful flock of large blue and black salmon Faverolles with good shape and color. I was very excited about being able to have some good quality birds. They have grown to be nice birds with good color and shape but they are small. I know there are a lot of variances in type and that this is a slow maturing bird but I'm wondering if they will ever be anywhere near the volumptuous birds I saw in the parent flock? And though I know they are still young and have only been laying less than 2 months I am wondering if their eggs will get bigger either? They are only slightly larger than some of my bantam eggs.
The last thing I'm curious about is leg feathering. Most of the Faverolles I have seen have pretty sparse or thin feathering on the shanks. Is that normal?
I hope someone can shed some light on my situation. I am also looking for either more chicks or hatching eggs. Right now they are just for my enjoyment but I would like to maybe show someday, I'm am not trying to be a breeder by any means though. I live in central oklahoma so if there are any breeders around please let me know if you have anything available

 

[elizmartin]

Hi, I would assume that once mature they would be consistent with their parents. Are these over or under one year? In the second year mine do fill out….Maybe just for information sake, asking the breeder how they like to feed their birds which can make some difference in growth as well….

Could there be a chance that these could be Bantam rather than large fowl ?

Faverolles are know for a medium sized egg and maiden eggs will be smaller initially….There are a few breeders that have been able to breed bigger eggs…..I have one older hen that has eggs between a large/extra large size.

Regarding leg feathering the 2001 SOP says slightly feathered, should be on the outside….nothing like Cochins, without vulture hocks which i have occasionally seen.

There used to be a Faverolles club but last Year things changed and am not sure if anyone continues to have some kind of list…Have You tried looking for poultry shows in Your state, or state poultry organizations….or near states if You are near a border? Asking on the Oklahoma thread might find someone as well…..

If You haven't had a chance yet, start at the beginning of this thread and You might find contact info of folks who may be willing to ship young birds or eggs. I hesitate to recommend anyone since there are allot of good folks here and would miss someone who could be helpful.

Best of Luck

 

[BuffyBugSlayer]

Speaking of feeding...I have always just had layers and fed them layer feed and some scratch, some egg and yogurt on occasion and they also free range. I worm them regularly and I also had a fecal done last year which didn't show anything.

I feel like some of pullets are smaller than they should be so I have added an ultra kibble (that has fish protein) to their daily scratch ration. I am not completely happy with this and feel I could do better. I don't want fat hens but I would like them to be as big and healthy as they can be.

Are most breeders feeding a higher protein feed? I worry about my layers not getting enough calcium if I move away from the layer feed, even if I provide oyster shell. I have heard that some feed game bird feed because it is higher protein. Has anyone had problems with poor egg shell quality from oyster shell only?

Any thoughts? Does anyone have a system they really like and would be willing to share?

 

[mame1616]

I have a couple questions and hoping for some advice. I first found Faverolles a couple years ago. I loved them in my little laying flock and started looking further into the breed information and trying to acquire more, better birds. It has been quite a task around here but about a year ago I picked up some chicks from a lady with a beautiful flock of large blue and black salmon Faverolles with good shape and color. I was very excited about being able to have some good quality birds. They have grown to be nice birds with good color and shape but they are small. I know there are a lot of variances in type and that this is a slow maturing bird but I'm wondering if they will ever be anywhere near the volumptuous birds I saw in the parent flock? And though I know they are still young and have only been laying less than 2 months I am wondering if their eggs will get bigger either? They are only slightly larger than some of my bantam eggs.
The last thing I'm curious about is leg feathering. Most of the Faverolles I have seen have pretty sparse or thin feathering on the shanks. Is that normal?
I hope someone can shed some light on my situation. I am also looking for either more chicks or hatching eggs. Right now they are just for my enjoyment but I would like to maybe show someday, I'm am not trying to be a breeder by any means though. I live in central oklahoma so if there are any breeders around please let me know if you have anything available

What Eliz said.


You can also join the Faverolles Fanciers page on FB - a lot of breeders and contacts on there. Plus, make sure to check out www.poultryshowcentral.com for shows near you.

 

[FVRM]

I have a couple questions and hoping for some advice. I first found Faverolles a couple years ago. I loved them in my little laying flock and started looking further into the breed information and trying to acquire more, better birds. It has been quite a task around here but about a year ago I picked up some chicks from a lady with a beautiful flock of large blue and black salmon Faverolles with good shape and color. I was very excited about being able to have some good quality birds. They have grown to be nice birds with good color and shape but they are small. I know there are a lot of variances in type and that this is a slow maturing bird but I'm wondering if they will ever be anywhere near the volumptuous birds I saw in the parent flock? And though I know they are still young and have only been laying less than 2 months I am wondering if their eggs will get bigger either? They are only slightly larger than some of my bantam eggs.
The last thing I'm curious about is leg feathering. Most of the Faverolles I have seen have pretty sparse or thin feathering on the shanks. Is that normal?
I hope someone can shed some light on my situation. I am also looking for either more chicks or hatching eggs. Right now they are just for my enjoyment but I would like to maybe show someday, I'm am not trying to be a breeder by any means though. I live in central oklahoma so if there are any breeders around please let me know if you have anything available

Mine are very large, they are 1 year old now and the roo has finally gotten BIG. Wait until they are 1 year old before you decided if that's the size you want. the eggs however are medium to somewhat small. They're shanks should have a lot of feathering, mine are actually having problems with their feathers. I think they are plucking each other's feathers or their own but their feet are very irritated. They had very good feathering before the rainy season started. I really want to breed them towards no feathering on their feet. I live next to a swamp so it gets really wet around here.

Speaking of feeding...I have always just had layers and fed them layer feed and some scratch, some egg and yogurt on occasion and they also free range. I worm them regularly and I also had a fecal done last year which didn't show anything.

I feel like some of pullets are smaller than they should be so I have added an ultra kibble (that has fish protein) to their daily scratch ration. I am not completely happy with this and feel I could do better. I don't want fat hens but I would like them to be as big and healthy as they can be.

Are most breeders feeding a higher protein feed? I worry about my layers not getting enough calcium if I move away from the layer feed, even if I provide oyster shell. I have heard that some feed game bird feed because it is higher protein. Has anyone had problems with poor egg shell quality from oyster shell only?

Any thoughts? Does anyone have a system they really like and would be willing to share?

I fed mine flock raiser since chicks all the way to laying age. Now I give them layer feed and lots of corn.