Hatchery Houdans

[Bluegenes]

Does anyone know which hatchery has the "best" Houdans? I know none of them show quality, just curious which is the least off the SOP... I really appreciate Cackle having videos of their breeding flocks, but in this case I wasn't impressed... I think Ideal, McMurray, and Privett(?) also have them, but I haven't found any actual photos of their stock. Anyone bought them form a hatchery?
Thanks!

 

[pineapple416]

I have never had Houdans nor have I purchased chicks directly through a hatchery so sorry I don't really have a good answer to your question. I like browsing on the sight mypetchicken though, and have friends how have purchased healthy chicks from them but not sure about the show quality. I'm curious to see what others say though as I've always been interested in Houdans since I first read about them.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I ordered a large batch of Houdans a number of years ago and there were some ok birds to work with, but you have to order a lot and cull hard. Ultimately a dog wiped out my flock and I wasn't in a position to start over.

I have read up a bit on some of the "blends" used to recreate the bird in the US and I think adding something with good weight and proper "boat" type to selected hatchery birds then culling hard for the accessories might be a perfectly reasonable way to go.

 

[exop]

Cackle, hands down, has the best.

Highly recommended place to get a start.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I noticed Meyer is advertising their Houdans as "New" this year. I'm verrrrrrry curious. Might have to check it out. I have a suspicion.

 

[exop]

It looks like Meyer did NOT obtain good starting stock. Check out this photo from their website:

Houdans are supposed to have muffs and a beard, this "Houdan" has none.

What a shame they got their start from a bad source!!

Could have been Welp hatchery, they have had poor Houdans for awhile, here's a photo from Welp's website:

To recap: Meyer's Houdan offering does NOT look promising.

 

[exop]

Does anyone know which hatchery has the "best" Houdans? I know none of them show quality, just curious which is the least off the SOP... I really appreciate Cackle having videos of their breeding flocks, but in this case I wasn't impressed... I think Ideal, McMurray, and Privett(?) also have them, but I haven't found any actual photos of their stock. Anyone bought them form a hatchery?
Thanks!

I would say, never judge a hatchery's birds by looking at a video of a breeding flock. By definition, there are multiple roosters, and the hens are all being bred. Houdans of both sexes are pretty randy, and this doesn't help matters. What you get to see is a whole lot of birds who are not in peak condition, grubby, with feathers missing and chewed up.

Here are some Cackle pullets from my yard a couple years ago: