Houdans

[Chilifur]

That does sound nice. The Houdans I received from Ideal Poultry all have wonderful temperaments - until the boyz hit puberty and then they became, well, roosters. Still much more calm and less aggressive than other roos I've dealt with. They are just the horniest boyz I think we've ever had! ;-)

Crests are all well back, no one has obscured vision. ZERO cross-beaks or funky combs. The only thing I saw were two of 11 having a sideways single toenail. Weights and shapes all very Houdan-like, though I believe they all have far too much white for the standard.

Photos will go up one of these days when I've got permanent internet access at home again (moved onto a rural farm and internet hasn't reached it yet)

 

[exop]

Chilifur, how are the wattles on your Houdans from Ideal? That's another thing I was pleased with in my birds from Cackle, all have small wattles, none have huge pendulous wattles as seen in this picture from Privett hatchery:

I can't decide if it is more likely that the large wattles are a sign of "ancestral Houdan traits" (the breed had large wattles when first imported), or a sign of cross breeding with large-wattled nonbearded Polish.

I've been curious about Ideal's stock, wish they had photos on their website but unfortunately they don't, so I'd love to see your pictures! I'll try to get some of my own up. I relate to the internet problem, have been using dialup over rural phone lines myself (localnet.com). Uploading photos has always been an ordeal. We signed up for satellite internet last week and I haven't tried uploading anything yet... Will have to see how it goes.

Best - exop

 

[exop]

Quote:
Earlier this year I started reading Jean Claude Périquet's article on the Houdan from Coqs et Poules: les races françaises and though I didn't make it all the way through (not the best French, other things I had to do) I picked up a few points -

- The earliest described Houdans had a leaf comb or antler-like comb and were mottled in color, "caillouté" (pebbled) as the French call it
- Black was developed in the seventies by a breeder working with the Mottled variety
- Houdans in France had become rare or threatened in mid-century and breeders interested in keeping the breed going ended up importing some birds from England to help bring it back

The French White houdan is unrelated to the U.S. White houdan, they were developed separately using different crosses to other breeds - and are either very hard to find, or extinct, within France.

Best - exop

 

[Chilifur]

Have to post these: my three Houdans and one of the Tolbunt-split Polish boys:

Houdan boy who is a complete sweetheart and has been, even while all the rest of the Boyz are real buttheads. (All 7 months old)

The Houdan boy butthead who has the best coloring - not much to talk about, is it?

My girlie, Glory - who looks more Polish than my Polish.

The Polish boy who has the comb I want on my Houdans!! (He's only 5 months old)

Seriously, something is just wrong.

 

[ChicksinFL]

We hatched out two Houdan chicks from shipped eggs I bought on Ebay. They are now 21 days old and just so adorable!

Here is one of them having some "play time" with my daughter, she is my chicken princess and takes chickens all over the house with her to play with her toys, eat at the table, watch TV and work on 4H books with her. These were taken while we sat and watched the eggs in the hatcher hatch yesterday.

This ones name is Ace as he was the first to hatch from the eggs that were in the hatcher at that time the other ones name is Weakling as it hatched out with an unabsorbed yolk and was weak for a couple days. Both are extremely healthy now and way outgrowing the LF Cochin they were hatched with.

I have no expectations from these two.. I'm sure they aren't even nice quality. My lil one really wanted Houdans she thinks they are BEAUTIFUL so now she's thrilled to have two to add to the growing list of breeds we have.

 

[becky3086]

That crest is really interesting. They are skunk houdans! lol. I miss my houdan but have had no luck with hatching eggs from houdan lately.

 

[ccshambhala]

chilifur - beautiful birds - why (in what way) is your tolbunts crest the one you want on your houdans? will your tolbunt become more white as it ages?

my hatchery houdans, Pierre & Lucette (please feel free to critique!) :

I know she has too much white but she is so sweet!

 

[Chilifur]

The French standard calls for a Leaf or butterfly comb - I happen to prefer it and think it helps them look more like a separate breed. As it is now, the breed looks too much like mottled Polish. those two look identical to mine! Yes, we love them to pieces but they have far too much white for young birds.

As for the Tolbunt boy, I haven't the faintest idea - he's a split, not pure Tolbunt. I strongly suspect that the white portion of mottling in any breed increases every molt.

 

[Chilifur]

Earlier this year I started reading Jean Claude Périquet's article on the Houdan from Coqs et Poules: les races françaises and though I didn't make it all the way through (not the best French, other things I had to do) I picked up a few points -

- The earliest described Houdans had a leaf comb or antler-like comb and were mottled in color, "caillouté" (pebbled) as the French call it
- Black was developed in the seventies by a breeder working with the Mottled variety
- Houdans in France had become rare or threatened in mid-century and breeders interested in keeping the breed going ended up importing some birds from England to help bring it back

The French White houdan is unrelated to the U.S. White houdan, they were developed separately using different crosses to other breeds - and are either very hard to find, or extinct, within France.

Best - exop

Exactly! One of the reasons I've chosen to work with French breeds is that their philosophy regarding a perfect backyard bird matches my own. Not that I am breeding French birds exclusively, just specializing while also breeding a few others that I particularly enjoy.

So far, the wattles aren't all that long, but he's not even a year old. Also, this may be premature due to the success of shipped eggs, but I'm expecting eggs tomorrow - these will not be hatchery birds and I have great expectations. I'll post here if I get any hatching!!​

 

[josh44]

I miss my houdans,
Don't know why I let them go