Mille Fleur D'Uccle Critique

[Doc McCluckins]

I have been very sucessful in local shows with my birds but was hoping to get involved in some APA shows in the next year or two. Please critique my birds (Cock and Hen) by SOP and educate me on what I need to look for in future stock as well as offer any tips to a newbie showing. Be honest, I can take it! I don't have great pics, but I'll post what I have. Some pics are when they are in or coming out of molt. Thanks!

Edit to add, the hen is the most precious bird that has ever lived. Just an angel. The roo however is the most violent animal of any specie I have ever owned, if you tell me he's awful I might just put him in a crockpot rehabilitation center for my pleasure so he won't have any more chances to flog me. I have been looking for a replacement to him for a while.

 

[Alaskan]

I like them.

I can't tell in the photos how good the wing carriage is on the male, but it is great on the female.

I would focus on getting the spots (wrong term...brain is blanking ), more evenly distributed with a bit more ground color showing between them.

The white tends to increase with age in some individuals, so it is good to pick birds that don't go white, or don't go white quickly, or at least start out with a smaller amount of white.

as to temperament. .. yeah... I think the males are all buggers. Odd, because the females are the sweetest things.

I found the same thing to be true with d'anvers.

I have managed to get a nice roo in my bantam Wheaten Ameraucanas.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

I like them.

I can't tell in the photos how good the wing carriage is on the male, but it is great on the female.

I would focus on getting the spots (wrong term...brain is blanking ), more evenly distributed with a bit more ground color showing between them.

The white tends to increase with age in some individuals, so it is good to pick birds that don't go white, or don't go white quickly, or at least start out with a smaller amount of white.

as to temperament. .. yeah... I think the males are all buggers. Odd, because the females are the sweetest things.

I found the same thing to be true with d'anvers.

I have managed to get a nice roo in my bantam Wheaten Ameraucanas.

Thank you! I found a very knowledgeable man at a show this weekend that told me a lot of the same and walked through with me and compared birds there to show me what to look for. He said the flecking should be small and evenly distributed. I suspect my hen is older, she seems to have more white on her now than she did in the past. I was concerned about some juveniles I purchased, as they have very few flecks at 5 months but that may not necessarily be a bad thing the more I learn. I ALMOST bought a new rooster at the show but the more I learned the better it seems my roo is (he's not near as good as some I saw this weekend but he is better than the ones that were available for purchase of course lol), which is good and all but I would love to be rid of his hateful self.

Tell me more about wing carriage and what I need to look for there? Also, how can I tell if my roo is bearded or just booted. I just assumed he was bearded but he has never shown a lot in that area, I just assumed it was due to him fighting and being hateful all the time maybe he lost his feathers there but seeing the two varieties at the show made me question him as well.

 

[Alaskan]

I thought booted was the feathers on the feet...bearded are the fluffy feathers under the chin...

D'uccles actually should not have a beard, just the muffs.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

Booted is the feet feathers I believe. And all D'Uccles are booted. What I observed at the show was two separate varieties, Belgian Bearded D'Uccles and Belgian Booted D'Uccles, which were identical with the exception of the "booted" variety did not show any beard or muffs.

 

[Alaskan]

new to me

 

[gojira]

I think you are confusing d'uccles and booted bantams. D'uccles are derived from booted bantams, and have muffs and beards, whereas booted bantams do not have muffs and beards. Your male may have had his beard picked by females in the breeding pen.

 

[Doc McCluckins]

I think you are confusing d'uccles and booted bantams. D'uccles are derived from booted bantams, and have muffs and beards, whereas booted bantams do not have muffs and beards. Your male may have had his beard picked by females in the breeding pen.

That sounds correct. I was hoping that was the case with my roo as well.

 

[Alaskan]

I think you are confusing d'uccles and booted bantams. D'uccles are derived from booted bantams, and have muffs and beards, whereas booted bantams do not have muffs and beards. Your male may have had his beard picked by females in the breeding pen.

Thanks! That is what I wanted to say....