my brabanters

[amazondoc]

Hey again guys --

Recently there was a discussion about brabanters and their standard. I'd like to expand on that a bit.

Here's the pics I took on Friday of my brabanters. Can somebody who knows the breed critique them for me? All are roughly 4-6 months old, but I don't know their exact ages.

They were sold as cream brabanters. I think at least one of them is too dark. There's a possibility she might be crossed with gold, since the breeder also had gold and I'm not confident that she had them well separated. Also, you'll see that there is very poor spangling on the back of the roo, but I don't know if that's a roo thing or a poor breeding thing. Any input would be welcomed.

Also -- has anybody noticed their brabanters being sensitive to heat? Mine are always the first birds to start gaping/panting when the temperature rises during the day.

Look here for the pics:

http://www.doberinfo.com/chickenpics/Brabanters/brabanters--08-29-08.html

Click on any pic to see a larger version of that pic. Thanks again for any input!

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I just wanna say right up front, I am no expert when it comes to this breed, but I do have the European standard for the breed in front of me right now so I will go by that(thats what I rated my creams by as well).
I also cannot comment on colour since Europe does not have "Cream"(but they do have black, blue, lavender, white, barred, silver spangled, gold, blue spangled gold and chamois).

Bertie- The crest should be very tight together and only point up and a bit forward(noted as a great fault in my book is a loose crest with any feathers pointing back), his is loose and kinda all over the place. A brabanters beard should be full and according to the standard cover most of the face, he has nice sideburns but he could use some more volume on the front. Great fault being any visible wattles. As for the poor spangling on the back, both my roos got it too. The European standard states that with the roos of the spangled varieties must have some sort of spangling in the hackles/shoulder/saddle. A couple black feathers in the tail are allowed, beard must be black although some markings in the beard would not be a disqualification.

All That - Definitly gold blood in there somewhere. Nice beard on her, best of the 3. As for the crest it points up nicely, but the middle does seem a bit loose.

Miss Thang- Love her markings! But some of her crest feathers are going sideways which is a Gr.F. She could use a bit fuller beard as well.

Hope this helps.
Anna

 

[kinnip]

I'm no poultry show judge, but I think they're just gorgeous!!

 

[banter]

I am curious-I don't intend to show these, I have them for their hardiness and rarity. How about a critique? Of course the polka dots are extremely rare! They are 8 months old in these pics.

 

[tiki244]

Im not going to be much help, but it looks like the roo is molting. So once he gets more feathers you could tell more. He may have more spots on his back and his beard may be molting now. With my d'Uccles when they molt the beard is non existant.

They look nice to me. If you wanted to breed I would either breed the roo to the last female and take the good chicks from that. Or breed to both and id the chicks as to which mother they had.

 

[Chicabee19]

kewl!

I'm definitely no expert... I don't even have my chickens yet, but I gotta say those are some beautiful birds! Look almost like a caricature of a chicken.

You guys are inspiring (read: enabling) me toward wanting some not-so-run-of-the-mill babies.

Is there a possibility of getting some hatching eggs out of the brabanters?

 

[amazondoc]

Thanks guys!

I don't have any intentions of breeding, but I'm an information junkie and I like to know what I'm looking at. So the more input I get, the happier I am!

Speaking of input -- how do y'all's birds do with heat?

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

When it comes to weather my standard just says under the "Undesirable" weather sensitivy, Brabanters should do well in any weather, if not the birds that do not match up with that hardiness should be culled from the breeding program.

My Brabanters aren't bothered by the heat thats for sure, they will lay in the dirt in the middle of 35C and not mind it at all.

@Banter- The young bird in your first pic(looks like maybe a 2 month old?), looks to have a nice beard but that crest is too round, a brabanters crest is supposed to end in a point on the top and the tips of the feathers should go up and forward.

Your roo does have a nice pointed up crest from the little bit shown in the pic, but he could have a little more of it. At a show those wattles would disqualify him too, Brabanters(no matter hen or roo) should not have visible wattles.

Your hens look a little ruff, but the one up front does seem to have a decend beard(although the standard states both hen and roo should have a beard so thick that you cannot see the earlobes). Her crest does slope forward nicely.