Possible to breed SQ selectively from Hatchery stock?

[Rin]

Odd question but I think it's a good one. According to Ideal, my MF D'uccles /are/ pure bred just not guaranteed as SQ as they aren't being selectively bred to fit the appearance of the breed exactly. However, I managed to get what I think is a VERY beautiful roo with wonderfully bearded pullets after getting rid of chicks that least fit the breed - is it possible to get SQ ones from their offspring? They are only 9weeks old now and the roo I'm keeping is just /covered/ in flowers - so much so his saddle is almost completely white and black and he has a nice full beard and muffs (I think) the girls also possess huge beards and muffs and are speckled quite a bit with their own flowers. I'm getting rid of ones with poor/small beards or odd colouring(like one of the roos for some reason had a black hood and next to no beard). Is this worth the effort or would I still likely end up with chicks/eggs not good enough to sell as "MF D'uccles"? I don't intend to lie about what they are or where they came from but would really like them to grow up looking like what they are for people buying. I've also been tempted to try and show them when they're older but any shows I've found are juniors only. ><

Would pictures help?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

It would take years to breed out the influence of whatever the hatchery bred into them I would think. That goes for any breed. For example, I had Delaware stock from hatchery, and then some from a breeder. The hatchery stock would have taken at least 3 generations to breed out the Columbian Rock influence, but the others are breeding true with only an occassional oddball that doesn't have quite the right markings/comb/leg color or whatever. I have and will cull heavily until I get more and more consistent results. If I had continued to pursue with the hatchery stock...there is no telling what would be pecking in my yard right now. The time it takes to grow them out to see if they are worth keeping is not worth it to me when good stock is available already. Unless you just want all the hard work....I'd say get some good stock from a reputable breeder. It's too frustrating to work with poor stock if you are serious about wanting to breed for quality.

 

[Chris09]

Here is the standard for the belgian duccle.
http://belgianduccle.hypermart.net/dUccle1page.html
And here is the standard for the color variety mille fleur.
http://belgianduccle.hypermart.net/millefleur.html



Can you post a picture of the birds?

Chris

 

[Rin]

Thanks for the links Chris! I haven't been able to really find any info on the standard either, just a tooon of pictures of winning hens/roos that I compared them to.

Here's Peek-a-boo, the rooster. He doesn't have proper adult feathering yet, granted he's only 9 weeks old as are his ladies.

Lady one, Shan'dor.

Lady two, Falithas.

Sorry if the pictures aren't the best, they were foraging and refused to hold still for two seconds.
I also realized I might have worded this funky. I merely wanted to know if that WAS possible(If I ever got bored in the future) while asking on the side whether I can sell these particular MF D'uccle's eggs/chicks at the local farm swap or online as "MF D'uccles" - NOT SQ ones - rather just for people who want MF D'uccles(and several locals have shown interest) and to have them look like MF D'uccles - maybe not perfect ones but huge beards, hawks, feathered legs, flowers etc etc. According to ideal though, the MF D'uccles are pure bred, just not carefully culled to keep specifically to standard. I don't know if that makes a difference?

 

[prov31gal]

too much buff in my opinion. no beard. what hatchery did these come from? got some from cackle and they didnt look that buff.

 

[Chris09]

Rin --
I think that your rooster has some Buff Columbian crossed in there...
The hen might too..

Chris

 

[Rin]

https://secuservices.com/ideal/newideal/selectproduct.aspx?qty=1&ID=MFB&Product=69
/\\ Them and they swear up and down it's purebred as you can see. Chris, do you have any pictures of 9wk old proper looking MF D'uccles so I can compare? I'm confused as they look exactly like the pictures I find online. In fact, the roo looks exactly like

this guys only with a beard twice that size and way more white(now). I'd record him but my camera is terrible and blurs recordings beyond recognition.

 

[aveca]

Quote:
I can post the entire part about them from the standard tommorrow night when I get home from work. I have the book and left it at work was looking it over for refresher for the season...
Like Cindiloohoo said, it can be done but people will buy a hundred then cull down to maybe 25 of the best then start from there.
I dont know a lot about them , had a freind who raised them and showed but unfortunatly they had a terrible barn fire and lost everything, very very said.
Looks like a pretty decent rooster

You can look up champion d'uccles online too it kind of helps to know what you are working toward.

here is a web site for a club, actually has a few nice pics but they are colored d'uccles and the standard is included If I remember right
http://belgianduccle.hypermart.net/Quarterlynewsletter3.pdf

 

[Katy]

By the time you've fed the amount of birds you'll have to hatch out and cull over several generations time to maybe get them where you need to be you could buy a nice trio from a breeder for much less money.

 

[becky3086]

With mille fleur d'uccles it is really hard to tell how they will look until they are a lot older. My suggestion is that you wait, and don't cull any more until they are a lot older. Yes, I am sure you could sell them as pure as long as you didn't sell them as SQ.