Spitzhaubens

[Finnie]

So beautiful!

 

[Alaskan]

I really like the one with the comma spots. Cool.

I need to look up the SOP again... Can't remember what it says about spots.

 

[drumstick diva]

Do the Spitz do well in mixed flocks, or get picked on like Polish & Silkies? I love their crests, some look like turbans, and some are wild like some polish. I always think of them as the "Dalmatian" chickens because of the spots.

 

[Alaskan]

None of my Spitz have gotten picked on. They can see great (which is why I love the Spitz), and they are also fast.

When I broke up my breeding pens, I put a Spitz pair that had been alone just the two of them for maybe 9 months.... And tossed them into my big communal pen with two other roosters.

The pair do great, they were not touched at all. The two still hang out together, and the Spitz roo knows his place (he doesn't call to his hen when the other roosters are in sight).


Right now I have a bunch of Spitz grow-outs with a mix of other breeds. My bantam Wyandottes, and my bantam rhode island reds got a bit picked on... But not the Spitz.

Oh, before I hear the comment that the bantams shouldn't have been with the standards...my bantam Leghorns and bantam d'anvers (very tiny little girls too) don't have a single mark on them. But both bantam RIR, and all three bantam Wyandottes.

I don't get it, it is interesting (and yes, once I noticed the picking I kept a close eye on them, to see if I could stop it with more enrichment...that failed..so I seperated them into two groups)

Breed characteristcs are fascinating.

 

[Faraday40]

Do the Spitz do well in mixed flocks, or get picked on like Polish & Silkies? I love their crests, some look like turbans, and some are wild like some polish. I always think of them as the "Dalmatian" chickens because of the spots.

The Spitzes can hold their own & if in trouble, they're faster than any other chicken we have. All of our chickens have been hatched here & raised with their hatchmates of assorted breeds. So my bantam orp grew up with full-sized orps & CCLs. She never seemed to realize that she's smaller. In fact she has more "attitude" plus the agility to steal the best treats before the big girls can react. She's in the middle of it all! Likewise, we have one tiny Sebright. We never intended to keep her, but her strong spirit, outstanding appearance, and silly personality added too much fun to our flock. We had to train her to come on command, so now we know we can get her back into the coop when needed. (I don't believe in chasing chickens.) Because the Spitzes are fast, I know I'll need to work with them like my Sebright. However, they are much calmer & more people friendly than how my Sebright started out.

 

[Alaskan]

It is crazy, how each breed is different.

Now that I posted the above...I keep wondering... Why didn't my tiny d'anvers get picked on? Why did the bantam RIR and Wyandottes get picked on?

Interresting.

I kinda want to do a 100 chick study.

 

[Faraday40]

I kinda want to do a 100 chick study.

That a lot of chicks! I think DH may get upset with me if I tried that.




.... Of course DD is hatching like crazy for her experiment this year. I was also hatching chicks in 4 different schools and had to sell those chicks as well. Just when I think we're going to get stuck with about a doz chicks, someone calls & asks if we have any for sale. Poor DH. We're not giving him any actual numbers. (Nothing to worry about if they all sell.

) We're only keeping a few from the March hatch & hope to sell all the other chicks. Setting the Spitz eggs was on a whim. I just traded some eggs and after unsuccessfully trying to hatch twice last year, I finally got some Spitzes this year.

 

[Alaskan]

Glad you got the Spitz to hatch.

Yeah... For some reason my chick market this year isn't as good as last year... I must be stuck with over 50 chicks now half grown. (Various breeds and some mixes)

In another week I will sell the girls for good money, and then be stuck with the boys.

I have some Spitz I need to decide on their fate.... I have a few with zero crest, some with a very tiny crest. I got one hatched with a funky beak, and a few with funky toes....I think I sold all the funky toe ones except for 2 that I still have....

Anyway...I think I have to eat funky beak, and maybe super funky toes...and can sell slightly funky toes.

 

[Faraday40]

I only had one chicken with a funky toe. I didn't notice it at hatch, but she did have a chick with a funky toe, so I never bred her again. We recently had to put her down due to a shell gland issue. She was one of our 1st chickens & laid giant eggs almost daily for 3 years, (Only sort of molted once, but only stopped laying for 3 weeks.) Production slowed down after 3 years & then her shells were brittle or soft. Didn't want the flock to learn about egg eating, so she had to go. I still feel guilty, but I know I'd feel worse if I had to get rid of all of them due to egg eating.

 

[Alaskan]

What funky toe issue did you have?

My Spitz toe issues that hatched this year were:

A couple with too much webbing (one with just a bit too much, ignorable, one with two toes webbed up against each other, so pretty bad)

I also had a couple that were missing the end of the toe (no toenail, nothing nasty looking, just a "huh, no nail")

I had one that looked perfect, but on close inspection had a rudimentary (very small) extra toenail/toe end near the tip of one middle toe.


I also had several that hatched with one nose hole way bigger looking than it probably should be.


And with all of the chicks I hatched (over 100, less than 200) the only other deformities was one cross beak from my Dominiques..oh, and one Spitz with a completely exposed brain.