Spitzhaubens

[Faraday40]

love those chick pics!

 

[Faraday40]

I went to Cackle on 2-6 and got 5 Spitzhauben chicks. Just found this thread! What a friendly inquisitive breed they are. I am really enjoying my polka dot babies.....
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I kept trying to find out ways to tell the subtle differences. I haven't found any way to identify male/female early. There's a sort of gut feeling at times, but nothing I've been able to quantify. With most chicks my DD falls in love with a friendly, outgoing, attention-seeking chicks. Her fav is ALWAYS a male. LOL

The usual sexing tricks like wing sexing, feather growth at 1 week old, & leg thickness don't work with Spitzes. I even had a few very light chicks & others with a lot of speckles, but that related more to feather color & nothing to do with gender.

By 6 weeks, the males will get tiny red wattles. That's the real 1st sign.
Male / Female

13 weeks

16 weeks

 

[SueT]

The chicks are 3 weeks old this weekend. I have the brooder in the house, but am getting the coop ready, where is a compartment for them, and the run will also be partitioned. They have a lot of feathers now....I am watching the forecast and considering moving them out in 1-2 weeks.

 

[Faraday40]

Have you tried a "Mama Heating Pad"? (Inexpensive, DIY version of a Brinsea EcoGlow) I found that I can put chicks outside in March (Instead of waiting until end of April). Basically it's like a mother hen. The chicks run all over the place & return to the heat cave only when needed. Also by 4 weeks, they won't need much supplemental heat - maybe at night.
Here's a link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...he-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/page-2


Con - the chicks are not being held as frequently, so you'll miss them a little.
Pro - No chick dust in the house!!!!! (It's a big Pro for me!)

 

[SueT]

Right, i considered the MHP in the brooder, but felt it would take up too much space for so few chicks and I'd have to lift it every time to check if they were ok, so I am using a ceramic heat emitter, it's in a clamp light fixture, easy to see them under and they still have the dark at night. I could set up an MHP out in coop, but really don't want them out there so small, and on the floor.....there may a rat, etc. I am waiting for nights to be above freezing, and meanwhile I am gradually weaning them from the warmer by raising it higher and higher.
The previous batch, which included the Sebright and leghorns, stopped using the warmer around 4 weeks and began roosting on their little perch at night. Then I moved them out, in spite of lows in 40's. I'd like to see these do the same. Yes, I love all my interactions with them inside, and taking pics, etc. They are so photogenic, we're having fun.

 

[Faraday40]

Yes. They are very, very photogenic.
Here's one of my more ambitious pics:
There were 6 & trying to get all of them to stay in the basket was impossible! LOL

I also borrowed Barbie's guitar for a fun 80s hair band pic. I can't find the Spitz pic right now, so here's some Polish that we hatched for a friend.

 

[Faraday40]

PoofPoof Strut

• Faraday40
• Jan 20, 2018
• 2

PoofPoof Close Up

• Faraday40
• Jan 20, 2018

They get even better looking with age!

 

[SueT]

Yes. They are very, very photogenic.
Here's one of my more ambitious pics:
There were 6 & trying to get all of them to stay in the basket was impossible! LOL
View attachment 1276557

I also borrowed Barbie's guitar for a fun 80s hair band pic. I can't find the Spitz pic right now, so here's some Polish that we hatched for a friend.
View attachment 1276563

All so adorable! So you had/have 5 Spitzhaubens...how many turned out to be cockerels? 3 of mine have black crests growing in, two whiter. Does that have any significance as to sex? Two are also whiter in body feathers. I call this one Fritz.

 

[Faraday40]

In 2016 we hatched 6. (There was one hiding on left next to the basket / not on or in it)
We sold 3 chicks before we could sex them. Two of the remaining 3 were female. We donated the male & trained both females to fly onto our arm when called. In the fall we sold one female & then in Dec, our beloved pet "Spitzie" was killed by a hawk. Spitzie had a practically perfect crest (black with a sharp point & no feathers falling out of her tight mohawk.) The sister had a lot of white in the crest - and it was a mess; sort of like a polish. As a chick she was mostly white.



2017: I had 7. Only 2 females.
I sold one female as part of a breeding pair. I really fell in love with the boy who we named "Drumsticks" and wanted to make sure he would have a happy home. The other female was supposed to be my new Spitzie, but her crest is simply not as nice. I had a great home lined up for her until my son claimed her as HIS chicken and renamed her "Poof-Poof". How could I possibly sell her?
Here's Poof-Poof in her fav pine tree. (DS will climb up there & she'll fly up to sit by him.)



2018: We'll see what hatches.....

 

[SueT]

Today I saw Spitzhaubens on tv!! On the PBS Create show, P. Allen Smith. He did a whole show on heritage poultry breeds, and there were several minutes dedicated to Spitzhaubens! I was pretty amazed and delighted.