Spitzhaubens

[homeschoolin momma]

Have you ever seen any like it? Could it be a mix? (Orpington or serama are the only other roos, but I'm not seeing any traits of those breeds....other than the odd chest. Plus her Spitzes tend to stick to their own area.) I'm curious & wonder if he should be used as a back up. Could the feathering improve as he ages?

I am so behind on my other threads.

I am 99% sure the orps weren't involved and the serama had not been introduced when i gave the eggs. Jake actually has a darker chest. Now whether it just passes on to the males, his daughters dont seem to have it and im not seeing it so far the the first batch of 5.
Jake just happened to walk right around the corner..

But the dark chest was not something he had as a chick. Its developed over the years. (Jake on the right)

I will agree Jake doesnt have awesome spangling, i think his daughters are better, but for him its all about his crest. That is something that did lighten with age. It was jet black, now its snow white, but its pointing forward and not everywhere. Who knows what will happen with that male. All we can do is just hang onto him and wait to see if he changes. If he doesn't, then he can find a new home or be dinner. He is a handsome fella though.

 

[SueT]

4+ weeks old
Moonshine and her 3 chicks, rapidly gaining on her in size:

and the orphans:

 

[Alaskan]

Fun to see them grow!

 

[SueT]

So I'm pretty sure that this chick, one of the hen raised chicks, is a cockerel:

I call him Beldar. If you zoom in on the wattles, you can see red.
I also think that the orphan, Pipo, is a cockerel. If I keep a cockerel, I will keep only ONE.
Question--- I have read many a time on BYC that cockerels raised by hens become the best roosters. And that ones that are handled a lot, like my orphan, are more likely to become aggressive, tho not everyone agrees.
Any of you have experience w this subject?

 

[Alaskan]

I have never had an issue with my Spitz males... even when I kept them in "bad" ratios.

None of my Spitz have been hen raised.

 

[Faraday40]

Impressive background!!!! It's so perfect (with the mossy log, golden flower, tree bark, mulch & leaf covered ground, etc. ) that it looks almost fake. It reminds me of those canvas backdrops used at a photo studio.

 

[SueT]

Impressive background!!!! It's so perfect (with the mossy log, golden flower, tree bark, mulch & leaf covered ground, etc. ) that it looks almost fake. It reminds me of those canvas backdrops used at a photo studio.

ha, I put all that stuff in the corner of their run where they hang out, to get photos without the fence/grate in the background. So it is their little photo stage. I hope to get a pic of the group to submit for consideration in the BYC calendar.
here's what it looked like before:

btw, they soon tore out the flowers.

 

[SueT]

Here are the orphans today--can anyone with experience w bantams guess what breed tiny 'Rusty' is?
It came from a feed store, so I'm guessing nothing rare, maybe OEGB.....

 

[Alaskan]

No idea on the bantam.

Looks cute though... andmales the Spitz look huge.

 

[SueT]

Here are the orphans today--can anyone with experience w bantams guess what breed tiny 'Rusty' is?
It came from a feed store, so I'm guessing nothing rare, maybe OEGB.....
View attachment 1848744
View attachment 1848745

I think I found the ID--the store gets their chicks from Ideal. I searched thru Ideal's bantams and found only one that fits, the Nankin bantam, of which they do sell a straight comb variety.