Spitzhaubens

[homeschoolin momma]

So even though I put his picture up in the above post, i was literally about to make my own post about my guy.
Hes around 28 weeks. And though I still don't love his bushy eyebrows, he does appear to have his daddys crest. What I do like about him is his better spangling than his daddy. Right now, his daddy needs to work on teaching him some manners. He's been doing the wing dragging thing on the ground at me like I'm one of his girls and not the "momma chicken" that I am.
Two days ago when I was walking away to the orp coop, he decided to fly at me from behind to attack me in the backnof the legs. I quickly reminded him that his daddy is better looking AND better mannered and he doesnt HAVE to stay around.

 

[Faraday40]

@Mama_in_the_Dell
I agree that all your Spitzes still look female. That's some luck!!!! I was able to guess genders at about 8-10 weeks when the males started getting wattles. My female Spitzes don't really lay in winter. Instead they tend to start laying end of Feb or early March.

@homeschoolin momma
Jake's son looks very good. However you're right that he must behave. There's a special place (in the freezer) for mean roosters & now that you know how to process birds, he better be a good boy!

 

[SueT]

Also any pictures of your flocks at about 3-4 months

Yours are surely all girls! Where did you get them?
My current trio at 13 weeks, obvious that Beldar is a cockerel;

Below, same birds at 16 weeks, Beldar's crest has turned white:

 

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

Thank you. I am quite pleased with them for hatchery quality. I know most of the crests are too poofy but that seems to be common for this breed here and I kind of like it. I’m not planning on breeding them (kind of hard to do without a boy anyway LOL). They were a find at Tractor Supply. When I saw them I knew they did not match any of the labels listed so I asked the clerk. They did not know so I checked Hoover Hatchery (who supplies our local TSC with chicks) and found them listed under the identify a chick tab. They have pretty distinct characteristics so it wasn’t too hard. Hoover only sell them as straight runs so I was expecting quite a few roosters. Funny enough I bought 2 Brahma pullets at the same time and one ended up being a boy. I figured him out by about 3 weeks. I was actually very happy about it since I wanted a Brahma rooster and was disappointed in the store when they only had pullets. LOL!

Sadly I’m not keeping all my Spitzhaubens. I plan on picking 2 or 3 of the best ones to keep and selling the rest. Many of my friends want them already so I don’t think it will be hard to find them all homes. The hard part is picking which ones to keep.

 

[SueT]

I hope we will keep this thread alive in 2020!
Here is a photo I took today. I have but 2 Spitzes left, Beldar and Beatrix (aka Trixie) Sadly, my only other Spitzhauben, Pixie, was killed by a hawk 3 weeks ago. I have locked all chickens in run 24/7 now, at least until I start getting fertile eggs from this pair. She has not yet begun laying. They are 30 weeks this week. These 2 are good natured, friendly, and calm, seem to be unfazed by confinement. As does the rest of the flock, all of whom witnessed the attack. I guess chickens have good memory. No one asks to go out.
Beldar is now top of the flock, and polite to hens and humans.

 

[Faraday40]

Sorry for your loss. Beldar is so handsome. You should definitely hatch some of your Spitz eggs.

My flock is also locked up 24/7 until spring. I sometimes let them out for about 5-10 min while I clean the coop & then call them back inside for their breakfast. One day during their morning exercise time, a hawk swooped down & landed on my only Spitz (Poof Poof). I ran at the hawk with my kitty litter scoop in hand, and it flew off just as I was nearing it. Poof Poof got away and ran into the coop. She had some bloody skin tears by her wing and only needed some blu-kote. She's all better now & my DS is very thankful that his beloved poof Poof is still alive. I'm thankful that I was only about 30'-40' away to stop the attack as it happened. I couldn't believe that a hawk would attack with me there.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Beldar is so handsome!

 

[SueT]

I just watched a travel show on Switzerland, and they spent time in Appenzellerland. It's a strikingly gorgeous area, full of lovely places to visit. No surprise that these people developed such delightful chickens there!!!

 

[Rockporters]

Not to standard, but he is fun to look at. The Spitzes are 5 months old now. We named this guy Lucifer, because with those horns, how could we not lol? He’s sweet, and will eat from your hand, but skittish if you try to pick him up. He and the Legbar cockerel are very attached to each other. Very. Ahem. Notice the marks on his neck/back? The 15 girls they are in with don’t mind at all lol.

 

[Alaskan]

Not to standard, but he is fun to look at. The Spitzes are 5 months old now. We named this guy Lucifer, because with those horns, how could we not lol? He’s sweet, and will eat from your hand, but skittish if you try to pick him up. He and the Legbar cockerel are very attached to each other. Very. Ahem. Notice the marks on his neck/back? The 15 girls they are in with don’t mind at all lol.

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I like that color.