Spitzhaubens

[MeanCheek]

Here are some of the pics I have on my computer. Unfortunately, all the silver rooters were killed and most of the chicks are gone too. I have pics of the most recent gold female batch in my phone somewhere.

@Tankueray Yours are amazing! I love the blue and white together.

 

[Tankueray]

Thank you, they were excellent and hardy birds, but quite a bit off standard. I also had their sister, and you could definitely tell by looking at her that they'd been crossed with Polish at some point. They were also much larger than they should have been. My gold and chamois came from Greenfire, so I consider them to be the closest I have in type to the standard, even the blue gene line I have is closer in type than the silvers were. The thing is, I liked the silver boys so much better than my more pure lines. They were just...more fit in the biological sense. The pure GF males are kind of ...dainty? uppity? entitled? The blue line males seem to be a good middle ground, but they're just not as savvy as the silver boys were. I totally love the GF and blue females, more so than the silver female, but she also had kind of a street smart spunk that I don't really see in the pure lines. They were very much more Texan than Swiss! (Lol, I totally just pictured Jim Bowie holding a Swiss Army knife.) One of those chicks in the photo is the silver cockerel I'm not too crazy about, but maybe he'll surprise me and fill out this summer.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Thank you, they were excellent and hardy birds, but quite a bit off standard. I also had their sister, and you could definitely tell by looking at her that they'd been crossed with Polish at some point. They were also much larger than they should have been. My gold and chamois came from Greenfire, so I consider them to be the closest I have in type to the standard, even the blue gene line I have is closer in type than the silvers were. The thing is, I liked the silver boys so much better than my more pure lines. They were just...more fit in the biological sense. The pure GF males are kind of ...dainty? uppity? entitled? The blue line males seem to be a good middle ground, but they're just not as savvy as the silver boys were. I totally love the GF and blue females, more so than the silver female, but she also had kind of a street smart spunk that I don't really see in the pure lines. They were very much more Texan than Swiss! (Lol, I totally just pictured Jim Bowie holding a Swiss Army knife.) One of those chicks in the photo is the silver cockerel I'm not too crazy about, but maybe he'll surprise me and fill out this summer.

Aww!

Quick question: At about what age do their crests start to appear (as chicks)?

 

[Tankueray]

Aww!

Quick question: At about what age do their crests start to appear (as chicks)?

You can see a little nub when they're born, but I've never really paid attention I guess. Everyone has a tiny one as their heads start to feather, then one day they're just all feathered and the crest is there. They all look the same for a while until the boy feathers start to come in and their crests fill out. I have a cockerel in the yard right now that I keep mistaking for one of the grown hens because of it.

Looking at chick photos from a hatch on April 29th, I can see a definite crest bump on May 4th, with a few wing feathers,

May 9th, wings feathered

May 18th, mostly feathered, but still a week or two to go.

....

....

And then the boy feathers start to come and and all the sudden....
...

...

...

 

[Alaskan]

Aww!

Quick question: At about what age do their crests start to appear (as chicks)?

In that one photo I posted just a few days back... my Chamois chick already has extra down poof on the head. My golden spangled chick had a little, but very small.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

In that one photo I posted just a few days back... my Chamois chick already has extra down poof on the head. My golden spangled chick had a little, but very small.

Oh ok. My mixes are getting pretty big crest already, they are 4 weeks old.

 

[Alaskan]

Oh ok. My mixes are getting pretty big crest already, they are 4 weeks old.

I will take a photo of my 2 tomorrow. They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

I will take a photo of my 2 tomorrow. They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow.

Thanks! I’ll try to get pics of the chick with the biggest crest so far, she will turn 4 weeks tomorrow.

 

[SueT]

Aww!

Quick question: At about what age do their crests start to appear (as chicks)?

This one was 16 days old in this pic

 

[The-White-Elephant]

This one was 16 days old in this pic
View attachment 3082796

Aww!

My chicks had about the same crest size when they were that age. Seeing as they are mixes, could they end up with a full-on Spitz crest?