Tell me about your salmon faverolles

[Godiva]

I was wondering how you find your salmon faverolles? Are they nice to be around, how are they for egg laying, are extra cockerels decent eating for those who do that, how heat tolerant are they? Anything else I should know about them? I am researching a few different breeds and this is one of the ones that I am really interested in. According to some information I saw they are really good layers....

And please put some pictures of your birds on here, and who are breeders of some of the better quality birds on this forum? So there are my slew of questions, impress me with your birds folks!

 

[Indiana hens]

I got one of those thrown in from McMurray. Mild mannered rooster. I was going to butcher him because I felt sorry for him; he wasn't getting any action. He would just hang out behind the chicken house by himself. Well I waited , we hatched eggs and what do you know over 70% were faverole cross. Sneaky! I did not have any hens but if they are as sweet as that rooster you will like them. I think of starting that breed but I already have a bunch. We butchered many of his offspring they are average as far as big breed roosters. Very prolific as a rooster. Giants being above average! Sorry we were in the 35mm camera era back then!

 

[ursusarctosana]

My first salmon Faverolles I obtained from Flyingmonkeypoop last summer. She's still a pullet (under one year old) but she began laying eggs during the coldest time of winter (December) and she's laid nearly an egg per day ever since. Faverolles are layers of medium tinted (off-white/cream) eggs, but lately my girl has been laying large eggs. She has always been timid and sometimes I think she gets confused, perhaps from not being able to see well over her muff (the feathers beneath her eyes). If another chicken comes up to her face she freezes and waits until the other chicken goes away. She is also comical and rather clumsy. In the warmer months I mingle with my chickens and she will walk back and forth next to my deck chair, often walking right into my water glass, bowls, and anything else I have beside my chair and she'll do this several times until I laugh. She's pretty easy to catch, too. She tries to get away a bit, but she will turn around and run right toward me because she doesn't want to go into the coop, so for some reason she'd rather run back toward me and so I catch her. Overall she's the sweetest bird I have and kind of a loner since she's the only Faverolles. None of her eggs are ever fertilized because my only roo is a tiny OEG bantam.

Last month I ordered a dozen Faverolles eggs from eggbid.com. I live in Washington State and the eggs were shipped overnight from Texas. Though I bid on a dozen eggs I received sixteen and so divided them between my two cochin bantam broody hens. Out of those sixteen eggs, eleven hatched and now they are about three weeks old and all doing well. I had to help about half of them out of the eggs, because they had pipped (poked through) but the hours were ticking away (ten or more hours pipped) and they weren't making progress. All of those that I helped are all healthy.

You may see photos of my chicks at this link:

First hatched (male): http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/ursusarctosana/Faverolles%20Chicks/
With this chick I know he is a male because he always had dark fringe (so it was also easy to keep track of him all along) on the end of his fluff and now, three weeks later, he is obviously a boy from his dark feathering wings and shoulders.

Four Faverolles chicks hatched by one broody: http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/ursusarctosana/Faverolles%205%20Days%20Old/4%20Faverolles%205%20Days%20Old/

Seven Faverolles chicks hatched by my other broody hen: http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/ursusarctosana/Faverolles%205%20Days%20Old/7%20Faverolles%205%20Days%20Old/

Here are some videos:

Seven chicks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5XeVhFnWbM

Four chicks:

Photos of my Faverolles pullet, Hawkeye:

 

[carolinagirls]

Your faverolles are beautiful.

 

[ursusarctosana]

Quote:
Thank you. The photos are all the same pullet. Her name is Hawkeye. The videos and chick photos are taken of the dozen eggs I bid on from eggbid.com.

 

[Godiva]

Thanks for the lovely pics. Does anyone have these and live in an area where it gets really hot, like over 100F for long periods of time? How do they cope? Same as others generally or better...or worse? Any others with input on this breed for me? How easy is it to get really nice quality birds? Who would you recommend as a breeder, not necessarily SQ birds but good breeding stock?