Why are Favorelles so, for want of a better word, "eccentric"?

[Arztwolf]

I got four Salmon Favorelles from Ideal back in June. They are sweet, docile and some of the softest chickens I've ever felt. But they remind me more of plush toys then chickens. Sure, they eat, scratch, drink and poop, but they don't "act" like the other chickens, if that makes sense. They appear to be inhabiting another planet.

When they where in the brooder they got pecked till they bled, no other chick had this problem. I separated them and once they had healed and were old enough, attempted to reintroduce them to the other chicks. No more pecking. But the minute I allowed them to be free range, they all managed to get stuck in the oddest places! I found one wedged between the coop and a cinder block , on her side! No other chicken as ever gotten stuck like that. So they ended up in the "special needs" coop, a coop just for chickens that can't function in a free range setting.

I've heard other people talking about how their Favorelle's get picked on, wander away from the flock, etc. And of course, the famous, "Derperella."

Are all, including breeder birds, like this? Do they all have this spacey quality to them or is it mainly the hatchery stock? I love them, but I wish they could function like normal chickens.

 

[UrbanFarmOC]

I think they're just spacey! My Favs (from breeder) got stuck between they cage I kept them in when they were babies and in the wire grid of their tractor. They were fatter than they realized and they'd get themselves stuck. They haven't got themselves in any trouble since they were babies though and free-range all day. They're just dorky. My rooster was a spazz when he was little, but he calmed down at about 5 months. Now he's the sweetest and calmest rooster. He's great with kids too. He's still a bit of a goofball. My 2 female SF are a bit goofy too. They all have great temperament. My SF girls are lower on the pecking order, but they haven't been picked on or bullied by the more dominant hens in the flock.

 

[donrae]

A friend of my Honey's heard I wanted Faverolles. She came up with a hen off CL to give us, I'm sure she's hatchery stock. I thought it was just because she was older, but she's an odd duck for sure. At the friend's house, she'd lay in the run and literally not get up when a rooster mounted her, just lay there. I was afraid to take her cause I thought she might be ill. But here, away from mature roosters and large groups of birds, she perked up some and actually has laid sporadically. But, she's constantly underfoot. I shoo her away with my feet, she's right back and I'm literally tripping over her.

Same friend found a young cockerel, he was supposed to be about 3 months when we got him. That would make him close to 6 months now and he's a total spaz. He has saddle feathers, but his comb is small and pale, no red whatsoever. He's also clumsy and lumbers around the pen like a giant. No interest in calling hens for treats, he pushes them and the littles out of the way to get there first. He's also constantly underfoot. Like they don't recognize social cues or something?

I just hatched out 3 chicks that should be a bit better quality, we'll see. No weird brooder incidents as of yet

got to admit, though, dorky or not they're one beautiful bird!

 

[Arztwolf]

A friend of my Honey's heard I wanted Faverolles. She came up with a hen off CL to give us, I'm sure she's hatchery stock. I thought it was just because she was older, but she's an odd duck for sure. At the friend's house, she'd lay in the run and literally not get up when a rooster mounted her, just lay there. I was afraid to take her cause I thought she might be ill. But here, away from mature roosters and large groups of birds, she perked up some and actually has laid sporadically. But, she's constantly underfoot. I shoo her away with my feet, she's right back and I'm literally tripping over her.

Same friend found a young cockerel, he was supposed to be about 3 months when we got him. That would make him close to 6 months now and he's a total spaz. He has saddle feathers, but his comb is small and pale, no red whatsoever. He's also clumsy and lumbers around the pen like a giant. No interest in calling hens for treats, he pushes them and the littles out of the way to get there first. He's also constantly underfoot. Like they don't recognize social cues or something?

I just hatched out 3 chicks that should be a bit better quality, we'll see. No weird brooder incidents as of yet

got to admit, though, dorky or not they're one beautiful bird!

Maybe Faverolles have some form of genetic "Chicken Autism" or something?

I think they're just spacey! My Favs (from breeder) got stuck between they cage I kept them in when they were babies and in the wire grid of their tractor. They were fatter than they realized and they'd get themselves stuck. They haven't got themselves in any trouble since they were babies though and free-range all day. They're just dorky. My rooster was a spazz when he was little, but he calmed down at about 5 months. Now he's the sweetest and calmest rooster. He's great with kids too. He's still a bit of a goofball. My 2 female SF are a bit goofy too. They all have great temperament. My SF girls are lower on the pecking order, but they haven't been picked on or bullied by the more dominant hens in the flock.

"Dorkey" is a fitting discription of my four.

 

[donrae]

My Honey calls them Dorkfish after that Bill Engvall routine

 

[Michael OShay]

LOL! I love Salmon Faverolles. They are gorgeous birds and real sweeties (great lap pets), but sometimes I do wonder if their elevators go to the top floor; or if they are a quart low; or if they are not quite working on all thrusters; I think you get the idea. Great breed though despite being air headed. )