Washington Feather Fanciers Winter Brisk 2014

 This last week we went to the Winter Brisk (put on by the Washington Feather Fanciers ) to enter, sell, and look at poultry.The weather outside was cold but nice and warm inside the barn with lots of sounds of different poultry. This was an impressive Bourbon Red turkey displaying for us.

 This little Modern game bantam looked like he was walking on stilts.

.

 There were lots of different kinds of poultry there this year and some that I have never seen, including these frizzled Belgian D'anvers  .

 I entered some birds as well, although I  didn't manage to get photos of them at the show. ( I took some pictures afterwards.) Overall my birds did good. They got Reserve of Breed , Reserve of Variety and some firsts, pretty good considering there was a lot of good competition this year.

 One of the Mille Fleur pullets I entered.

 Her dad Copper.

 My Black Mottled hen . I managed to sell almost all my chicks at the show, and also picked up a new bird from the breeder with the winning Porcelains to add a new bloodline to my birds.  Overall my birds did good. I sold 12 birds ,got a new one and met some other good breeders, and I look forward to going next year !

Belgian D'Uccle Breeding Program ( surprising results ! )

 Since the start of this year I have been planning how to pair up this years breeding pen for the coming of a new generation of chicks. I started in about February by culling  & selling any unwanted birds , getting it down to one rooster and seven hens. I knew there were going to be some crossing of colors and I thought I knew what the outcome would be but I was sure wrong when this rooster threw some amazing surprises !

 Above is a fraction of the chicks hatched. Most of the chicks that first hatched turned out as I thought, but the blue mottled in the middle threw me off .  If you remember, the mottled porcelain cross hen from my post Black Mottled D'Uccle * breeding project, she is the parent of the blue chick above. I knew she carried the dilute gene but it shouldn't have shown till another generation. This left me thinking maybe the dilute genetics in her were very strong and it wasn't until later I  solved the mystery.

 Above was the next  group to hatch ,  above, there are a porcelain and a self blue mottled ( under the hen). These two colors should not have shown till another generation. I got to thinking about the roosters' parents at the time he was hatched and my breeding pen only had Mille Fleur's which meant his dad was Crimson and most likely the hen above, so there shouldn't have been any dilute genes in play. But one of the days in summer  a few months before the chicks hatched I had most of the bantams out to free range which left the possibility of different colors to mix . Copper ( the rooster above ) had a shape completely different than his siblings and parents, but had a similar shape to Glacier my Porcelain cockerel which leaves me to think Glacier is his dad and would explain a lot.

 This is one of a few chicks that came out looking like this with two pinstripes and a dot on the head. I think it will be fun to see if it will turn out like a regular Mille or somewhat different. So far 25 chicks have hatched with more coming. All colors hatched are Mille Fleur's with Porcelain genetics, a Self blue mottled, a Blue mottled, and Porcelains with Mille genetics. My main goal is to get better shape in my birds as far as now and  I've seen a lot of improvement in the last 4 generations with better foot feathering and better beards , thicker body type and posture. I'm pleased with the results.

Above are my two second generation pure Porcelain chicks with a Barred Rock Americana Cross for my new laying flock. To read how the Porcelain to Mille genetics work see my post D'Uccle Color Genetics *. I will update how the chicks are coming along soon along with some photos of their family tree.  By Bugs .

How to Tell Different Colored d'uccles Apart

 Above is a Porcelain chick. It is a pale blue and cream color. Note~ all pure- bred d'uccle chicks have a beard feathered legs and a single comb.

 Above is my porcelain rooster  Platinum ,who is the father of the chick above. This is an example of what a Porcelain will grow to look like.

 Here are two Mille Fleur d'uccles chicks. They are orange and black or orange and gray. Note the beard feathered  legs and single comb.

 Here is my Mille Fleur rooster, Crimson. He is the father of the chicks above. He is a good example of an adult Mille Fleur.

 Above is a Black Mottled d'uccle chick. They can be the color above or solid black with a little white .

 Here is my Black- Mottled hen, the mother of the chick above. Black- Mottled adults are solid black with white dots. You can read more about the color in another post I did called Black- Mottleds, a challenging color.

 Here are a pair of white d'uccles that I used to have. The chicks are a white or pale yellow. I've found that by one month old you can sex d'uccle chicks and pretty much get guaranteed results. Roosters have a taller bright red comb and taller tails, hens have short pale orange or pink combs. If you would like to sex them earlier you should get  the book 'Sexing All Fowl' from the library or a  hatchery. So far I've had 100% success  from the sexing methods , as far as
I know My pet chicken is the only hatchery that sells sexed bantams so its a good skill to have .

Above are a Golden Neck and Self -Blue d'uccle .As chicks these colors can get mixed up with Mille Fleur's and Porcelains. Golden-Necks  are solid orange as chicks and self- blues are solid light blue.

 Above is a diagram of 6 of the 10 standard colors , colors not shown here are Porcelain, Gray , Buff, and Blue, Self blue pullet below. by Bugs.

The Odd Couple Operate the Chicken Tractor

1. This is Oscar, he and his partner Felix occupy our chicken tractor in the vegetable garden. Thus far, they have proven to be the best residents we have had over many years.

The humble garden residence was built almost 10 years ago to fit into my husband's raised garden beds, and be easily moved up and down the rows, and still be comfortable enough for 1 or 2 chickens.It is still in operation with simple modifications.( Not beautiful, just practical)

The chicken tractor started out further toward the back of the garden. You can see our duck pen ( back right ) still in need of repair from the damage the ice storm caused by many large tree limbs falling on the roof.

A close-up of Felix Mlle Fleur. He was shading himself from the weak rays of the sun.

Felix and Oscar's home has to be re-enforced with boards and metal roofing because we found the raccoons are very adept at reaching through the wire and literally pulling off and eating the the flesh of any living birds within their grasp. We have found the skeletal remains of birds in their pens plucked of all flesh over-night and the only remedy is to give them a place to sleep that is not within the reach of predators.The roof of the chicken tractor is held down by old farm containers planted with sedums. Chicken tractors are very practical and also help you easily weed garden beds. This odd couple can have a vegetable patch weed-free within days and then we move the chicken tractor over a few feet for Oscar & Felix to begin again the process of eating and scratching up weeds and grass.