What are the differences between white and partridge Chantecler, besides color?

[Henrik Petersson]

Large fowl as opposed to bantam.

Thanks, seems like a good abbreviation to know on this forum.

 

[Namrag]

LF partridge Chanteclers can be very broody.

As opposed to the white? I thought the breed didn't go broody?

 

[FowlStuff]

As opposed to the white? I thought the breed didn't go broody?

I bred LF white, buff and partridge for several years. As a breed they go broody like most, but the partridge variety was way too broody for me.

 

[Eelantha]

From what little I know of Chanteclers in general:

The Original White Chanteclers:

- Dual purpose bird (eggs & meat)
- 150 to 225 brown to cream eggs per year (some have been said to lay white eggs, though how white those eggs are I have no idea.)
- Reputed to be extremely cold hardy (can easily go out in the snow at -10 degrees and supposedly even -20 degrees temps, some have been said to tough out -30 degrees temps in unheated coops just fine, though I'm looking for proof on that last claim.)
- Roosters: 8 1/2 lbs ; cockerels: 7 1/2 lbs ; Hens: 6 1/2 lbs; pullets: 5 1/2 lbs (from cackle hatchery)
- Growth rate: the Chantecler is a slow-growing bird, usually ready for slaugther at 6 months. But you can do it sooner on personal preference if you want.
- I have not heard of any disease the Chantecler may be weak to. That might change if I can finally locate a serious breeder and meet them in Quebec city, where I live.
- The Chantecler is known for 5 main traits: a snow-white plumage with almost no comb and wattles, enough meat on itself to feed families like a turkey, laying eggs in the winter where other breeds don't, not being a broody chicken, and being at ease in the coldest months of winter.
- Concerning broodiness, the APA standard white Chantecler is not supposed to brood. People however, have reported some of their white Chantecler hens to brood, and were successful mothers. It's all a matter of taste in this case: if you truly want a standard Chantecler then seek the non-broody ones; personally I don't mind a broody hen, as the instinct to raise offsprings has proven more than once to save a breed from extinction once abandonned or forgotten by man... like the Icelandic chickens.

I'm looking to have Chanteclers myself, since frostbite is a real threat to most chicken combs in Quebec, even those of most other known cold-hardy breeds like the Plymouth Rocks and Sussex. When I ask for the best cold hardy breed everyone points me to the White Chantecler, so I'm hunting for more info about my country's only known chicken breed.

As I've come to understand, getting Chanteclers is easy. Getting quality Chanteclers is not so easy. It's performance varies on who you buy it from and what you want it for; a lack of genetic variety and big enough population means people are crossing pure subjects with other breeds all the time (a farmer told me that when a Chantecler has too much cosanguinity, you cross it with either a Leghorn, a Wyandotte or a Plymouth and it solves the problem...). Hatcheries are prone to in-breeding Chanteclers to answer the demand (thus quantity over quality), meat-eaters will have meat Chanteclers, egg eaters will have good laying Chanteclers, and lastly, it's very possible (though it needs verification) that the farther north you fetch your Chanteclers, the more cold-hardy they will be due to differing zone temperatures - provided their owners aren't heating their coops. Keeping up with the APA's physical standard at the expanse of the breed's performance is also a problem many Chantecler addicts deplore on french forums.

Basically, finding a white Chantecler that's got good meat & egg-laying capacity, is extremely cold hardy like Wilfrid created it to be, fits the APA standards on all accounts and has a good genetic diversity without being a mutt is a monumental challenge in itself. I have no idea how the rest of the world fares with our patrimonial chicken, but here, so far, real quality specimens are rare in Quebec. I've seen a few Chanteclers in the past, all cockerels plus 1 white x buff male mutt, but as far as breed pureness and quality goes, that's up to discussion with Chantecler addicts.

I've not much information on the Patridge Chantecler - the fews things I know are that its real name was l'Albertaine, but the APA changed it to Patridge Chantecler upon inscription due to its high similarities with the white Chanteclers. Chantecler addicts on french forums have mentioned more than once that the comb of the Patridge Chantecler needed 'fixing' (in what way I don't know), and that Patridge hens have been known to go broody, from occasionally to annoyingly much. The Patridge is even more at risk of extinction than the white one, as its genetic diversity and alarmingly small population are the main problems of those who breed it (they're even smaller than the white ones). Meeting the standards is also harder for small breeders as the Patridge Chantecler's plumage is more difficult to get right than the white ones.

There's talk of another Chantecler variety being under development in Quebec, but Chantecler addicts have mixed feelings over it - some say it's rumors, others believe it, and alot (if not most) growl about wasted time spent creating a new varieties when the recognized ones (white and partridge) are already having a hard time staying alive. The growling ones would much prefer that there be more people available to increase the population of the standard ones and help diversify their bloodlines, rather than busy themselves with creating a new Chantecler plumage.

The Buff variety is not yet standard, so I can't really help there over the egg, cold and meat ratio. It's very rare in Quebec.

The Red variety is a Patridge x Buff Chantecler mix created by hatcheries - it's a pretty variety with good egg laying capacity, but unbreedable as it's the equivalent of an industrial cross, except the Red Chantecler does not have multiple different parents in its bloodline, only two, and it's not a hen that lays 300+ eggs per year. It's plumage can have any kind of outlook; no idea if the Red Chantecler is a dual purpose bird, or just a laying fowl.

In short, if you're going to get yourself a Chantecler, don't hesitate to hammer your provider with questions - from the bird's lineage (in Quebec we sort our birds by what lineage they come from, so we can keep track of their genetic diversity) to all of its performances (cold tolerance, meat, egg ratio) and make sure your sender gives you plenty of pictures, so you can check if the bird you want fits the APA standard. otherwise you could end up with a few surprises, unless you don't mind having Chantecler mutts in your backyard.

Finally, keep in mind that the information I've posted here is assembled from many, many different site sources over the years, french and english alike, as well as gleaned from farmers and amateur backyarders I met in different places of Quebec, most without Chanteclers in their coops. Some facts may be wrong, others may be right or spot-on; people keep saying different things about the Chantecler, so telling what is what in the confused mess of my patrimonial chicken's description chart is an eternal work in progress.

But hopefully, despite everything, my post will have helped you somewhat. Good luck gathering information on the Chantecler!

 

[Henrik Petersson]

From what little I know of Chanteclers in general:

The Original White Chanteclers:

- Dual purpose bird (eggs & meat)
- 150 to 225 brown to cream eggs per year (some have been said to lay white eggs, though how white those eggs are I have no idea.)
- Reputed to be extremely cold hardy (can easily go out in the snow at -10 degrees and supposedly even -20 degrees temps, some have been said to tough out -30 degrees temps in unheated coops just fine, though I'm looking for proof on that last claim.)
- Roosters: 8 1/2 lbs ; cockerels: 7 1/2 lbs ; Hens: 6 1/2 lbs; pullets: 5 1/2 lbs (from cackle hatchery)
- Growth rate: the Chantecler is a slow-growing bird, usually ready for slaugther at 6 months. But you can do it sooner on personal preference if you want.
- I have not heard of any disease the Chantecler may be weak to. That might change if I can finally locate a serious breeder and meet them in Quebec city, where I live.
- The Chantecler is known for 5 main traits: a snow-white plumage with almost no comb and wattles, enough meat on itself to feed families like a turkey, laying eggs in the winter where other breeds don't, not being a broody chicken, and being at ease in the coldest months of winter.
- Concerning broodiness, the APA standard white Chantecler is not supposed to brood. People however, have reported some of their white Chantecler hens to brood, and were successful mothers. It's all a matter of taste in this case: if you truly want a standard Chantecler then seek the non-broody ones; personally I don't mind a broody hen, as the instinct to raise offsprings has proven more than once to save a breed from extinction once abandonned or forgotten by man... like the Icelandic chickens.

I'm looking to have Chanteclers myself, since frostbite is a real threat to most chicken combs in Quebec, even those of most other known cold-hardy breeds like the Plymouth Rocks and Sussex. When I ask for the best cold hardy breed everyone points me to the White Chantecler, so I'm hunting for more info about my country's only known chicken breed.

As I've come to understand, getting Chanteclers is easy. Getting quality Chanteclers is not so easy. It's performance varies on who you buy it from and what you want it for; a lack of genetic variety and big enough population means people are crossing pure subjects with other breeds all the time (a farmer told me that when a Chantecler has too much cosanguinity, you cross it with either a Leghorn, a Wyandotte or a Plymouth and it solves the problem...). Hatcheries are prone to in-breeding Chanteclers to answer the demand (thus quantity over quality), meat-eaters will have meat Chanteclers, egg eaters will have good laying Chanteclers, and lastly, it's very possible (though it needs verification) that the farther north you fetch your Chanteclers, the more cold-hardy they will be due to differing zone temperatures - provided their owners aren't heating their coops. Keeping up with the APA's physical standard at the expanse of the breed's performance is also a problem many Chantecler addicts deplore on french forums.

Basically, finding a white Chantecler that's got good meat & egg-laying capacity, is extremely cold hardy like Wilfrid created it to be, fits the APA standards on all accounts and has a good genetic diversity without being a mutt is a monumental challenge in itself. I have no idea how the rest of the world fares with our patrimonial chicken, but here, so far, real quality specimens are rare in Quebec. I've seen a few Chanteclers in the past, all cockerels plus 1 white x buff male mutt, but as far as breed pureness and quality goes, that's up to discussion with Chantecler addicts.

I've not much information on the Patridge Chantecler - the fews things I know are that its real name was l'Albertaine, but the APA changed it to Patridge Chantecler upon inscription due to its high similarities with the white Chanteclers. Chantecler addicts on french forums have mentioned more than once that the comb of the Patridge Chantecler needed 'fixing' (in what way I don't know), and that Patridge hens have been known to go broody, from occasionally to annoyingly much. The Patridge is even more at risk of extinction than the white one, as its genetic diversity and alarmingly small population are the main problems of those who breed it (they're even smaller than the white ones). Meeting the standards is also harder for small breeders as the Patridge Chantecler's plumage is more difficult to get right than the white ones.

There's talk of another Chantecler variety being under development in Quebec, but Chantecler addicts have mixed feelings over it - some say it's rumors, others believe it, and alot (if not most) growl about wasted time spent creating a new varieties when the recognized ones (white and partridge) are already having a hard time staying alive. The growling ones would much prefer that there be more people available to increase the population of the standard ones and help diversify their bloodlines, rather than busy themselves with creating a new Chantecler plumage.

The Buff variety is not yet standard, so I can't really help there over the egg, cold and meat ratio. It's very rare in Quebec.

The Red variety is a Patridge x Buff Chantecler mix created by hatcheries - it's a pretty variety with good egg laying capacity, but unbreedable as it's the equivalent of an industrial cross, except the Red Chantecler does not have multiple different parents in its bloodline, only two, and it's not a hen that lays 300+ eggs per year. It's plumage can have any kind of outlook; no idea if the Red Chantecler is a dual purpose bird, or just a laying fowl.

In short, if you're going to get yourself a Chantecler, don't hesitate to hammer your provider with questions - from the bird's lineage (in Quebec we sort our birds by what lineage they come from, so we can keep track of their genetic diversity) to all of its performances (cold tolerance, meat, egg ratio) and make sure your sender gives you plenty of pictures, so you can check if the bird you want fits the APA standard. otherwise you could end up with a few surprises, unless you don't mind having Chantecler mutts in your backyard.

Finally, keep in mind that the information I've posted here is assembled from many, many different site sources over the years, french and english alike, as well as gleaned from farmers and amateur backyarders I met in different places of Quebec, most without Chanteclers in their coops. Some facts may be wrong, others may be right or spot-on; people keep saying different things about the Chantecler, so telling what is what in the confused mess of my patrimonial chicken's description chart is an eternal work in progress.

But hopefully, despite everything, my post will have helped you somewhat. Good luck gathering information on the Chantecler!

Thank you so much!

What allures me with the Chantecler are two things:

1) Cold tolerance. When I took an interest in the Chantecler, I was frustrated after getting a lot of frost bite and was in a mental state of "gosh darnit, I'mma go find myself the most cold hardy breed in the whole freakin' WORLD!"

2) The exoticism of introducing a completely new breed into my country.

I couldn't care less about things like carriage, proportions, eye color etc., i.e. all those little things that make a chicken a "correct" purebred Chantecler. However, if I want to maintain and sell offspring from a breed, I understand that I have to keep all those things in mind.

As for color, I don't care about that either, other than that I want my chickens to be camouflaged from predators. So ideally I would not want white birds. However, that's not a huge issue. It's not like the mottled brown hens are completely immune to hawk attacks.

I do care somewhat about broodiness. I'd prefer a little of it - ideally one broody hen per flock - so that I don't have to go through the hassle of incubating when I want new chicks.

I also care about egg laying, and the fact that Chanteclers keep laying in winter is one of their most attractive qualities. Many a frustrated sigh has been given in late winter when our chickens haven hardly given us an egg for months.

Taking all this together (and the fact that I don't speak a word of French), importing Chanteclers might not be ideal for me. If I do want to create an ideal chicken, perhaps I should just go for pretty much any breed or mutt that fit my goals and try to give them a cushion comb. Not that producing a cushion comb is easy - I can literally think of no other breed than Chanteclers that have them! Which takes me back to square one.

I guess I could import Chanteclers and mix them up a bit with other breeds and perhaps call them "Swedish Chanteclers" or something (or just call them nothing and enjoy them for what they are).

Another thing I could to is study old Wilfrid's notes and simply do what he did and create a new line of Chanteclers from scratch. That would be an exciting project!

 

[Eelantha]

Thank you so much!

What allures me with the Chantecler are two things:

1) Cold tolerance. When I took an interest in the Chantecler, I was frustrated after getting a lot of frost bite and was in a mental state of "gosh darnit, I'mma go find myself the most cold hardy breed in the whole freakin' WORLD!"

2) The exoticism of introducing a completely new breed into my country.

I couldn't care less about things like carriage, proportions, eye color etc., i.e. all those little things that make a chicken a "correct" purebred Chantecler. However, if I want to maintain and sell offspring from a breed, I understand that I have to keep all those things in mind.

As for color, I don't care about that either, other than that I want my chickens to be camouflaged from predators. So ideally I would not want white birds. However, that's not a huge issue. It's not like the mottled brown hens are completely immune to hawk attacks.

I do care somewhat about broodiness. I'd prefer a little of it - ideally one broody hen per flock - so that I don't have to go through the hassle of incubating when I want new chicks.

I also care about egg laying, and the fact that Chanteclers keep laying in winter is one of their most attractive qualities. Many a frustrated sigh has been given in late winter when our chickens haven hardly given us an egg for months.

Taking all this together (and the fact that I don't speak a word of French), importing Chanteclers might not be ideal for me. If I do want to create an ideal chicken, perhaps I should just go for pretty much any breed or mutt that fit my goals and try to give them a cushion comb. Not that producing a cushion comb is easy - I can literally think of no other breed than Chanteclers that have them! Which takes me back to square one.

I guess I could import Chanteclers and mix them up a bit with other breeds and perhaps call them "Swedish Chanteclers" or something (or just call them nothing and enjoy them for what they are).

Another thing I could to is study old Wilfrid's notes and simply do what he did and create a new line of Chanteclers from scratch. That would be an exciting project!

We are talking on the same wave then, because I too like the thought of having the most cold hardy breed in my backyard, and knowing my own country created it almost a century ago only sweetens the deal. Honestly I wouldn't mind trying to improve my own flock of Chanteclers for a few years, to see how it goes - but the thing is, I'm not lodged in the right place to undertake some serious breeding (my neighbors aren't fond of roosters, so I'm restricted to one mature male on the property). The other thing is that I value life more than death, so if I have an overabundance of roosters I'd prefer to sell them or re-home them; I just don't have the heart to kill an animal I've indirectly given birth to, and raised with effort. But not everyone wants roosters, and of those who do, only 1 rooster out of 10 will become a father himself, while the rest ends in the cooking pot. Having a bachelor pad where my non-needed cockerels could live a normal, happy life like every rooster deserves would be ideal, but again, I can do neither at the moment. (Maybe never, as I'm far from able to get myself a farm.)

Seeing as every specimen counts right now due to a too small population and a just as small genetic pool, maybe saving all those extra roosters could help sometimes in the future. It's certain that the hens are better since they're females, but still. Sometimes the inverse works, too. In endangered rhinos where breeding the only male left in the world to the leftover females has not proven successful, having a back-up (or even several) to please the ladies and perhaps get over that complex mix of pheromones they emit to reproduce might have saved the species from extinction. As it is they'll never be able to try it... because they only have one male left in the entire world to breed with the girls. (They might have had more males in the past though, if that's the case then poachers are truly dangerous fellows.)

I thought Chanteclers were already implanted overseas? I saw bantam Chanteclers on the european continent first, before finding bantam Chanteclers on my own continent this last week, two and a half years later. Are large fowl Chanteclers not present anymore in the UK?

Same. Honestly I prefer a rooster that carries his tail as proudly as his head, so in that aspect the Chantecler definitely fails as only his head is raised high while his tail is more horizontal to fit the APA standard. (something about horizontal tails giving back muscles more volume than vertical ones.) But as I've come to look at him while studying the breed, I realized the Chantecler doesn't need a raised tail to emit pride; he's big, tough and strong, and he knows it. He carries himself with calm and confidence unique to his species because he does not need to bluff like most other roosters to show his strength; as a result, he's climbed alot in my esteem.

Predator-wise, the original white Chantecler was created with a snow-white plumage to echo the barren white lands of the winter months in Canada. In that season white reigns supreme, so the White Chantecler blends perfectly with its surroundings, which is a big plus to his cold hardiness that enables him to go outside at sub zero temperatures where other breeds can't. I don't say predation isn't a thing as even the best hares gets snatched by lynxes all the time despite their white winter coats, but for camouflage, both the rabbit and the white Chantecler have an advantage during wintertime over other colored varieties. The second purpose of the white Chantecler's plumage was to answer American tastes, as they like yellow-white meat and white feathers leave less of a plucked afterprint on the bared skin than dark feathers. Or so I've heard.

As a younger breed and with a different lineage to its white cousin, the Partridge Chantecler is not as developped egg-wise, and might not be as big an egg layer as the white chantecler due to one of its ancestors. From what little I've read of Cochins so far, they are moderate egg layers (~150 eggs/year) instead of abundant ones (~200+ eggs). You'll have to work on that alot if your partridge Chanteclers turn out to lay less eggs than you wish them to. Howver for broodiness, it's practicly a guaranteed fact that almost all your Partridge Chanteclers will do broody. All the talk I've heard about it so far make it sound like an overgrown Silkie hen; a mama chick that likes to brood alot, many times at the expanse of laying eggs herself. The Partridge and White Chanteclers are almost opposites, in a sense xD

The best way to cover all ends is to get both breeds; white Chantecler for egg production, winter camouflage cold hardiness, and Partridge Chanteclers for broodiness, summer camouflage and cold hardiness. With some luck one of your white Chantecler hens might find it in herself the desire to brood, and with equal luck you might hit the jackpot with a surprisingly good egg-laying Partridge Chantecler hen. My ever-eternal research on the white variety unravelled yesterday night that the older the white chantecler hen, the more chances it will want to brood, plus eggs laid by hens past their prime are bigger, giving sturdier hens and roosters since they had more nutrition and space to develop inside their shells. No idea if those particular chicks inherit mama's good egg-laying pedigree though. Also, to ensure your future pullets have the best chances to lay in wintertime, you must incubate their eggs during this very season, laid by a hen who laid it at that time. Hatching white Chanteclers at springtime rather than in the middle of winter might just explain why some have developped the instinct to brood over time, thought that fact would need formal proof to be conclusive. Having a Partridge Chantecler around to rear the little peeps if you have no incubator and brooder might help, though it's a known fact most chicks don't handle the cold well until they've feathered out and put some meat on their bones. Recovering the fertilized eggs before they freeze is also a challenge you'll need to overcome if your coop stays unheated through the winter.

I would gladly send you Chanteclers... I speak both French and English, and plan to test the breed out myself on the same criterias as you do (cold hardiness, winter laying, good egg laying). The only thing in the way is my inexperience; I am a rookie backyarder in every sense of the word, and only have two and a half years of experience under my belt with chickens, plus two natural hatching seasons with my previous bendies. I've never tried an incubator before in my life, am looking for a model that's easy to clean and use, can last for years without faulting and does not cost a fortune (apparently those types are very sought after). I have idea how to ship eggs, much less send them overseas with the assurance that they're fertile and will arrive intact for incubation on your doorstep. I also lack the certificates for such a shipment. Lastly I've read more than once that border controls were incredibly tight, so I'm not sure if the eggs I would miraculously figure out how to ship you would get past those restrictions. From what I'm hearing and reading on the internet, it seems your EU Marans and Russian Orloffs are now forbidden from entering the USA, so it's a struggle for us all to keep the numbers high and the diversity flowing (especially for the English Marans, people are more focused on the French ones but their feathered legs don't fit in every backyard). The Russian Orloff too, is close to breathing its last breath int he USA, so few breeders and specimens there are left of it now. People are avidly searching for more productors, but it's a hard battle to avoid brother-sister cosanguinity without fresh blood to mix it all better u_u

(I warn you, if you mix the original Chantecler with other breeds and call your final chicken the Sweddish Chantecler, it better look like an overall Chantecler and respect its five main criterias, or the Chantecler addicts in my corner of the globe will scream blasphemy xD Quebec only has one chicken breed where the rest of the world has many, so despite the lack of formal breeders the people are very protective of their bird, mutt-ish as it may be now in many farms due to lack of genetic diversity and good popualtions to help them properly meet APA standards. The Partridge Chantecler, though accepted and loved by most, seems to still be a case for arguments among Chantecler purists due to its diffrerent ancestry and intended different name; no need to add more oil to the flames somehow...)

Creating a new line from scratch is a very exciting project, plus an appealing one. Had I the installations and the experience with me, I would have started a new line myself to inject some new blood into the current Chantecler population, but oh well. Maybe there are other people working on creating new Chantecler lines as we speak!

Here's a site about the White Chantecler's history in english: http://www.cherrycreekcanadians.ca/chickens.html
and there's this one too: http://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/chantecler

 

[Gavinthesheep735]

I bred LF white, buff and partridge for several years. As a breed they go broody like most, but the partridge variety was way too broody for me.

That is kinda what I am looking for hens that will go brood often I have 2 partridge chantecler hens in with 1 white chantecler rooster they should be around a year old and the one hen is already broody she has been sitting since May 26 so 4 days now. I am quite excited here is a link to my journal on BYC
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...icken-adventures.1210983/page-2#post-20029906

 

[WindyLookout]

From what little I know of Chanteclers in general:

The Original White Chanteclers:

- Dual purpose bird (eggs & meat)
- 150 to 225 brown to cream eggs per year (some have been said to lay white eggs, though how white those eggs are I have no idea.)
- Reputed to be extremely cold hardy (can easily go out in the snow at -10 degrees and supposedly even -20 degrees temps, some have been said to tough out -30 degrees temps in unheated coops just fine, though I'm looking for proof on that last claim.)
- Roosters: 8 1/2 lbs ; cockerels: 7 1/2 lbs ; Hens: 6 1/2 lbs; pullets: 5 1/2 lbs (from cackle hatchery)
- Growth rate: the Chantecler is a slow-growing bird, usually ready for slaugther at 6 months. But you can do it sooner on personal preference if you want.
- I have not heard of any disease the Chantecler may be weak to. That might change if I can finally locate a serious breeder and meet them in Quebec city, where I live.
- The Chantecler is known for 5 main traits: a snow-white plumage with almost no comb and wattles, enough meat on itself to feed families like a turkey, laying eggs in the winter where other breeds don't, not being a broody chicken, and being at ease in the coldest months of winter.
- Concerning broodiness, the APA standard white Chantecler is not supposed to brood. People however, have reported some of their white Chantecler hens to brood, and were successful mothers. It's all a matter of taste in this case: if you truly want a standard Chantecler then seek the non-broody ones; personally I don't mind a broody hen, as the instinct to raise offsprings has proven more than once to save a breed from extinction once abandonned or forgotten by man... like the Icelandic chickens.

I'm looking to have Chanteclers myself, since frostbite is a real threat to most chicken combs in Quebec, even those of most other known cold-hardy breeds like the Plymouth Rocks and Sussex. When I ask for the best cold hardy breed everyone points me to the White Chantecler, so I'm hunting for more info about my country's only known chicken breed.

As I've come to understand, getting Chanteclers is easy. Getting quality Chanteclers is not so easy. It's performance varies on who you buy it from and what you want it for; a lack of genetic variety and big enough population means people are crossing pure subjects with other breeds all the time (a farmer told me that when a Chantecler has too much cosanguinity, you cross it with either a Leghorn, a Wyandotte or a Plymouth and it solves the problem...). Hatcheries are prone to in-breeding Chanteclers to answer the demand (thus quantity over quality), meat-eaters will have meat Chanteclers, egg eaters will have good laying Chanteclers, and lastly, it's very possible (though it needs verification) that the farther north you fetch your Chanteclers, the more cold-hardy they will be due to differing zone temperatures - provided their owners aren't heating their coops. Keeping up with the APA's physical standard at the expanse of the breed's performance is also a problem many Chantecler addicts deplore on french forums.

Basically, finding a white Chantecler that's got good meat & egg-laying capacity, is extremely cold hardy like Wilfrid created it to be, fits the APA standards on all accounts and has a good genetic diversity without being a mutt is a monumental challenge in itself. I have no idea how the rest of the world fares with our patrimonial chicken, but here, so far, real quality specimens are rare in Quebec. I've seen a few Chanteclers in the past, all cockerels plus 1 white x buff male mutt, but as far as breed pureness and quality goes, that's up to discussion with Chantecler addicts.

I've not much information on the Patridge Chantecler - the fews things I know are that its real name was l'Albertaine, but the APA changed it to Patridge Chantecler upon inscription due to its high similarities with the white Chanteclers. Chantecler addicts on french forums have mentioned more than once that the comb of the Patridge Chantecler needed 'fixing' (in what way I don't know), and that Patridge hens have been known to go broody, from occasionally to annoyingly much. The Patridge is even more at risk of extinction than the white one, as its genetic diversity and alarmingly small population are the main problems of those who breed it (they're even smaller than the white ones). Meeting the standards is also harder for small breeders as the Patridge Chantecler's plumage is more difficult to get right than the white ones.

There's talk of another Chantecler variety being under development in Quebec, but Chantecler addicts have mixed feelings over it - some say it's rumors, others believe it, and alot (if not most) growl about wasted time spent creating a new varieties when the recognized ones (white and partridge) are already having a hard time staying alive. The growling ones would much prefer that there be more people available to increase the population of the standard ones and help diversify their bloodlines, rather than busy themselves with creating a new Chantecler plumage.

The Buff variety is not yet standard, so I can't really help there over the egg, cold and meat ratio. It's very rare in Quebec.

The Red variety is a Patridge x Buff Chantecler mix created by hatcheries - it's a pretty variety with good egg laying capacity, but unbreedable as it's the equivalent of an industrial cross, except the Red Chantecler does not have multiple different parents in its bloodline, only two, and it's not a hen that lays 300+ eggs per year. It's plumage can have any kind of outlook; no idea if the Red Chantecler is a dual purpose bird, or just a laying fowl.

In short, if you're going to get yourself a Chantecler, don't hesitate to hammer your provider with questions - from the bird's lineage (in Quebec we sort our birds by what lineage they come from, so we can keep track of their genetic diversity) to all of its performances (cold tolerance, meat, egg ratio) and make sure your sender gives you plenty of pictures, so you can check if the bird you want fits the APA standard. otherwise you could end up with a few surprises, unless you don't mind having Chantecler mutts in your backyard.

Finally, keep in mind that the information I've posted here is assembled from many, many different site sources over the years, french and english alike, as well as gleaned from farmers and amateur backyarders I met in different places of Quebec, most without Chanteclers in their coops. Some facts may be wrong, others may be right or spot-on; people keep saying different things about the Chantecler, so telling what is what in the confused mess of my patrimonial chicken's description chart is an eternal work in progress.

But hopefully, despite everything, my post will have helped you somewhat. Good luck gathering information on the Chantecler!

I have white chanteclers ....a couple my hens lay pure white eggs. Most are cream coloured and some are a light brown. They are a good eating sizes size by 4-5months. The roosters get along great the first year. The second year some get more territorial...i cul those and keep the gentler ones with the hens. They are on the large size. The hens do take longer to start layer than my other chickens but once they start going they are rock stars.

 

[Eelantha]

I have white chanteclers ....a couple my hens lay pure white eggs. Most are cream coloured and some are a light brown. They are a good eating sizes size by 4-5months. The roosters get along great the first year. The second year some get more territorial...i cul those and keep the gentler ones with the hens. They are on the large size. The hens do take longer to start layer than my other chickens but once they start going they are rock stars.

Then hens who lay pure white eggs - has their ancestors been crossed with Leghorns at some point, of is the white egg color a result of the breeder's selection?

 

[Frallan]

Hello! As the thread title says: Besides the color, what are the differences, if any, between partridge and white Chantecler?

Are there any differences in growth rates?
Egg laying?
Body size?
Temperament?
Proneness to certain diseases?
Anything else?

I know they are created from different breeds, and three decades apart, but I'm interested in practical differences here, not differences in history