Even
though he rears the exceptional number of 200 to 250 chicks each year and in
all the well-known colours - Mr J L Sears, whose Belgians have taken the highest
honours, says "the demand for stock far exceeds the supply."
Knowing only too well that this demand is based on the unique attractions which
the breed offers, Mr Sears now lets readers into some of the secrets of his
success. Here is his story about Belgians, their varieties and management.
In England, these bantams are bred in two distinct varieties. These are the Barbu d'Uccle (single comb and feathered legs) and the Barbu d'Anvers (rose-combed and clean legs). They are one of the few breeds of bantams that have no counterpart in large fowl - Sebrights and Japaneses being, for instance, in the same category.
Their main advantages can be quickly summed up: Belgians are very tame; they are perfectly hardy and they can muster more colours than any other breed of bantam.
In the Barbu d'Uccle, to start with, we have Millefleurs (each feather mahogany or chamois with a black bar and white tip), Porcelain (each feather straw-coloured with a blue bar and white tip), Caillouté (each feather black or lavender with a white tip) and Lavender (a true breeding form of blue).
Occasionally I have seen White or Black, but these colours are not so popular in this country.
Then, in Barbu d'Anvers, there are, of course, Millefleur and Porcelain, though the most popular are undoubtedly Quail. These are best described as birds with back and wings of dark brown colour, each feather with a golden shaft, the breast being pale nankin.
There are also excellent Cuckoos, Caillouté, Lavenders and a certain number of Blacks and Whites.
These varieties of different and enticing hues must make any true Fancier decide that "here are the breeds, here are colour problems worth my while." And I should add that the Club Standards (which I translated from the French) lists no less than 16 distinct colour varieties.
To produce the possible 250 chicks (mentioned earlier), I use an artificial incubator and brooder. Of course, they can be hatched and reared under natural conditions, but the numbers I require make small appliances more simple to use.
I should add here one small drawback - possibly the only one - that, while general expectation is 50/50 males and females, Belgians have the unfortunate weakness of producing a larger proportion of cockerels.
In my yearly hatchings I use three incubators, each of which takes 150 bantam eggs: as it is set each week, it means that the eggs can never be more than six days old.
Resulting chicks are reared in batches of 20 to 25 under small electric hovers. These are, I think, known as the "12 hen" size hovers and each is heated by one electric light bulb.
Chicks are fed on ordinary dry chick meal, but for the first week I give that "old-fashioned food" chopped hardboiled egg mixed with biscuit meal. Chick grain is given in the evenings.
For my birds after the growers' stage, I use layers' mash, fed dry, in the morning and a small handful of wheat for each two birds in the evening.
I keep all my bantam chicks inside for four to six weeks, after which time they go out into arks on short grass and are later placed in one of my main houses.
I should explain that one half of my houses are 8ft x 6ft and 8ft high at the apex, while the others are 6ft x 5ft and 4ft 6in high at the front sloping to 3ft 6in at the back.
Each house is raised some 2ft 6in from the ground. This gives excellent space underneath which the birds use as a dust bath. In addition, each house has a grass run measuring 30ft x 30ft which is kept mown so that it is never more than 2in high.
