Breeding Araucanas tufted/rumpless to SOP

This is my spring/summer project. I wanted to start this thread to give a place to chat about Araucanas and all the complexities of this breed

Beginning of the project 1/10/16; purchased 2 chicks from a NPIP breeder. Both clean faced with tiny tail. She kept her rumpless chicks. Father is double tufted and Hen clean faced...i believe. I understand this is not nearly the SOP but it is what I could afford to start with. They were hatched from true blue eggs. Now I also understand there will be difficulties breeding and heavy culling to future lines. However-- I believe these two (not sure cockerel or hens?) are a good start. I have placed an order of 12+ hatching eggs and hope to introduce the two lines.The only concern I have is the place where I am ordering eggs from have some brown and green eggs. Which means this would be introduced to their offspring...ugh AND all of the pictures I saw from the place I am ordering eggs from had clean faced/ rumpless birds. No tufts .....So if I hatch all clean faced chicks and breed them to these two will there be any chicks with tufts?

Does this breeder have Araucanas that are laying brown and green eggs?

Clean faced breeding stock will only produce clean faced chicks.

Would you like some advice?

enola said:

Does this breeder have Araucanas that are laying brown and green eggs?

Click to expand...

The breeder that I bought the chicks from is laying true blue. The hatching eggs are from a different breeder and they have blue/brown/green in the pictures of the eggs. I have not had them delivered yet.

Yes, please I am open to advice. So yes clean face x clean face = 100% clean face but carry the gene?
Or do I try and hatch these eggs and hope a tufted chick is hatched...?

Clean faced birds do not have a gene for tufts.

To give you a jump start on your breeding program, you need to buy a quality rooster. One that looks like what you would like your chicks to grow up to look like. Breeding chickens is just like breeding other livestock, the chick quality is going to be determined by the quality of the adults you are breeding.

Could you post pictures of the chicks in a profile position in good light?

OK I can post some pictures when I get home. I have had a heck of a time finding quality birds of this breed. It seems as though most breeders only sell their culls. It took me a bit to at least find hatching eggs and they are costing me a small fortune! I actually bidding on them from a breeder in FL on ebay. The auction ends in a day so maybe I will just let it go. Unless I am stuck with them and cross my fingers I hatch a rooster worth keeping. But I have no clue if they bred clean face x clean face.

They didn't provide pictures of their breeding birds?

There are several breeders of Araucanas on this site. Try posting on some of the threads about Araucanas and find out who will have birds for sale.

Here are their birds