Breeding to the SOP - Serious discussion about Ameraucanas, including project colors such as splash,

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Chicken5555 said:
I want to do a preliminary evaluation on my 18 week old Black Ameraucanas and I would love your input.

2 cockerels....
- Christmas = has red leakage, so he is automatically kicked out of the program without any other evaluation
- Maxson = lots of green sheen, good ear lobe color, prominent chest/breast, good posture and tail position, good beard and muffs although beard could be a tad bit better, comb has one more bump on one side than on the other.

3 pullets...
- Navi = sibling to Christmas, equal amounts of purple and green sheen, good ear lobe color, prominent chest/breast, good posture and tail position, good muffs and beard, perfect tight little pea comb
- pink tag = good green sheen, good ear lobe color, chest/breast less pronounced than others but not bad, good posture and tail position, small beard, good muffs, comb has one more bump on one side than the other.
- white tag = lots of green sheen, good ear lobe color, prominent chest/breast, good posture, slightly lowered tail position but still young, very good beard and muffs, mildly bent comb

If you had to pick only ONE pullet from this group to be paired with Maxson, which one would you choose? I understand they are still young, therefore this is not my final decision. I already have an idea which one that I may choose, but I want the opinions of experienced breeders. Thank you.
Click to expand...

I would need to see good evaluation quality pics.

Don't worry about the "one more bump" on the comb - that isn't something in the standard or even something most judges are going to look for. It would be way down on my list of things to look for. The slightly lowered tail position on white tag is not an issue at this age, either. I'd much rather see a lower tail set on young birds than a too high tail set - it can and usually will come up, but it will never go down. Based on your description, it sounds like white tag is the closest, overall, to the standard, and if I had to just pick one, from your description, she would be the one. But..again, pics would be very helpful. :)

Edited to add - reading back over your descriptions, I'm wondering why you only want one? You have some pros and cons with both pink tag and white tag, but none that wouldn't be manageable - just know what you're breeding for and what to look for in the next generation.

If Navi has purple sheen, she would be a cull here.
 
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@samouw I'll get good pictures as soon as I can.
So, the extra bump on one side is not a big deal, ok good to know.

As for choosing only one, I guess I just want to know which one is my personal best in show.
wink.png
 
What feed do you feed your birds? I feed Purina Flock Raiser and could not figure out why all my chicks' skin where yellow till I looked at the ingredient list. Purina puts high levels of xanthophyll in: Flock Raiser, Start & Grow (medicated and none medicated), and Layena. I found it takes about 3 weeks for the skin to turn back to the original color they have the genetic code for.
 
Ok..here is the two step process I use for determining who is going to show and who stays home :)

First...step back, blur the picture a bit so you're not looking at details, and pick out 2-3 that show good overall balance and proportion. You're looking at the whole picture for each bird now - not picking out details. You just want to see which ones catch your eye in a group - which ones are showing the best overall type, balance, and proportion. Remember that when a judge looks down that row of cages, some birds are going to stand out and some are not - you want yours to be one of the ones that does.

Now - you've got those 2-3 (or more) picked out, so you can start balancing the scales, so to speak. Now is when I weight the pros and cons of each of those three and, using the guidelines in the SOP, I might even give a rating. All other things being equal - go for type first, details last. A minor detail, such as a white toenail on a black-shanked bird, for example - will not be given as much weight as the overall presentation of that bird.
 
samouw said:
Ok..here is the two step process I use for determining who is going to show and who stays home :)

First...step back, blur the picture a bit so you're not looking at details, and pick out 2-3 that show good overall balance and proportion. You're looking at the whole picture for each bird now - not picking out details. You just want to see which ones catch your eye in a group - which ones are showing the best overall type, balance, and proportion. Remember that when a judge looks down that row of cages, some birds are going to stand out and some are not - you want yours to be one of the ones that does.

Now - you've got those 2-3 (or more) picked out, so you can start balancing the scales, so to speak. Now is when I weight the pros and cons of each of those three and, using the guidelines in the SOP, I might even give a rating. All other things being equal - go for type first, details last. A minor detail, such as a white toenail on a black-shanked bird, for example - will not be given as much weight as the overall presentation of that bird.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your insight!!! I'll try to look at the girls through a different set of eyes over the next several weeks.
 
So I know blue splash is not a standard approved color, but besides that I was hoping for some help in figuring out what about my boy here does and doesn't fit the standard.

What I see that isn't great: Comb is too big (maybe good for making girls with a nice comb when breed to a really small combed female)? His neck hackle feathers should be longer, so they touch each other above his chest? His tail is too fluffy. are that many sickle feathers good?

What I see that is great: He seems to have a really full muff and beard, his eyes are nice - if a bit light (at least they aren't brown), the feathers around his head ( his cape I think) are really full and he has a great slate coloring on his legs.








Thoughts?
 
citychicks13 said:
What feed do you feed your birds?  I feed Purina Flock Raiser and could not figure out why all my chicks' skin where yellow till I looked at the ingredient list.  Purina puts high levels of xanthophyll in: Flock Raiser, Start & Grow (medicated and none medicated), and Layena.  I found it takes about 3 weeks for the skin to turn back to the original color they have the genetic code for.
Click to expand...


I feed Purina Flock Raiser and Layena, I don't bother with the starter, the flock raiser is fine from hatch to lay... chick skin color is not reliable indicator of true skin color... don't worry about the chicks skin as long as the juveniles and adults all have white skin...
 
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I feel layena as a base for my feed mixture, as well as BOSS, whole oats, and conditioner. Their skin isn't yellow.
 
samouw said:
I would need to see good evaluation quality pics.
Click to expand...
They are only 18 weeks old, so I'm not making any final decisions... I just want some input on all the pros and cons you see and which female would be the best match for Maxson.... I am keeping both girls and plan on evaluating another male later on that would be the best mate for the other female.

Maxson - he wouldn't be still long enough for the greatest shot, so this is the best I could get.




Pink tag... she stands differently than white tag, so I'm not sure which of the two has the better posture. But you can see that her beard is on the small side. Edited to add.... does her back slope too much? or does it just look that way because she stands tall?



White tag - seems more compact than pink tag. Her tale is not crooked, she was in the middle of a tale wag when I snapped the second picture.

 
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