Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds - Page 1479

Holy crow! Those eggs are gorgeous! Are all of them from Wheaten Ameracaunas? Or the first photo is the Wheatens and the second photo is from that whole long list, I guess? At any rate, wow! Quiche tonight? :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Ima 

Holy crow! Those eggs are gorgeous! Are all of them from Wheaten Ameracaunas? Or the first photo is the Wheatens and the second photo is from that whole long list, I guess? At any rate, wow! Quiche tonight? :D

In the first pic the blue eggs are from the wheaten ameraucana pullets and my lav ameraucana hen that lays the bluest egg. 

The second pic is of eggs from all my 11 laying birds. The green eggs and blue/green speckled eggs are all from a single olive egger.

All good eggs are pretty in the fry pan!

All feathered critters need to "molt" to replenish their clothes for the next year and that requires a shutdown or slowdown of other bodily stresses. 

Chickens really need friends, as in, "like likes like" be it color, beard/no beard, face & comb type, etc so at least three of any one "kind/like" is good.

Therefore, I vote for 3 buckeye and 3 brahma both of which are good for making a cold winter seem okay.  Both very calm in nature.  My Large Fowl Ameraucana act "Chickeny" and are more reactive than more dual-bred breeds.  The Bantam Am's are less so, for sure.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Am's and appreciate their "chicken-ness" but Dear Hubby likes the more dual breed's puppy personality so he gets Orpingtons.
 

Have fun choosing.  I raised a lot of different breeds of chicks before I decided on what breeds to actually breed - Faverolles (big & little), Barnevelder (big & little) and a few varieties of Ameraucana, Hubby's Orps, and a few high-end silkies for fun.

Welcome!

k/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Ima 

 

I want good layers but they don't have to be the best layers ever. They have to be good at laying, VERY good with children, good with me, and a decent dinner* someday when they're done laying! I want a breed that doesn't blink (or completely stop laying) at a south-central Indiana winter. 

 

*decent dinner means I don't expect to turn them all into big roast chickens on a fancy platter. Casseroles, soup, soup stock, pot pies, it's all good. I just don't want to look at the carcass and wonder what's the point of even trying!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Ima 

Holy crow! Those eggs are gorgeous! Are all of them from Wheaten Ameracaunas? Or the first photo is the Wheatens and the second photo is from that whole long list, I guess? At any rate, wow! Quiche tonight? :D

Colorful eggs are great!  Our ameraucanas should only lay blue shades.  We got a couple of barrded rocks for egg color diversity.  These are last weekend's eggs:

All birds that lay need a rest period. When the days become shorter and the cold weather is to be expected the hormonal system sense this. So a molt begins, old and broken feather fall out and new ones grow which takes extra work for the birds and extra protein. Molting coincides with a cessation or slowdown in egg production.  

Everyone here has their favorite breeds and that favoritism develops over time with trial and error. I have many breeds that I like and plan on breeding them all into one crossbred flock, crested, blackskinned naked necks who lay blue, green and tan eggs. Each of the breeds that I favor will bring a different quality to the mix. To start I have naked necks, Ameraucanas, Marans, Welsummers, Polish and Silkies.   Everyone should have Silkies for pets !  But certainly since you are restricted to five, I would say either five easter eggers for their layed back personality good production and pea comb which is more frost hardy than a large straight comb and hugh wattles. Even better would be a mix bird of naked neck and Ameraucans or a NN?EE which would have cold tolerance. variety eggs colors. only one third of the feather to pluck at the time needed for dinner, layed back personality and just a good all around breed which should also have a pea comb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ParadiseFoundFarm 

Colorful eggs are great!  Our ameraucanas should only lay blue shades.  We got a couple of barrded rocks for egg color diversity.  These are last weekend's eggs:

Those are some beautiful eggs too.  Love all the various shades of blue and green.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Ima 

I am thinking I should maybe be a lot more specific about what I think I want and need:

I want good layers but they don't have to be the best layers ever. They have to be good at laying, VERY good with children, good with me, and a decent dinner* someday when they're done laying! I want a breed that isn't picky, so I can get rid of table and cooking scraps. I want a breed that doesn't blink (or completely stop laying) at a south-central Indiana winter. And if I can have all of that and still have a choice, I want a pretty chicken that lays a large, pretty egg.

 

*decent dinner means I don't expect to turn them all into big roast chickens on a fancy platter. Casseroles, soup, soup stock, pot pies, it's all good. I just don't want to look at the carcass and wonder what's the point of even trying!

 

Unless you are definitely wanting to get a flock of birds that all look the same (i.e. of the same breed and variety), I would recommend you get a variety.  A mix.  Of that I would definitely recommend at least one of them be an Ameraucana.  But you would be better served wrt eggs and meat with other breeds.  I would not recommend an EE to start with, especially from a hatchery/feedstore as you may wind up with a brown egg. 

Other good choices would be Barnevelders, Buckeyes, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, and Welsummers.  Probably others too.

God Bless,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailfeathers 

 

Unless you are definitely wanting to get a flock of birds that all look the same (i.e. of the same breed and variety), I would recommend you get a variety.  A mix.  Of that I would definitely recommend at least one of them be an Ameraucana.  But you would be better served wrt eggs and meat with other breeds.  I would not recommend an EE to start with, especially from a hatchery/feedstore as you may wind up with a brown egg. 

 

Other good choices would be Barnevelders, Buckeyes, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, and Welsummers.  Probably others too.

 

God Bless,

 

Hate to say it, but my best layers are my hatchery Gold sex-links, Barred rocks and EEs.  I love my Ams blue eggs, but eggs size and production aren't as good.

I agree with dak.  My EEs and brown egg layers are more consistent and have better size, but I still love my Ameraucanas!