Araucana thread anyone?

[megcpat]

Anyone interested in talking Araucana? I've just, quite unexpectedly, obtained five bantam Araucana chickens..... two blue hens, two black hens and a rooster who I'm uncertain the color of (I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out how). I'm full of questions about this breed. I know the basics, like they should be rumpless and tuffted and lay a blue to green egg. What I don't know are the details like, eye color, leg color, etc.... I would love to see photos and talk about this marvelous bird!

 

[megcpat]

Did this work? Are the photos visible to anyone else?

O.K. One photo uploaded, so I'll run with it! Isn't she cute? About a year ago I posted (on every local billboard and feed store chalk board and Craigs list) that I was looking for true Araucanas: chickens, chicks, or fertile eggs..... no reply except from lots of friendly Ameraucana people. Imagine my surprise two nights ago when I went to pick up some bantam Ameraucans and saw this little hen sitting there!!! The woman told me she had bought a few Araucana bantams about a year ago and had planned on trying to breed them, but then ended up going in for surgery and, long story short, I walked out of there with no Ameraucanas, but five Araucanas.

 

[poultryhaven]

Heres Momma with a baby chick.

I have to get the pic of the chick all grown up off my other compter.

 

[Trish1974]

My pullet Bonita (single tufted) laid her first egg overnight! I opened the pop door this morning and there it was, on the floor of the coop right underneath her! Luckily I had fluffed their straw last night so it was intact. I can't tell if it is more of an ix or vii on the color card.

Bonita:

 

[The Moonshiner]

The barred is on extended black. Extended black is dominate over duckwing so when making the cross it produces the black chicks.
You need to do a second cross to get back to the duckwing pattern.
Those crele threads are useless because the op doesn't understand what crele is and isn't using the correct patterns to produce them.
Cross your barred bird with your duckwing bird. You then need to cross your barred offspring back to duckwing to produce about 50% duckwing patterned birds or cross the offspring together to produce about 25% duckwing patterned offspring.
All you're doing is bringing in the barred gene to the duckwing then breeding again to get back to pure duckwing while maintaining the barring.
If you need more info in general or info on how the barring is maintained or works let me know.
You'll also need to get the males to carrying two copies of barring for the crele pattern to breed true.

 

[Trish1974]

Today has been one of the best days I've had chicken keeping.
Not only did I get to meet Nancy Utterback, I got some really pretty birds at a great price, AND their mother! Nancy said she had been in Florida for a couple weeks, and someone was taking care of her birds. Somehow one chick went missing; nobody knows what happened to it. She said, "since one chick is missing you can have the hen if you want her". I said, "Oh definitely, how much do you want for her?" She said, "Nothing. You came here with the intent of getting seven chicks and one is gone, so just take her." What an incredibly nice thing to do!

The hen is black and clean faced. Two chicks are double tufted, one is single tufted and three are clean faced. All completely rumpless. A couple are all black, the rest have mottling. I know for sure 2 are cockerels and 2 are pullets, the other 2 are a mystery. (When they settle down I'll get some pictures to post in the "breed/sex" forum. They are pretty skittish and stressed from the change). The prettiest chick is a mottled cockerel. I am definitely keeping him! He's at the end of this video:

 

[smoothmule]

Anxious to begin breeding season for 2019. Who all is preparing to breed their Araucana? My hens are all housed together at the moment. Getting a break and being prepared for breeding. All my males, all breeds too, are living together in a pen far from the girls. Very harmonious considering they are all males, lol.

I'm preparing them too and when I'm ready, the males will each go to their own breeding pen. I like the males to settle in first so they get that "my house" feeling and they are ready to receive the hens. Breeding starts quickly this way with no hens being territorial.
What do you all do to prepare for breeding?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

The banded pullet is Looloo the non banded pullet is Annabelle

 

[Frazzemrat1]

my previous roo, a white double tufted, favored my buff brahma over all others. But, he couldn't get things to work out.

 

[Trish1974]

Today is the tufted black hen's hatch day. I will take all the prayers, positive vibes, and well wishes anyone wants to send my way!! Here's hoping that pretty little hen has better luck than I did.