Bantam Ameraucana Thread!

[Chickenrandomness]

thread about banty Ameraucanas! i'll be incubating some soon. check out the Ameraucana club: http://www.ameraucana.org/

 

[birdnbeast]

I ordered a couple from ideal, only got one though. will post pics when it grow up.
do easter eggers count? because that's what they say ameracaunas from hatcheries are.

I will try and word this right, quite dyslexic so writing is not a fun activity nor am I any good at it =:~). Plus, not computer literate so kinda useless in this day and age of tecno-communication.....

Chickens, in general, don't get "Pedigreed" like an Irish Setter or Arabian horse. They are more like rabbits as being bred to a standard of perfection (SOP). You can have a purebred rabbit with a pedigree but if it doesn't meet the standard set for that breed and general health and soundness standards it will not pass an inspection for registration nor would it do well at most "open" shows (versus youth or 4-H type restricted shows) where knowledgeable and long-time breeders are competing against any other level of exhibitor that wishes to enter and compete on an "open" playing field. The Irish Setter is pure-bred (in USA & Can) by virtue of being of pure-bred and pedigreed parents. They do have a standard of perfection but that doesn't determine if it is indeed considered an Irish setter or not. Here in the US we can sell unregistered dogs and 'call' them a specific breed but in reality they would be "grade" or "of breeding to/from" I.Setter but not certifiable as such and NO progeny thereafter can be registered as purebred Irish Setter.

So the point would be twofold.
1. If your chickens actually fit the standard for and are bred from stock that meet the standard AND will produce to the standard if bred to another "standard-bred" mate of the same claimed breed and variety group then it meets the requirements for "Ameraucana".
2. If your chicken is from standard-bred stock (even show champions) but doesn't itself carry the distinctive breed traits that would meet the breed SOP then we would call it an EE (or Americana [sic]). In my other breeds, I call them "layer flock, dinner, or pet" (LF and bantam barnevelder, Jersey, LF faverolle for the first two and dear husbands serama for the last) if they are not SOP quality regardless of parentage.

hope that helps, k/

 

[hotlipshens]

I'd been wanting for some time...just got a quad from Pips & Peeps and love them Here is my Peter Pan and his lovely ladies!

 

[birdnbeast]

not to drag on about this but, is it possible that I could get an easter egger that I could show?

Weeeellllll, "Could" is a powerful word. Could you show - yes. Could you win under a crappy judge - yes. Could you win with a bird with bad leg color under a judge that even remotely understands the breed - NO.

I say this in the kindest way possible and hope that your are not a child. But novices like myself ask advice from those we trust and seek out the best breeder eggs/stock we can afford (we all have limits, to be sure) and then hope, pray and protect our young prospects the best we can all in preparation for taking even one good exhibit to a show.

It is an addiction as well as a passion for those who do try and give us newbies a decent start. They protect the breeds from blending into obscurity and losing identity. I am looking for some more Black or Blue bantam eggs/chicks from really good stock and I can surely attest to the time spent looking at pics, etc., and how frustrating that is. Why not get your order of EE bantams and also get a separate small flock of SOP bred birds. Give yourself a year or two and a few shows and then share with us how you feel. Just thinkin' k/

 

[HenThymes]

My lavs from LAM's stock

 

[jerryse]

Hi.. I have some lavender and silver bantam. All of them males. I'm wondering if i can breed them with the LF lavender and silver to eventually get bantams. My birds are Blehm birds. Will they be still considered ameraucanas? Have anyone done this and could share what you end up with? Thanks a lot

Yes this will work.Firt generation will be a in between size.Keep breeding back to bantam until you get bantam size.Probably 3 generations.

 

[jerryse]

I had not, and I don't know why I didn't think that way.

I hatched a lot of W/BW birds a few years back from several breeders, some were on the smaller size for LF so I'd imagine they could be bred to a bantam Wheaten male.

Do you think it'd be easier to breed down rather than outcrossing a Wheaten line to Blues?

Thanks for the idea!

The blue will cause color issues for several generations I would think. It is how Mike Gilbert brought blue into wheaten bantams. The blue gene was in my white bantams. So when I used white to create the first black bantams blue popped up. Wheaten/blue wheaten LF were bred up from bantam by Wayne Meredith as I recall.

 

[Shawneegyrl]

Easter Eggers are mixed, mutt or chickens that do not meet the Ameraucana Standard of Perfection. It may not have the feather coloring, muffs or beard, but still lay blue or green eggs.

I have 2 bantam EEs. one lays a bluish egg and the other lays a more greenish egg. I also have a White Ameraucana bantam (meets the standard) and 3 Wheaten Ameraucana bantams ( 2 of which meet the standard and for some reason one does not have a muff or beard- so does not meet the standard) All of them were hatched from blue eggs and I am waiting for them to lay.

Visit the Ameraucana Breeeders site for more info on the SOP -

http://www.ameraucana.org

Love both my EEs and Ameraucanas !!

 

[lbidder114]

There are some good Ameraucana groups on Facebook too!

 

[NatureChica]

5 days old.