Lavender Ameraucana Breeders .... UNITE

[DMRippy]

I am new to breeding Lavender Ameraucanas, well breeding in general, but I want to breed the BEST I can. I read everything I can find about the breeds I have, but it seems I run into NEW things with Lavenders I have never had to deal with. There is a HUGE learning curve with Lavenders. I want to try to help that learning curve by having one place to compile information on breeding Lavenders. I am not looking to create any controversy. I want opinions of what one could do for some of these issues that are Lavender Specific. Not just one opinion, all opinions are welcome, because what works for one person may not work for others. As we share this knowledge we have accumulated, I will create a page (I know how hard it can be to wade through a thread to find what you are looking for), kind of a one stop education for Lavender Amerauacana Breeders. I don't want to edit the information really, just compile information as we gather it here. Any contributions are welcome. Pictures are welcome too. I want to be able to post pictures for HELP. This is not a thread for posting your perfect birds (they are welcome too). Post pictures of issues you are having or have had and maybe we can help each other. You are not the only one having issues. PLEASE be polite, we do not want to attach anyone, we want to help, but sometimes it may not be the answer you are looking for

I know it is hard to get quality lavenders, or lavenders in general and you want to hold on to them, but sometimes it is not in the best interest of this project color to keep all your lavender chicks.



This is a BEAUTIFUL Color and if we work together maybe one day soon we can get them ACCEPTED. THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IF WE DON'T WORK TOGETHER and SHOW THESE WONDERFUL BIRDS!

NOW let the sharing of KNOWLEDGE BEGIN!!!!!!

 

[faykokoWV]

I'm so glad you started this thread!! I don't read the ABC forum. I do read the Ameraucana thread, but its such an active thread I find it hard to keep up with. I find it impossible to locate and information regarding lavenders. I always just PM happy when I have a question. This will be nice!!

Also, I love to get my birds critiqued. If I don't know what's wrong, I can't fix it!!!

 

[Goose and Fig]

Hi Diane!
The ABC site can be a little difficult. It took 2 years to get me onto the forum, and there are some people that that seem to be hostile to "newcomers" even if you are just new to the forum, and not birds in general.
In the least- let this thread be a place to learn and improve without anyone feeling intimidated.

 

[BarrettG]

 

[faykokoWV]

I thought I would go ahead and post one of the biggest questions beginners have - color percentages

f you use LL as being pure lavender, ll is black and Ll is split it makes it easier to figure out. You have to think in terms of fractions and multiplication


lavxlav lavxsplit splitxsplit
LL LL Ll
x LL x Ll xLl
____ _____ ____
LL Ll ll
LL Ll Ll
LL LL Ll
LL LL LL

100% 50% split 25% black
lavender 50% lavnder 25% lavender
50% split

ll
xLL
__________
Ll
Ll
Ll
Ll
100 % lavender splits

 

[Ravynscroft]

As it concerns the variety, I do have a dog in this fight, so to speak... but I am not affiliated with any club because I wanted to learn as much as I could on my own first, and making a decision while there has been so much controversy I preferred to wait and listen to all sides...

I had thought I was doing well in learning this breed and variety, I fully admit I have much more to learn and most likely always will... that does not bother me, that's called life...

What bothered me is that due to earlier posts I felt like I had missed something crucial and did not understand what I thought I did... I asked a simple question for clarity and I got a simple, clear and concise answer from one and then a very complicated and confusing answer from another... all I wanted to know is if the pics of the 2 birds I posted are genetically the same color... not what they may or may not be called...

I understand the frustration and confusion that is going on with the name of a color... I deal with it a lot in Call duck colors... here in the US we have a color called Silver which is equivalent to the Splash color in chickens, in the UK Silver is a totally different color... and we have Pastel which is called Apricot in the UK... it's frustrating to keep them straight as many people use different terms interchangeably no matter which country they are in as well...

I love this color variety, no matter the breed it is on... my Self Blue OEGB's mean just as much to me as my Lavender Ameraucanas... but when I talk with other OEGB breeders in the US, if I call them Lavender I will get a swift response of they are called Self Blue, period... so that is what I go with as it is what is accepted in the US...

Yes, it is confusing and frustrating... yes, it is difficult enough to get the basics of this breed and varity down... and yes, there is so much misinformation due to EE's, feed stores and most commercial hatcheries... it is counterproductive to add more confusion and obscurity to an already difficult situation...

I greatly appreciate all the answers I have received to my questions and the corrections made to my mistakes... I will continue to ask and weed through chaff to the meat... thank you...

 

[gbartha]

Just set my first 6! 20 days and counting.

 

[faykokoWV]

I should clarify, I mean I find it impossible to find info on Lavenders on the ameraucana thread on this site. If I could find the info in one spot like this it would make things easier.

as to the ABC forum - I'm not sure I would join the ABC again. A lot of what I read on there was anti-lavender(that was a year ago, so maybe that has changed some). When I signed up for the membership last year, I sent my check and it was 4 months before I was added to the group, but they sent me a renewal from the time I sent the check. I didn't find them to be the most welcoming organization.

granted, that was just my experience, I'm sure they are a very helpful group for most people

 

[rainbowchick]

LAVENDER AMERAUCANAS
Lavender is also known as “self blue”. It is NOT related to the “blue” gene. It is actually a diluted form of black. Currently, lavender is not an accepted color of Ameraucana’s. It is an accepted color of Silkies (called self blue), so there is hope to get it approved in the near future. Lavenders were first bred in the bantams by John Blehm, using Lavender Old English Game and Lavender Belgian D’Anvers in 2005. Harry Shaffer soon after started working on large fowl lavenders by starting with an EE that had Orpington genes. Around this same time, John Blehm began working his bantams up to large fowl.
Since it is not related to the “blue” gene, you do NOT want to breed it to Blue Ameraucanas. Only breed to Black (to improve feather quality, type, and egg color) and then use the offspring to improve your lavenders. Offspring of a lavender and black cross will be all splits (half lavender gene, but black color is expressed). Breeding splits to splits will get ¼ lavenders, ¼ blacks, and ½ splits. This is not recommended as it is impossible to tell which black chicks are full black and which are split to lavender. The recommended pairing is split to lavender, which will yield ½ splits and ½ lavenders.
Feather quality is an issue associated with the lavender gene. Most common problems are the feel of the feathers, fretting, slow feathering, and leakage. Fretting is when feathers grow and then stop, creating undesirable contrasts within individual feathers. Slow feathering (or K gene), while desirable with some breeds, actually seems to contribute to the feathering problems associated with the lavender gene. It can also cause roosters to feather out slower. Leakage occurs when either the gold or silver gene (depending on which your blacks were based on) shows through, most typically on the neck (hackles) and back (saddle). It is different from “bleaching” (caused by the sun), in that it is less patchy and found more on the edges of individual feathers. The best way to eliminate these features is to only use breeding stock exhibiting minor (or ideally, none) of these issues and breed back to quality blacks to improve further.
Other less prominent issues include sparse beards, yellow/willow feet/beaks, poor egg color, wrong eye color, and genetic deformities. You can usually tell if your birds have double copies of the beard/muff gene if they appear to have a beard as chicks. However, they could still have one copy of the gene, and not exhibit beards as chick, but grow them as adults. This single copy beard/muffs will typically not be as full as the double copy. If a bird is beardless/muffless, do not use it in your breeding program. If your chicks have yellow/willow looking feet, let them grow out a little before culling. It is sometimes difficult to tell true dermis/epidermis color on young chicks, and they will likely show the proper white skin and slate shanks per standard. If they do not grow out of it, do not use in breeding. The eyes of Ameraucanas should be a bay color (dark reddish orange). If your birds have light eyes, but good type and feathers, try breeding with bird with proper eye color. Eye color alone does not merit culling. Egg color is sometimes a light greenish color with lavender birds. This is common with project colors, and the best course is to hatch from your darkest/bluest eggs and try to identify your best color layers to use in your breeding program. If you are seeing genetic deformities like crossbeak and curved toes, try to first evaluate if there is a nutritional deficiency. If it is only one bird showing symptoms, the bird should not be used in breeding.
Now, a word on EE’s (Easter Eggers)… While Lavender Ameraucanas are not an approved color, it is considered a “project color”, not an EE. Once you cross a Lavender (or any other color, for that matter) with ANY other color, the offspring automatically becomes an EE. If your birds/chicks don’t look like anything in the Ameraucana Breeders Club gallery, then you have an EE. Yes, they can still be nice birds. Yes, they can still be pretty. Yes, they can still be great layers of blue eggs. But they are NOT Ameraucanas. This being said, Lavender Ameraucanas that have been bred to be show quality CAN be shown. However, they would have to be entered in AOV (Any Other Varieties) and the best they can place is BOV (Best Of Variety).
Lastly, we all know how beautiful these birds are, and I’m sure you want some for yourself. Well, if you’re lucky, you may find someone on this thread in your state. However, your best bet is to check out the Ameraucana Breeders Club directory (which is conveniently sorted by state AND color) OR the Auction threads here on BYC. Many will recommend one of two prominent breeders: John Blehm is located in Michigan, and Paul Smith is located in Texas, who both ship chicks to most states.

 

[LameyInn7423]

Quote: How to distinguish between Lavender & Blue

Quote: From the Dutch bantam book translated to english.
Lavender vs Blue

​

I don't have a dog in this hunt, I'm trying to read and learn what I can, but that picture doesn't answer the question Ravyn asked. She asked did you have pictures comparing lavender and "self blue". That rooster is blue, not self blue. The way you post, and the way you make your arguments, I really expected something different from you...