Lavender Ameraucana Breeders .... UNITE

[buckabucka]

So happy to get my first lavender Ameraucana egg since November 3rd! It is going in the incubator next weekend. I hope I get a few more. This will be my first hatch with this breed!

 

[dak]

So happy to get my first lavender Ameraucana egg since November 3rd! It is going in the incubator next weekend. I hope I get a few more. This will be my first hatch with this breed!

Great! My two pullets just started laying this week also. It will be time to make splits soon. Their first pullet eggs are the size of my 3 year old Lav's eggs. I will be holding my breath to see how much the size increases.

 

[buckabucka]

Wow!
I would only hatch the big ones for my hatch, except I don't have anything to select from yet! So hard to be patient....

 

[dak]

Great! My two pullets just started laying this week also. It will be time to make splits soon. Their first pullet eggs are the size of my 3 year old Lav's eggs. I will be holding my breath to see how much the size increases.

The very first pullet egg laid is fertile.

It is on day 4 of incubation and clearly show development. I didn't get these girls separated from the Lav cockerel yet, so it looks like I will hatch a few Lavs this year. The it's in with the Black cockerel.

 

[buckabucka]

One of my lavs has sour crop, I think.
She was drinking a lot, threw up a ton of water, and now has no interest in food or water.

I syringe fed a tiny bit of yogurt and olive oil. Thinking about trying monistat on her tomorrow.

 

[DMRippy]

One of my lavs has sour crop, I think.
She was drinking a lot, threw up a ton of water, and now has no interest in food or water.

I syringe fed a tiny bit of yogurt and olive oil. Thinking about trying monistat on her tomorrow.

Monistat? Orally? How does that work? Is it a yeast infection? I would try a flat coke first. It will eat through what ever is blocking her up. It eats battery acid off battery terminals.... and is a FOOD. Then I would give her yogurt and olive oil to move it out.

 

[BibleMan]

Well folks I have just taken the plunge. I have ordered my Lavender Amercannas . I ordered from some one the first time and got no chicks after weighting 7 months I had to cancel. I have now ordered again. I hope to get my chicks soon.

The first time I ordered was the first time I ever ordered chicks. I am sure it was my fault but being a newbie I it is very hard to understand what may be elementary to you folks who may have done this several times. In the past I have owned and shown American Saddle Horses , Morgans ,Arabs,and have handled many and various breeds of dogs . I know in every genera there are rules and I try to follow those rules. Please have patience with Newbies ,we want to learn and are dedicated to that process just as much as you are.

If some one held a puppy or a horse I had paid 7 months I would be livid! Possibly this is not the case in chickens . I do not know what expectations I should have within what bounds? I would like feed back but please be gentle with me and let me learn.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Well folks I have just taken the plunge. I have ordered my Lavender Amercannas . I ordered from some one the first time and got no chicks after weighting 7 months I had to cancel. I have now ordered again. I hope to get my chicks soon.

The first time I ordered was the first time I ever ordered chicks. I am sure it was my fault but being a newbie I it is very hard to understand what may be elementary to you folks who may have done this several times. In the past I have owned and shown American Saddle Horses , Morgans ,Arabs,and have handled many and various breeds of dogs . I know in every genera there are rules and I try to follow those rules. Please have patience with Newbies ,we want to learn and are dedicated to that process just as much as you are.

If some one held a puppy or a horse I had paid 7 months I would be livid! Possibly this is not the case in chickens . I do not know what expectations I should have within what bounds? I would like feed back but please be gentle with me and let me learn.

First off, welcome to the wonderful world of Rare Breed chickens!

I ordered my Lav Ameraucanas in August of last year. By reading the form I was aware that he does not hatch birds until March-April - and if he didn't have a good hatch he would offer a refund at the end of April or I could wait until the next year. Some people have waited two years for their orders. That is acceptable practice with a rare breed, and it will be the same with most of them. I was fine with that, these birds cannot be purchased from a mass-produced hatchery so I knew I would have to wait until they were available. He does not hatch by the thousands - and he is selective in which chicks he will send. So not all hatches will meet his standards, and he will not ship.

Also, consider the quantities you are ordering and how many chickens they have of each breed. You have a small window of collection for the eggs - about a week. If they are breeding for a certain trait or color they will have maybe 10 good hens they want use to continue that line. To keep exact records the rooster must be put in with the hen, the eggs collected and marked and then hatched. This is not 100 chickens all running around with 4 roosters and being bred by whoever. Those 10 hens can lay about 70 eggs but usually lay more like 50 before the earliest eggs will need to be set or they might not hatch. If you get 70 eggs (amazing) that can give you between 0 and 70 chicks, with averages being about 45. Now, of those 45 - there will only be some that are actually correct (that's what a "work in progress" means - and these birds ARE still in progress). So - you might have 25 good chicks - IF you had a good laying AND a good hatch! If anything was off.. if your birds didn't lay the maximum number of eggs, if some were infertile, if the incubation process hit a glitch.. all those can drop a hatch below the number needed to send chicks. And you cannot send two different ages of chicks, they must be shipped within a day of hatch - or they will have to be sent Expre$$ Mail with something to keep them alive. Hatched babies have the egg yolk to live on, and they can live for 3 days. The post office doesn't allow water or wet food in the boxes - so shipping live older birds is a challenge AND very expensive!

If you were not informed that there would be a wait until spring for your chicks, then I understand your confusion. Having been around chickens and hatchings for years I was aware that not everybody hatches all year round, and I understand the play of chance when it comes to hatching eggs.

Its why the saying is "Don't count your chickens until they hatch".

I hope this helps you understand the "rules" of ordering chicks a bit better. Hopefully you will get your chicks soon - but I don't know of many breeders that can take an order for a rare breed and produce them in 21 days (the length of time to hatch an egg). Usually they are backed up with orders like mine which I placed months and months ago...

 

[Little Wing]

I got mine in this morning. 7 Blacks and 8 Lavs from Paul. Well worth the wait!

 

[chicksnthestiks]

Great response ChickNmamma!