Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[cubakid]

Quote:
Same here

 

[MobyQuail]

Quote:
He's gorgeous~ Lets hope he gets more white in the muff I love roosters with that whiteish cream muff


Pleas correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure they are SUPPOSED to be black.

Just got the SOP 2010...

Wheaten Ameraucana
BEARDS AND MUFFS: Male--black; Female--Light creamy wheaten.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Ah, Ive only ever seen them with the cream muff so that's why I thought that.

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
It's an issue almost every breeder I've seen birds from has.

 

[Mahonri]

Out of the five, I'd keep 4 & 9 but probably just 4.

 

[MobyQuail]

#4, no brown in the tail, no fluff at the base, nice saddle feathers, they already noted the hackle striping, but pretty bird.

I like #3's beard and comb, you note the legs and I think too much brown in sickle feathers hinder him- imho.

nice work, happy birds. keep it up.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Awesome, thank you guys!!!

Just what I was looking for. I like #9 too, but he is on the small side and has a weird comb, it's not 3 rows of bumps like it's supposed to be. I have ONE more Wheaten growing out so I'll see what he looks like soon. I'll also post my Blue Wheatens when they are this age, and you guys can help me with those too. I'm interested to see how those compare with these 5.

Thanks!

 

[cpartist]

Cari...will give you my 2 cents for what it's worth.

I too like Blue #4 the best. He is looking good for size and I like his solid black tail and the fact that he has some black
showing in his beard already...some can take forever to turn black. I like his tail angle/top line in the third pic you posted
of him on the previous page. Tail angle should be 45* and I've found the ones with a lower angle at this age mature into
correct tail angle as the tail and body fill out more. I would watch him for wry tail...he is showing this is one of your photos,
but I have been fooled at this age in several other breeds. I have freaked when a few of my best looking cockerels I was evaluating
early on showed this in certain stances. (I remember shooting off an email to Kathyinmo about my Delaware at this age that I was
just loving for everything... "OMG....I think he has wry tail, his tail is off when he bends over to eat"). That boy did not have wry tail at
all...and has a very wide straight tail now. So I don't want to alarm you...never hatched any with wry tail here...but watch him as he
matures. His beard is not as full as the others...is he getting picked by the hens? I have learned not to give these guys messy
treats like watermelon as they will get their beards picked. The hackle striping is not good, but I am seeing it clean up when mated
to the right hen. Kathy's BW young roo is looking like he may have clean hackles. He is very young, and has yet to get adult color,
but the ones with little or no black/blue as juvies seem to end up with the cleanest hackles.

The parti colored are more difficult and seem to be a balancing act. My best for tail color girls have some slight black ticking
in the hackles. I am breeding for type/size/color in that order. I think and hope I have what I need to move forward in getting
clean hackles and solid tails in both the males and females...but it will take a few more generations and lots of grow outs
to get there. I hope I have locked in size and type, but still get the occasional bird that stays smaller or that has a funky tail/top line.

My second keeper would be the last guy...blue #9. I like his size and proportion and tail angle. He is looking to have pretty good
tail color and not extreme hackle black. He has a nice full beard, but looks like he will be one of the late bloomers in getting
the solid black beard. I wish his wing triangle was more solid color as some of the others are showing, but at this age they are a little
hard to evaluate for color and could be in the last stages of juvie molt. I'd like to see both he and #4 in about 2 months.

#1 may be the largest, but I do not like his shape or proportions.

#8 would be an easy and early cull for me...due to tail angle and the white fluff at the base of the tail, and the extreme hackle striping.

I have saved Blue #3 for last. He looks decent for size and I like the width of his head...colorwise, too much brown in the tail and maybe
not deep or rich enough color (may be the photo). You know I have emailed you that I am getting 10% or so chicks with light legs. They
are ALWAYS males and always have clean hackles. I contacted one of the major breeders re this and he said with the numbers I am
getting there may be something else going on here other than the ID vs id for shank color...likely a dilute gene. So far I have culled these,
but I have thought about using one over a few pullets to see if this will give me some clean hackled birds with proper legs and to also see
what the offspring throw. So far I have resisted as I am getting some better for hackle color just using the breeders I have, but if you
have the pen space to experiment it would be interesting to see.

All this and then you have to worry about egg color

. This has not been an issue for me, none have been green or had brown
in them. They are shades of aqua, turquoise and blue. Egg size is another thing I am working on. I have one hen that lays a large to xtra large.
It is a very light blue. I am hoping by selective breeding I can combine her egg size with the richer, more vibrant and slightly turquoise
eggs that are small to medium and get some laying large eggs with the richer color.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Thank you so much Luanne! You are always such a huge help!!!

I definitely want to work on type and size first then coloring, but even to my untrained eye, there are some that are just obviously better looking than others.

I think I will go ahead and cull #1 and #8, and keep the other three...


One of my pullets from you laid her first egg today, small but beautiful color, don't know if you saw the pic a few pages back.

OH I forgot to say, I JUST saw pink legged guy (#3) mate my Wyandotte for the first time EVER!!!!! He was such a good boy, he followed the small flock of older hens around all day watching over them, and always calls treats for them and dances all the time for them. Now he just started this and he was great! Not mean or rough or fumbly at all!!! He is easily becoming my favorite, such a GREAT personality!!! WHAT A GENTLEMAN!

 

[cpartist]

I have noticed these are better on "technique" than some of my other breeds.
They seem gentler but spend a little more time doing the actual deed. Now I'm
talking seconds longer...but still....they are good lovers for sure in the chicken world.

Pretty egg that you posted. They do seem to get bluer and lighter as the cycle progresses.

I like that they are early and productive. If they are not broody or molting, they seem to lay year round
regardless of heat or cold. They do not pump them out like production birds. but the pullets are laying
an average of 4-5 a week each...the older hens 2-3...even with 90+ temps. I like STEADY egg production
that does not fluctuate with the weather. I have so many broody's from these that my perception may
be skewed....but overall they are some of my best layers.


I have not culled any for egg color...some are more intense than others, but as long as any
do not show any brown or khaki I am good with them. I would like to see large to extra large
eggs from them, and hopefully getting the good size on the birds and some selective breeding
will help with this.