Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[EweSheep]

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I agree with that one too! Great information! I hope you apply that to your Wellies as well!

 

[Goose and Fig]

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I made a page with pics if you want to go look. If you have questions just ask!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=92428-growout-pens-brooders

Hope that helps.....

Those are great! Where do you guys find all this stuff? The brewery grains, the pallets....

 

[janchilds]

Those are really cool!

How many birds do you fit into say the double one? And if you don't mind, where did you find the pallet tops?

Free ALWAYS works! haha!

 

[janchilds]

So much GREAT info here tailfeathers... Thank you!!!

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That was my thought exactly! Thank you! Sometimes I come up with plans and wonder if I am way off base. I have already outlined a tier system to prioritize which breeds I am going to focus on, which I am going to simply breed (for now), and which are there for more or less utility. My thought was to work hard on one or two while bringing the others along removing any glaring faults.

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I know what you choose to work on depends heavily on what you have/don't have in your birds. But can you give an idea of what and how you prioritized which traits you focused on?

Also, I know in sheep that somethings go together, others not so much. For example if I want length, initially muscle will suffer. Getting both is a huge milestone. Have you found certain traits that work well to group together? Or traits that work against each other?

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Sounds like you are really taking your time getting to linebreeding. As a breeder of other stock, I get the advantages, namely consistency, but you gotta get a bird worth linebreeding first. Sounds like you are probably there, but how did you balancing this?

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What stands out here is that you have multiple lines from a single breeder... Right? Was that by design or because of the limited number of breeders for Wheatens/Blue Wheatens? I know what lines I want in all my breeds from hours of research, but I was leaning towards finding those lines from a couple (meaning no more than 2 or 3) breeders. And let me clarify, mostly I was talking to two breeders that both bought stock from the original breeder, not someone just saying that they have xx line and who knows how many generations ago it was. Although in the Wellies, the original line is most likely more removed given that most breeders refer back to the founding five breeders.

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Thank you! I will! Consider me a fellow sponge... albeit a baby sponge.

 

[DMRippy]

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I made a page with pics if you want to go look. If you have questions just ask!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=92428-growout-pens-brooders

Hope that helps.....

Those are great! Where do you guys find all this stuff? The brewery grains, the pallets....

The grains I just called around till someone said yes... But now I have so many birds it is hard to keep up with the feed

The pallets... I get those from a local printer. They must be a pretty big print shop that makes cd inserts, advertising kinda stuff. They always have them stacked to the rafters. You can find pallets all over craigslits, but these are unique. We have quite the stash of pallets. We just try not to drive by anymore because we will spend the day loading the truck with pallets and we just don't have any building projects right now that need them. We need to spend our time now finishing some little projects like feeders for the breeding pens.

 

[Roosterfry]

Great information! I like reading about these old school breeding practices, seems like so many people are bringing in all sorts of ideas when it comes to breeding chickens as if their bringing in human morals and applying them to chickens. Like " oh no that's inbreeding" or "I have to make sure my new rooster is totally unrelated to my hens because that would be weird!". Those people just need to realise that's how breeds were created and maintained. It's called LINE breeding. I know you must out cross for vigor at times but any successful breeding program includes line breeding....

I'm normally just a lurker, but after reading some good post I got excited

 

[DMRippy]

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It kinda depends on the bird and the size. I have 3 NH roos that hatched mid september in a 1/2 one and the other side has 5 Lav/LavSplits on the other side. The ones that are divided in thirds have 2 EE or Rock roos hatched about the same time. In the one without dividers I had the 25 that hatched in Oct till about a week ago. I have the pullets outside now and it is just the roos from that hatch in that pen now.

A printer. It is a large print shop they get paper by the truck loads and in what is called Parent Sheets (the way they come from the mills).

 

[janchilds]

Thanks! I am going to call around and see what I can find. We have a few big printers in the area so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Hubby even got excited when I told him they would double nicely for bottle baby lamb pens!

Thanks for sharing! Really cool idea!

 

[Christie Rhae]

Such great info for me to print out and save in my chicken folder. I wish there was like a college course or something about breeding chickens.

Anyone want to offer an internship?

 

[jeremy]

Okay, I have to brag for a minute.

After waiting almost 9 months for my pullets from last spring to start laying, I was pleasantly surprised with these lovely little eggs.

Mind you, I did not tamper with or edit the color of these pictures at all. The girls that laid these eggs are from my own breeding (originally hatched from Jean's eggs) and pullets that I received as day old chicks from Paul Smith. I am quite impressed with the color and those eggs laid by chicks my flock sired definitely show an improvement in color over the eggs they came from.

So yeah, this is how I feel right now -