Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Reyvaughn]

Cindy, these are my BW/Ws. I think I may know who the culprit may be - the same girl I want removed from my pen once I get a couple more girls to take her place. And she wasn't laying before (when I sold eggs to Phage and Noriko). Her eggs were greener, but I can't always tell which ones are hers now that's gotten back into a cycle. She's my smaller, gingery girl. I am going to need leg bands and a camera to be sure, though.

Could it be a linebreeding thing as well? Since my flock is from Peachick's breeding/flock, and two of my girls could potentially be the mother of my other three hens and/or Dorian?

Well, I guess it's good to find this out now.

Anyone local have any nice Wheaten cockerels they want to sell? I need a new boy to start my new flock with. Or, anyone want to trade eggs (I doubt it now that I have leg feathering cropping up)?

 

[pips&peeps]

It's just in the line. I bred wheatens and blue wheatens for five years and suddenly got stubs too. I ended up culling the cock bird and starting with a new one. I lost every one of my new cock birds over the past two years in that pen because they commit suicide.... (they jump up under the nest boxes and break their necks.)

Anyway right now I am down to using a bird that is full brother to "Geoffrey". He has one little stub on the front of his leg. I am only keeping the chicks without stubs, since this is what I have to work with.

I also got eggs from another breeder and one of the chicks has stubs. So just try to correct it.

Poo poo happens.......

 

[Christie Rhae]

Just had to post this pic somewhere...
All these eggs have a Splash Ameraucana daddy so thought here was as good a place as any.
I have here:
black copper marans eggs (olive eggers)
black ameraucana, (for some blue ameraucana chicks)
blue andalusian (practice chicks for my laced blue ameraucana project)
Nothing like an almost full incubator!

I see veins in the andalusian eggs! One of the nice things about white eggs...you can see everything! What a treat compared to the marans. I am just happy if the egg looks dark on lockdown day with them. Lol

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

It's just in the line. I bred wheatens and blue wheatens for five years and suddenly got stubs too. I ended up culling the cock bird and starting with a new one. I lost every one of my new cock birds over the past two years in that pen because they commit suicide.... (they jump up under the nest boxes and break their necks.)

Anyway right now I am down to using a bird that is full brother to "Geoffrey". He has one little stub on the front of his leg. I am only keeping the chicks without stubs, since this is what I have to work with.

I also got eggs from another breeder and one of the chicks has stubs. So just try to correct it.

Poo poo happens.......

Are the stubs just a wheaten *issue*? Suicide? Poor things, maybe rearranging the coop would help.

 

[dak]

New Bantam Ameraucana chicks.

 

[pips&peeps]

My older guy is still doing fine in there. He must be a little brighter than the rest.

No stubs can happen on just about every variety. I had a blue or black pop out several years ago with them, culled the bird, and haven't seen it since.

I am currently having an issue with my whites and stubs.......I outcrossed to a blue cock bird (to get rid of the barring gene), so those chicks don't have any issues.

 

[Reyvaughn]

Well, maybe someone could use these chicks in a layer flock or an OE project.
It's a shame about Dorian... For a blue, he doesn't have as much tail fluff as many other BWs I have seen. He has good type and his hackles/saddle are pretty clean. I can always use him over my 2nd line, once I get them all, and hope no more sprigs pop up.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Cindy and Walt make some excellent points. And Walt your post scared the dickens out of me! A closed flock for 30 years and now you get this pop up?? Ouch!

Having said that, both Cindy and Walt's post - but especially Walt's - add a great deal of merit to why I say that one should maintain a closed flock AND linebreed while keeping meticulous records. I know of no other way to identify the culprit that is the contributing factor to a problem that rears its ugly head. If you know who each parent is and keep track of each subsequent mating, you can go back and identify where the problem is originating.

This requires a lot more time and effort but I believe it's worth it in the long run. And even linebreeding isn't the best because I've seen where breeding one male to four or five full blood sisters can result is an oddity and then the only recourse is to get rid of the entire line of females if the male is ruled out as the problem maker. Single mating or in other words 1 on 1 is probably the best but I have neither the time, space, or energy to do that.

God Bless,

 

[chickee]

Yep, got this feathered legged blue wheaten chick in one of my recent hatches. I sold this chick, and when I saw a picture of it at 4 weeks of age the feathers were gone

This chick was SUPER fluffy with a very large beard and muff. It was adorable!

 

[Reyvaughn]

Yep, got this feathered legged blue wheaten chick in one of my recent hatches. I sold this chick, and when I saw a picture of it at 4 weeks of age the feathers were gone

This chick was SUPER fluffy with a very large beard and muff. It was adorable!

I was wondering if mine would stay as well. I had thought maybe it was one of things that fall out or molt out. Is it still undesirable if they aren't there as an adult? I am sure it's still undesirable. I will have to mark these chicks, so if they feathers do fall out, I know which ones it was. My chicks aren't as bad as your chick's feathering was, Chickee.

I kind of like the idea of feather legged Ams...
Seriously... fluffy faces, fluffy butts and fluffy legs!

I am not keeping them, though.