Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[BarnGoddess01]

Thank you guys I was struggling between blue and lavender, as I recall roo with her befor I bought her was lavender. Oh well I wass hoping she was blue, just have to keep excellent track of her eggs

orf let her go, though that's tough cause she is the first I hatched from my. Own egg....

Just to muddy the mix (seems to be my speciality these days!), this one almost looks splash to me. My lovely blue roo from pips&peeps looked almost as light as this one as a chick - even she acknowledged it - but he is blue as blue can be as a grown up and he throws blue, chicks sometimes almost as light as this one. Sometimes they keep us guessing. Give the little one some time. All will be revealed soon enough!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Just to muddy the mix (seems to be my speciality these days!), this one almost looks splash to me. My lovely blue roo from pips&peeps looked almost as light as this one as a chick - even she acknowledged it - but he is blue as blue can be as a grown up and he throws blue, chicks sometimes almost as light as this one. Sometimes they keep us guessing. Give the little one some time. All will be revealed soon enough!

I dont think that there would be anything wrong with a splash.

 

[samouw]

He might carry wheatan, you could try crossing him back to your wheatens and see what you get. If he is split to wheaten then you would get %25 wheaten out of the cross, split BBS based on what you cross him with. You could take him back to a buff, but it would almost be pointless because it would take awhile to get the black/ blue out.

Thanks! I just might try that. He is with a very nice little wheaten pullet right now - they've been raised together and I might just leave the two of them together until she starts laying. She is from different lines, so I'm not risking doubling up on the buff side.

Thanks for your help!

 

[heatherscooby77]

<---just curious I belevie shes blue but looks awful light to me.....? Thoughts?

I would stil love to know the opinion on what color she is?[/QUOTE]

This chick looks splash to me.................??????????????????.......................

 

[Tailfeathers]

Enlighten me. What IS the point of showing?

Number 1 under General Disqualifications: All Breeds and Varieties: "Specimen lacking in Breed characteristics" is part of the judging. Egg colour is listed for every breed, not just Ameraucanas. The number of eggs they lay in a year is not.

I'm sorry, but to me a bird that lays a white egg, a bird you yourself are admitting is a "project" bird, should not be in the show ring labelled "Ameraucana".

I don't think there is any way to enlighten you. Both AinaWSGD and myself have spelled it out about as clearly as it can be. There has also been at least one judge pipe in on this very topic as well. And just what don't you understand about the egg NOT being on the scorecard? And btw, just how "blue" does "blue" have to be in order to meet your satisfaction? Are you going to take my white eggs and look at them through a microscope to make sure that they don't have ANY blue? One of my "white" eggs looks white - until you put it next to a white egg and then there is just the slightest tint of blue. I imagine the other white egg has some blue in it but you sure can't see it. At least I can't. But are you going to be willing to put it under a microscope if I object to you trying to have my W or BW DQ'd because maybe my bird beats yours???

Whether or not an Ameraucana that lays a white egg should be in the show ring or not is your opinion. But it is only that - our opinion. And you never saw me call these birds a "project" bird. I've stated at least three times that I can remember that my birds are kept as a closed flock and I line breed. So a pure Ameraucana would hardly qualify as a "project" bird.

Oh, and it's not a "show ring" either.

Sportsmanship obviously enters into this. Cheating/lying/faking/deliberate deception is not valued or appreciated in the show ring.

You're way out of line. The insinuation there is NOT appreciated.

For the rest of you, ask yourselves this question, since when does one particular "breed characteristic" that isn't even on a scorecard overshadow all the other characteristics? And if a W or BW Ameraucana is pure in all other respects but it lays a white egg due to a lack of enough blue egg genes or whatever, and it is DQ'd because of that (i.e. it "lack" enough blue) - then why wouldn't a green egg layer that possesses brown egg gene modifiers be DQ'd?

One egg doesn't have enough of the blue and the other has brown that ain't supposed to be there and isn't a breed characteristic either. In fact, it is probably easier to get back to a pure blue egg from a white egg than it is to get to a pure blue egg from a green egg. But Jean advises, and so do I, that one should breed a green egg layer if it's a good bird in all other respects. I would imagine Jean would also say to show the bird. So would I. But she's only the President of the ABC and who am I. Obviously not one of those select "recognized breeders".

I've tried to lay out the discussion in a logical, thought-provoking manner so folks can actually think this thru. And like usual, when someone can't make a logical argument, they resort to name calling and innuendo's. I guess it's easy to attack the messenger when you can't attack the message.

And for the record, though this is probably obvious to most, if I were cheating/lying/faking or deliberately being deceiving, I wouldn't have openly admitted having these white egg layers or explained how I went about getting them in the first place. Nor would I be putting a bird in a cage that could lay the egg in front of the judge. Sometimes a little common sense goes a long way.

For those just getting into the breed or thinking about it, please don't let the abrasiveness of some turn you off on this breed. Ameraucanas are a terrific bird. True they have their own specific challenges but that's part of the fun. Once you get bit by the "breeding bug", you'll find there's a whole lot of stuff that has to be considered when determining where you want to take your birds. And the great thing is, you get to decide how you want to get there. You'll learn from both things you did right and things you did wrong. And you'll want to read what the Master Breeders and folks like Kenny Troiano have to say because they're passing down decades of knowledge to you.

Oh, and you probably won't find them posting on here. If you wonder why, just read the two above quotes.

God Bless,

 

[Tailfeathers]

If you know your bird lays a white egg you are being deceptive if you attempt to enter it as an Ameraucana because one of the major breed characteristics of Ameraucanas are their blue eggs. You may be working on trying to improve your birds but you obviously aren't there yet if your "Ameraucana" is not producing at least the beginnings of a blue egg. And I don't believe I'm the only one that thinks egg colour matters because birds have been disqualified at shows for laying incorrectly coloured eggs. Not just worth some points but worth ALL the points.

I've already addressed the "deceptive" accusation. It's pretty hard to be deceptive when dealing with a bird that could lay an egg right in front of the judge. Like duh!

Second, it's pretty hard to say that "you obviously aren't there yet" when the bird is getting BV written on the coop card. LOL

I have never been to a show yet where birds have been disqualified for laying incorrectly colored eggs. I'd like to hear the specifics. What show? What birds? What judge?

Not only have I never seen it at any of the shows I've attended but I've never heard anyone else say that. Not the folks at the shows. Not the folks over at ABC or any of the other four breed clubs I belong to. In fact, I've never read anyone else on BYC say that.

So, let's get this right. Most everyone knows that the blue color diminishes later in the season depending on how often the bird lays and that the older a hen gets the lighter the color may be too. So, let's say I get a Champion of the Show Wheaten or Blue Wheaten (in my dreams!) hen and she starts out laying a REALLY blue egg. And let's say I show her for five years. And, oh my goodness, the 5th year I show her she goes and lays a white egg in front of the judge! Now that bird should be DQ'd?? Same bird all five years. Hogwash.

Moreover, anyone who's been breeding birds, for any length of time at all, that lay colored eggs knows full well that egg color can change. Welsummers lay dark eggs. It's a breed characteristic. But just the stress of a show can put the egg color off. As well as heat, cold, sickness, and a host of other things that I don't think anybody has figured out yet. So a Welsummer lays an egg in front of a judge that's just not quite enough to meet his definition of "dark", and it should be DQ'd? Poppycock.

I don't remember now what the SOP says about Barnevelders but, if you look online, most descriptions say they lay "dark" brown eggs. Not in the USA. I've yet to see one that does. It's something we're all working on. So one of my Barnies, which have won BB at the last four shows I've been too, lays an egg and it's not "dark", so the judge should DQ it? Ridiculous.

If one just thinks about it, the whole make up of egg color is still very much a complete unknown and everyone who's had colored egg layers for any length of time at all knows the color can change. So why in the world would any judge - who knows a whole lot more about birds than most of us, if not all of us, ever will - why would any judge DQ an otherwise breed correct bird because of the egg it lays? The answer: It's pretty doubtful they would.

Is blue egg color important? Sure it is. But when you elevate egg color above everything else, especially for showing the birds, you simply don't understand the basics of breeding and showing at all.

God Bless,

 

[Reyvaughn]

This thread gives me a headache anymore. It's a shame, really. There is a lot of good information, but lately it's only been EE vs Ameraucana battles. I think we should agree to ignore such fights from now on. Send people to the ABC website and tell them to read the site, then come back. It'd save us all a lot of aggravation. That's my opinion for today.

 

[Nicole01]

Well, my lockdown is today for my pure bred Ameracuana eggs! We are keeping 4-5 show quality birds if possible!

My girls are starting out showing through 4-H to get familiar with showing and learning more about the breed and what's required to show through the APA/ABA. I have 17 pure Ameracuana eggs in the bator and lockdown starts tonight! I'm a nervous wreck! They are all a beautiful blue egg with no hints of green. 12 of these are from Paul Smith's birds in Texas.

This has been quite the journey and we have a lot to learn! I really hope my girls stick to showing. I am housebound, so I'm doing all I can to prepare my girls at home. I won't be able to go to the shows.

If this set doesn't work out, I'll start over next spring. I fell in love with the beautiful wheaten color. Blue wheaten will be my second choice. I'm looking for beautiful social birds.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I don't think there is any way to enlighten you. Both AinaWSGD and myself have spelled it out about as clearly as it can be. There has also been at least one judge pipe in on this very topic as well. And just what don't you understand about the egg NOT being on the scorecard?

My goodness! You DO like to use a lot of words!!! Sheesh.

The egg may not be on the scorecard but it can be worth ALL the points because if it is the wrong colour (wrong COLOUR - not shade - there is a difference) your bird will receive ZERO points. You can be disqualified. It IS in the Book. It has happened.

Show ring: from Merriam-Webster -- "a place where animals are displayed".

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Oh, and it's not a "show ring" either.

From the fine folks at UCDavis:

Poultry Showmanship Made Easy (UCDavis)​

Practicing with your Bird - If you have ever seen a professional poultry showman at work, they make showing their bird look very easy. However, for your bird to act that good in a show ring, you need to practice, practice, practice. .....