I am disgusted. Everyone hyped up this line and of course, being a newb (at least I knew the difference between Ameraucanas and EEs), I got sucked in based on egg color. The birds did look good in the pics. They were young, too. Then I get them home, they grow out and then I breed. Oh, look! I have pretty eggs and birds with issues! I didn't get into this for eggs. I spent a small fortune (over $400 with driving and purchasing) on 6 birds to start me off. I spend the same on 5 Chocolate Orps shipped to me!
I am disgusted with my entire flock, to be honest, it's not just the Ameraucanas. The Ameraucanas are my focus right now until March/April. Like I said before, these issues set me back an entire year, plus.
On a side note, I also noticed this line does not lay well. I was lucky to get an egg every other day out of 5 girls. If I got 3 a day, I thought there was an apocalypse coming! They like 60-70 degrees with a slight breeze, partly cloudy to rainy. Otherwise, no eggs. I hatched less than 50 birds from January to October last year. I sold 4-5 dozen or so. I figured with 10 girls this year, I should get an egg a day for sure! Maybe 2 every other day! That's triple the eggs from only double the girls - so I am not getting hopeful. LOL!
The first paragraph is really disturbing to me. I looked over your birds and I don't see why you would say such a thing unless you have set your expectations way too high. There seems to me to be several birds there that are worthy of being shown and certainly worthy of breeding.
I have seen these same kinds of comments on other threads and often it appears that folks who are serious about breeding do their homework, educate and inform themselves, seek out good if not great foundational stock, AND THEN expect to buy some eggs and hatch out the next National Champion! I would just like to encourage you to lower your expectations a bit. If you've followed the Ameraucanas for long, you know that none of them - regardless of the variety - is winning Best of Show or Grand Champion Large Fowl or such. So obviously the breed needs a lot of work. This is due to a lot of various factors. A lot of the folks are just happy to win BB and not even care about AOSB. Most Ameraucana breeders are putting most of their efforts into the Blacks and Whites and then Blues. The reason? Those are the birds that win at the shows. And then there is the problem of far too many people coming in that are new to breed and wanting to come up with the next new money-making fad by trying to create some new variety. The desire to do this is easily understood when one looks at how easy it is to create something new and different and the ease in which chickens can be bred and sold. However, every new "project bird" that comes along only detracts from the time, effort, expense, and energy needed towards the existing varieties we already have that aren't even close to being "perfect" yet.
Because there just aren't a lot of seriously dedicated breeders - especially when it comes to the W & BW's - you are going to wind up getting eggs that are going to require a lot of work on your part to get the birds to where they need to be. In other words, you are going to have to start off with in all likelihood far more breeding pens (combinations of parents) than what you'd like and slowly but surely work your way down to a more manageable number. So, with that being said, I would be encouraging you to set your goals down on paper. I'd recommend starting with no more than two specific traits you want to improve on. Then begin to pick out the birds you believe will best get you there, set up a specific breeding plan with a specific set of initial goals, and then go to work on achieving those. Then linebreed and keep meticulous records while doing so.
I hatched 100 chicks from each of my four breeds and I only kept about 4 of each breed. That's not to say I may not have sold some good birds as chicks to others or that I didn't sell some awfully nice pullets and cockerels but rather than I only kept the best 4. Having said that, I would say a good 50% or so of what I saw and sold were not quite where they need to be in order to be a good, solid show quality bird. In fact, I remember one or two that were the "calico" colored pullets I've had in the past and I still have problems with the black ticking showing up in hackles or elsewhere. But when you hatch 100 chicks, one ought to be able to pick out at least a half dozen or so good ones. Having said that I can honestly say that I've seen improvement in my W & BWs every year since I got them.
To your second paragraph, I'd just say welcome to world of breeding. Stuff happens. Even after breeding for years something unexpected can happen and set you back. Again, I'd encourage you to get used to it or find another hobby. Breeding birds and being in the fancy should be a joy. Frustration like you're experiencing really isn't necessary nor worth it. Life is too short. Best to find something that doesn't raise your blood pressure so high.
To the third paragraph, several years ago I experienced productivity problems as well. So I had to reorganize by breeding program. Just one of those unexpected things that came up (See paragraph above). This is just another trait one has to consider when putting together their breeding program for the year. If one truly loves the breed/variety they have, they will make the necessary commitment to the long term effort needed to improve it. There are no short cuts. It takes time, effort, dedication, and a LOT of patience to continue working with a breed/variety that needs a lot of work. But I love my WBS Ameraucanas and I sure would love to see a whole lot more people devote themselves to them as well.
God Bless,
