Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[chick-among-us]

Look at Eddy the Americauna isn't he pretty?

For an Easter Egger.

X2

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
He looks pretty nice- I love his tail- nice transition. His beard could still darken up a bit because he's young. I would keep an eye on the comb- could get a bit big as he ages.

 

[salt and pepper]

He looks pretty nice- I love his tail- nice transition. His beard could still darken up a bit because he's young. I would keep an eye on the comb- could get a bit big as he ages.

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[brahmabreeder]

I just got Ameraucana eggs in the mail. All of them have semi-detached air cells and two have completely detached air cells. I have incubated many eggs but they have all been from my Brahmas. With the air cells being detached I realize the less turning the better to allow them to re attach. What I would like to know is when are the most crucial times for turning? When I turn I plan on just keeping them in an egg cartons and then just slightly turning them.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I would say put them in the incubator and don't turn them for at least 24 hours. I have some in egg cartons, and 3 times a day I tilt them \ ! / using the top part of the carton.

 

[HaplessRunner]

There are some who after the wait 24 hour upon receipt of eggs, place them in the incubator and do NOT turn the turner on for the first seven days. After the Day 7 candling, the egg turner is then turned on & standard incubation procedures apply from that point.

I,too, may have to try this because I am receiving scrambled eggs through the Post Office. I had a horrible hatch of some blue wheaten ameraucanas and crested cream legbars. In the ameraucanas, 1/8 hatched and even worse in the legbars, 2/20 hatched. I have had some shipment of eggs where a minumum of 50% of air cells are completely detached.

 

[delisha]

I have had good hatches with shipped eggs after a few adjustments. (Good is over 50%). I have found that setting the eggs out for at least 12 hours to get to room temp and checking air cells critical. Treating them gently, I put them in the incubator as the air cells stabilizes. If they do not stabilize in 24 hours, I put them in the incubator and check them in another 24 hours. I mark the ones that are not stabilized and do not turn those for up to 6 days.I hand turn the ones that are stabilized. Daily checking the marked ones that have not stabilized. I date them when stable.

 

[Fyremare]

I tried to post my dilemma on the ameraucana.org forum but it doesn't seem to have published... So I will ask the same here. If the subject is off topic I apologize.

My Silvers are 13 months old, the hens never laid last year. At least one began laying in Feb, and the other not until March sometime. I penned the Silver roo March 2nd in a 10x20 pen, with his two Silver hens and added 4 other hens in hopes that extra girls would spare anyone being featherless. That is working, my puzzle is this... There is some fertility with this rooster with at least one if not both blue hens. I am not getting much fertility with the Speckled Sussex but she is a young hen. The two Silver hens have yet to produce a chick. I am not incubating eggs from the SLWyandotte.
Eggs have been incubated by others for me and are using cheap still air styro bators. So at first I thought it was the incubation. But even with these bators some of the Blue Silvers are hatching. Not at a great rate, but some are hatching.
I was lent a Hovabator and just candled at day 11. Eggs from the bator donator are developing W/BW Ams), my Silvers and Blues are not...
I have a Brinsea Mini Advance that i fired up a couple days ago and am giving that a go.

The weather has sucked, been cold and a really slow spring here in Vermont. I usually collect eggs three times a day, have been keeping them around the 60 degree mark, tilting the eggs twice a day, feeding layer pellet with extra protein treats like sunflower seeds, meal worms, sometimes cat food, occasional scrambled eggs with coconut oil, and kelp. Apple cider vinegar with the mother in it in the water at a rate of 1-2 Tablespoons to a gallon, adding vitamin and electrolytes in water.

Are Silvers really this slow to develop? One is definitely still laying a pullet egg. I have not incubated very many of hers. The rooster is mounting and is not rough on the girls. He is attentive and does his job well.

I am so discouraged that I am considering un-penning them so they can free range again. They all pace the cage. I have eggs in three different bators at the moment. If nothing comes of these hatches are there any suggestions for what I can change? Or do I need to let them age a bit more?

I noticed in another post on infertility that some of you feed a 20% game bird feed or grower? Do you provide crushed shell for calcium since it's not a layer ration? I use Durvet vitamins and electrolytes because it's what is available locally. I use it at half strength because it seems to cause runny poops if full strength. I noticed in the other forum some of you use a supplement I didn't recognize.

Any help is appreciated and am hoping especially breeders of Silvers will share your knowledge and experience with me. THANK YOU!!!

Chris K

 

[chick-among-us]

Can you take out the rooster and add a different rooster for a bit? If so you can try that and then check fertility in a while if eggs are fertile....the current rooster is not. :/

Just had this problem crop up in one of my pens a really nice roo...DOING his job very well....no swimmers....sigh.

Camp kenmore here he comes. We have over 250 chickens....no unproductive Roos please....ok well maybe one or two.

 

[Tailfeathers]

I'm just curious to see if anyone can give me an opinion on one of my blue wheaten roos. He's about 10 months old now. Is he worth keeping?
He does have slate legs - and isn't quite as yellow as he looks - the sun was just very bright so it washed him out.

If that's not white in his tail and one wing tip, he's definitely a keeper. There's a number of things you'll need to improve but start with what you've got and work from there. You're not gonna get a perfect bird and the WBS need a lot of work still. But there are a number of things I like about him.