Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Red Banks]

This is a lavender cuckoo cock that took reserve AOV . This is a project color . A good win as there were lots of lavenders entered plus some splash . I helped develop the Ameraucana breed and still creating new varieties .What

This is a cuckoo project cockerel . Closely related to the lavender cuckoos . He is actually a son of the above Lavender cuckoo . If you only knew what has been used to create these . I know what was used even 40 years ago . What is important is what I kept to breed from . I have probably 8 + years in the cuckoo and 5 years in the lavender cuckoo project .

Jerryse, I read on BYC that if you breed to a Lavender the result is no longer an Ameraucana but an Easter Egger. I don't understand..... if you breed an Ameraucana to an Ameraucana.... why isn't it considered a pure Am?

 

[BackyardMarana]

My 2 wheaton ameraucanas

My 2 black ameraucanas

My blue favaucana rooster he is huge.
I dont hace any pics of my blue ameraucanas

 

[Sylvester017]

I don't know about chickens (haven't been at it long enough) but with dogs you couldn't have it both ways. You went for show quality beauty/perfection or you had a dog that did the job he was bred to do...... seldom if ever did you have a dog that could do his job and win in a show ring. So..... do you settle for a beautiful chicken that just looks good or a world beater egg laying chicken. Is that what happens in the chicken world too?

I had 2 out of 3 Rottweilers that were show quality and the handsomest one was not just gorgeous, he was inherently natural at following commands and enjoyed obedience training, was easily socialized with humans, children, or other animals, best working dog we ever had so having it all in one dog breed was not difficult for us.

In our case with Ameraucanas, however, we had sad experiences. We told the breeder we were interested in two blue, not greenish-blue, layers and we were not looking to show. Well, we got two birds where one could easily have been SQ and one was more PQ. The SQ quality juvenile died almost promptly and the PQ bird eventually did lay pale blue eggs (not greenish) - just very very few of them. In her second year she gave 3 eggs only. Only reason she isn't in the freezer is because she has such a sweet non-combative demeanor toward her flockmates - it would be easier to cull her if she were mean but she is so darn amiable. We asked for a balance between blue eggs and a fair amount of them from a PQ bird but we didn't get it. No more show breeders for me - the breeder I got my juveniles from is not even bothering to breed them any more either. This year I ordered a Blue Amer juvenile from a different breeder and 21/2 weeks later the vet had to euthanize her she was shipped sickly. I don't order chicks because they are delicate so I order 2 to 4-mo-old juveniles for better health odds and still lost 2 out of 3 Amer birds.

With 50/50 pro/con feedback from owners about the reliability of blue gene layers i.e. Amer's, EEs, Araucanas, or CLs, I won't be getting any of them. Amer's are the sweetest birds I've ever had but when I'm zoned for only 5 hens and no roos I need every girl to be better than only 3 eggs their 2nd year. The best way to be assured of more blue eggs is to have a good sized flock of birds to make up for the dud layers but when I'm zoned for only 5 birds I couldn't take the chance that half the flock would turn out duds and still have to feed them. One of our friend's EEs didn't lay in her 2nd year either.

 

[jerryse]

Jerryse, I read on BYC that if you breed to a Lavender the result is no longer an Ameraucana but an Easter Egger. I don't understand..... if you breed an Ameraucana to an Ameraucana.... why isn't it considered a pure Am


This information is spread mostly to discourage random breeding . Lavender is a project color . So not accepted into the standard yet . They are shown in the AOV class . Any other variety . They can not win best of breed . They can go to best of variety or best AOV . Lavender is bred to black to improve them .

.A skilled breeder can do this to improve or create . Newbies just make a mess of things when they do this .. So it is discouraged .

As a example Mike Gilbert created blue wheaten bantams by crossing blue and wheaten . This can take 5 or more generations of breeding back to wheaten to get a good blue wheaten . Not a quick process . Newbies are always asking if they create blue wheaten this way . No not in the first cross . Why reinvent something that exists .

I believe in color families . These can be crossed with no problems . The black family includes black , blue ,splash , white if based on black , lavender , cuckoo and lavender cuckoo . Blue and lavender should not be bred together and barring should not be added to white .

Wheaten family is wheaten , blue wheaten , splash wheaten . Wheaten is some times used on buff but it is a long process to get back to good buff .

 

[scflock]

Love the blacks from Redden's lines, unfortunately the 2 pullets I was growing out were in the neighbor dog massacre... luckily, this pullet I hatched out of eggs from @jerryse survived... am liking her a lot and can't wait to see what she throws in Spring...

That's right, it was a pullet.
Look at that fat little girl

Glad she turned out so nice . She has some Paul Smith bloodline in her . Plus several other well known bloodlines . Some of the blending I do when creating my own lines . So nice to get good feedback .

Are you breeding them for that size, or do mine still have some growing to do yet? Mine are straight from Paul, and they are the best birds I've ever had, but they aren't that beefy yet. I love that look. This is my first round with breeder quality birds, so I'm just glad to have a decent foundation to start with

 

[jerryse]

That's right, it was a pullet.
Look at that fat little girl

Are you breeding them for that size, or do mine still have some growing to do yet? Mine are straight from Paul, and they are the best birds I've ever had, but they aren't that beefy yet. I love that look. This is my first round with breeder quality birds, so I'm just glad to have a decent foundation to start with

I breed for good size but not all of them are that beefy . Working on it . Yours probably have some filling out to do . Paul has some of the best around .

 

[Ravynscroft]

That's right, it was a pullet.
Look at that fat little girl
Are you breeding them for that size, or do mine still have some growing to do yet? Mine are straight from Paul, and they are the best birds I've ever had, but they aren't that beefy yet. I love that look. This is my first round with breeder quality birds, so I'm just glad to have a decent foundation to start with

I did post a pic of a Redden cock too, but I don't have any from his line anymore... she is a solid young girl, lol... thanks...

I breed for good size but not all of them are that beefy . Working on it . Yours probably have some filling out to do . Paul has some of the best around .

Funny part about it is she came from the smallest egg in the batch...

 

[scflock]

I breed for good size but not all of them are that beefy . Working on it . Yours probably have some filling out to do . Paul has some of the best around .

I've noticed mine are still filling out, and I got a few exceptional ones in a straight run batch, but I love the shape of Ravyn's pullet. That's a gorgeous bird. Nice job

 

[samouw]

Several folks have copied this picture and I'm honored that he is attracting so much attention. Just to give credit where it is due, Clif Redden bred this beautiful black cockerel, along with the one that recently won Reserve Show Champion at HOTOPA in Fayetteville, AR.

He lives here at Sand Castles Farm and will be sharing those wonderful genetics with some nice Paul Smith and Clif Redden gals this coming spring.

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[Red Banks]

Some of my flock. They are all very young..... under six months.