Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Miss Ameraucana]

Those are my Smith birds. The beards and muffs are amazing.

I noticed his face too! Ameraucanas just do have beautiful faces with their little muffs and beards! Who couldnt love a face like that?!

 

[Red Banks]

Alright, here she is... had to get a new pic since she just started laying, lol... she has the gorgeous green sheen over her entire body too... out of @jerryse stock and I am proud to have her...



And her pretty egg she was so proud to lay, lol...

She is so pretty! Black are my favorite!

 

[scflock]

She is so pretty!  Black are my favorite!

I just love the size of that fat little girl

 

[jerryse]

Ok here is a story about breeding choices . For those of you who want to learn . True story . I will withold breeder names and color variety . Started with bloodline A . Found it to have good type but lacking size . Added bloodline B known for size . Added line C . Found line C rooster needed vent trimmed for good fertility . Did not like that . Added line D to limit fluff . All good show lines from well know breeders . Added line E from really good show line . Really liked the resulting birds . Thought why not increase percentage of line E . So bred A line E rooster back to these pullets . Raised these and they were very good . Found out they were very prone to go broody . Did not like this . So now back to using some of the less broody lines to limit this .
Breeding is a balanacing act . Trying for the perfect mix of traits . Each breeder will have his own priorities . What does not seem a big to one breeder may be a bigger deal to another .

 

[scflock]

   Ok here is a story about breeding choices . For those of you who want to learn . True story . I will withold breeder names and color variety . Started with bloodline A . Found it to have good type but lacking size . Added bloodline B known for size . Added line C .  Found line C rooster needed vent trimmed for good fertility . Did not like that . Added line D to limit fluff . All good show lines from well know breeders . Added line E from really good show line . Really liked the resulting birds . Thought why not increase percentage of line E . So bred A line E rooster back to these pullets . Raised these and they were very good . Found out they were very prone to go broody . Did not like this . So now back to using some of the less broody lines to limit this .
 Breeding is a balanacing act . Trying for the perfect mix of traits . Each breeder will have his own priorities . What does not seem a big to one breeder may be a bigger deal to another .

I appreciate that story Jerry, and at this point I don't see myself getting quite that deep into it. For someone that does this as a hobby, and has a decent start, wouldn't it be better to try to just work with what I have, learn how to recognize the best of the offspring, and just work one line? I will never show, and most of my chicks will be sold as backyard flocks, but at the same time I want to have good birds. How long can I line breed before that becomes a problem, and what should I watch for?

 

[MrsBachbach]

I appreciate that story Jerry, and at this point I don't see myself getting quite that deep into it. For someone that does this as a hobby, and has a decent start, wouldn't it be better to try to just work with what I have, learn how to recognize the best of the offspring, and just work one line? I will never show, and most of my chicks will be sold as backyard flocks, but at the same time I want to have good birds. How long can I line breed before that becomes a problem, and what should I watch for?

I keep several cockerels to avoid close breeding, but poor layers are sometimes a result, low fertility, small eggs to name a few.

 

[scflock]

I keep several cockerels to avoid close breeding, but poor layers are sometimes a result, low fertility, small eggs to name a few.

Thanks. As I learn with these birds, hopefully I will learn the traits that I want to bring in when I start looking for new blood

 

[jerryse]

I appreciate that story Jerry, and at this point I don't see myself getting quite that deep into it. For someone that does this as a hobby, and has a decent start, wouldn't it be better to try to just work with what I have, learn how to recognize the best of the offspring, and just work one line? I will never show, and most of my chicks will be sold as backyard flocks, but at the same time I want to have good birds. How long can I line breed before that becomes a problem, and what should I watch for?

Start where you are with what you have was the title of a book by Ralph Sturgeon . Good advise then and now .

Poor fertility , poor hatchabilty and poor laying are signs I look for .

New blood is not always so new . Many bloodlines will trace back to a common source . So they are really cousins . Enough varation to perk up a bloodline .

 

[bruceha2000]

Always better to be a little over cautious

but really they are far more tough than we realize. If you want, you can fix them a little corner with a wind block (if needed) to make you feel better, but in reality they'll probably pick a spot you don't like and pile up there and "purr" all night happily.

The wind block (if needed) is a great idea. They should never have wind blowing over them where they sleep. The coop needs to be ventilated to keep the humidity and ammonia down but the birds themselves shouldn't be

 

[marchick]

No, no, that leaky blue is getting some BCM hens to make olive eggers. I'm just going to keep an eye on the offspring of the other 2 roosters that came with him.
I think my splash is the best looking rooster, anyway, but I know absolutely nothing. Ravyn likes my black ,but Ravyn always likes the black birds

They are still filling out, and I am very happy with how they all look. I just started getting my first few eggs, so I hope to be incubating by January

Here is the leaky blue:

At what age did the leakage start to show? Could you see it as a chick? One of my 4 week old BCM chicks had a copper spot on her neck at hatch.She will be culled.