Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[daxigait]

What is a good breeder source for really blue egg Ameraucana's?

 

[daxigait]

@SarisCongratulations! When did yours hatch? I am waiting on my 4/2 pullet.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Birds with a full muff and beard have two copies of the gene. Sparse muff and beard have one copy of the gene. Clean faced birds have no gene.

mmbb X mmbb = 100% offspring with full muff and beard

mmbb X mb = 50% full muff and beard, and 50% with small muff and beard

mb X mb = 50% small muff and beard, 25% full muff and beard, 25% clean faced

None X mb = 100% small muff and beard

Some are obvious but others aren't. You just can't go off of full muff and beard being two copies. I can understand sparse being one copy though. Look at this one:



I would have never thought she was single copy, but she was. She was also much too nice to cull and I have produced some nice two copy chicks with her regardless. It's all about mating, hatching and culling.

 

[MrsBachbach]

18 week old pullet, pink tag.
pros??? cons??? thanks.

Needs to mature more to tell the truth. Especially in tail. Can't tell alot by one sided shot. I am wondering if they are single copy on muff/beard though.

 

[Saris]

@SarisCongratulations! When did yours hatch? I am waiting on my 4/2 pullet.

Sage hatched 3/27.

 

[OnceInaBlueMoon]

Some are obvious but others aren't. You just can't go off of full muff and beard being two copies. I can understand sparse being one copy though. Look at this one: I would have never thought she was single copy, but she was. She was also much too nice to cull and I have produced some nice two copy chicks with her regardless. It's all about mating, hatching and culling.

Pretty bird. I agree that some single copies are more "obvious" than others.

I still prefer to not breed in any with a single copy unless there is no way around it. That's one reason I hatch and keep so many. I guess it's a way to save myself a headache later on. Of course, I'm sure there will always be something headache worthy that pops up from time to time...whether it be beardless birds, leakage, bad type, feather quality....whatever it may be. People that expect to breed a perfect bird 100% of the time are in for a rude awakening. Lol! I keep most of my birds for 6-8 months unless they have obvious faults. I have a slew of teenage boys at the barn right now.

Getting closer to narrowing them down. Hoping to within the next 4 weeks!!!

 

[MrsBachbach]

Can't the single comb (since it's recessive) be a throw back from the introduction of another color, like when chocolate or lavender was introduced. I've also heard that someone somewhere brought in sumatras at one point to improve the blue edging in Ameraucanas. Isn't it just a DQ fault if all the other parts of the bird fit the SOP?

ETA: Like if an Ameraucana has brown eyes, it's not in the SOP but it doesn't turn an Ameraucana into an EE if it's eyes are brown. You just wouldn't breed those birds.

When creating a new variety or adding outside breeds to improve on or create something, in my mind, you are mixing breeds. If a single comb pops up in an Ameraucana it's not just a throwback, it just was not thoroughly eliminated from the breeding line and shows there was some mixing somewhere in the line. Both parents would have to be carrying it for it to even show up. Recessive is more difficult to eliminate, that is true. You would not want to use a bird showing a single comb in your breeding program and call it Ameraucana. It would have to be eliminated somewhere down the line. It's a little different than using a bird without the beard/muff gene because in that instance you are adding a dominate gene without having to eliminate a recessive one, imo.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Pretty bird. I agree that some single copies are more "obvious" than others.

I still prefer to not breed in any with a single copy unless there is no way around it. That's one reason I hatch and keep so many. I guess it's a way to save myself a headache later on. Of course, I'm sure there will always be something headache worthy that pops up from time to time...whether it be beardless birds, leakage, bad type, feather quality....whatever it may be. People that expect to breed a perfect bird 100% of the time are in for a rude awakening. Lol! I keep most of my birds for 6-8 months unless they have obvious faults. I have a slew of teenage boys at the barn right now.

Getting closer to narrowing them down. Hoping to within the next 4 weeks!!!

That's the truth!

 

[Saris]

OH, SO PRETTY!!! Lovely egg too. Congratulations.

Thanks!!!

 

[samouw]

WOOOOOO My splash Ameraucana Sage has laid her first egg!!!

That is a lovely splash pullet!