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That makes me very happy!
I plan on breeding them, in hopes of getting a Splash Wheaten cockerel. I would eventually like to replace Claude with a SW boy. What do you think about using SW in the breeding pen as opposed to a BW? Are there any pros or cons, other than "canceling out" Wheaten chicks. Which I guess could be a pro or a con depending on how you feel about the color.
I've noticed some pictures that show a lot more color with this variety, lots more blue feathers or lots more black feathers, as opposed to how mine are more of the creamy Wheaten color. Does it state in the standard which is preferred?
I think I'll order more eggs from you next spring Jean, like I've said time and time before I was very happy with the hatch and now the resulting birds.
Jeremy....beautiful girls
. It seems so many are attracted to this breed initially because of the beauty of the males, but every time I see my girls, with their soft, creamy
coloring....I just think WOW! Absolutely my favorite poultry color. They appear uniform color at first glance, but have lots of subtle color going on...beiges, gingers, tans, and
very light browns, as your girls clearly show. Much more complex and interesting than white, black or buff, IMO. My girls dance around as if they know they look like
ethereal sprites.
Regarding the coloring....they go through so many metamorphosis from chick to adult. They start out as white/yellow solid color chicks, then seem to get so dark sometimes
that you think they are not coloring correctly. Then a month or so later, the color evens out and becomes more uniform. A post I read on the Ameraucana forum seemed to
indicate that a deeper (blue) undercoat on the pullets would help getting color in the tails. I've found that the girls I've had that looked to have perfect Wheaten coloring at several
months old matured into hens that have lighter than I'd like coloring as hens, while the ones with darker coloring have matured into a nice "wheaten" coloring that I prefer.
I'm just on my second generation, and still learning, and there is so little information on this variety. It is frustrating at times, as even some of the top breeders don't have websites with pictures,
or if they have pics, they do not show the birds very clearly.
The best info on this variety can be found at the Ameraucana Breeders website. If you run a search on Wheatens, you'll come up with lots of valuable posts, and checking out the
Photos section will give you an idea of ideal coloring.
About the sires....this is just my opinion and not anything I've read specifically about W/BW Ameraucanas, but have read about Marans and BLRW, two of my other projects.
To get the best blues, breed black to blue, at least occasionally, and have found that to be true regarding nice lacing in Blue Copper Marans. Splash bred to splash, according to
BLRW experts can dilute the coloring too much, and I would think after a time that Blue to Splash may as well. So I'm planning on keeping a Wheaten roo around, although the
BW roo's are so spectacular
.
I am so enamored of this breed that I've decided to keep two breeding pens, so I can keep a Wheaten roo (maybe 2, if they continue to get along) and a Blue Wheaten as well.
Awesome birds...beautiful coloring, nice blue eggs, friendly, but interesting (too much drama, sometimes
) ...what more could you want?
