Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

My splash is the most aggressive with the girls too. I've another one comming out of the grow out pen so this first guy will be going somewhere soon too. I'll miss him but not as much as his clownish brother I gave to another breeder. This guy I have, when he's not crowing, sings! I't a soothing kind of sound. Like when people roll thier RRRRRs and try to hum at the same time. I'll miss waking up to him.

On a different note. The Greek population of Ameraucan Wheatens took a dive. Now there is only 1. My cousin called me to tell me he killed the snake but saved the "prettiest girl". "She"is a sweet girl with light grey feathering - almost bluish! And I Love Her!". "SORRY CHARLIE!" I had to say. That's a splash Wheaten boy I hated to telll him. He thought it was a girl because it had a little comb and no wattles.. Well he'll have some EEs out of it and still show the blue eggs to the island. I'll be sending him more hatching eggs this August. Maybe he'll sing like the one I have here?
Darn! Of all the luck!

 

[stonecottagefarm]

This isn't really about purebred ameraucanas but I know someone will have an answer. I have two purebred ameraucanas plus random easter eggers as well as a buff orpington, cuckoo maran, and sussex. The wheaten ameraucana rooster mates with all of them. My husband wants to hatch eggs from all of them for easter eggers but we've been eating all the eggs besides the WA eggs.

He's convinced me to put all the eggs into the incubator this week. Can anyone tell me what kind of offsprings we will have and if they will all lay green eggs (obviously not blue)? Also, will they all look like easter egger ameraucanas since the the ameraucana gene is pretty strong?

TIA!

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
There is no telling what you are going to wind up with and there is no telling what the results will produce in the way of egg color either. You may get blue or some shade of blue, green or some shade of green, brown or some shade of brown, white and in some cases when the genetics and calcification process works just right with the blue and brown, you could get a rosey, pinkish, or purplish colored egg.

Here's something that may be helpful. I crossed a Blue Wheaten roo over a Welsummer hen in an attempt to get a dark green or olive egg. The results from that one mating was interesting, surprising, and even shocking. I had all kinds of things turn out but with regard to egg color, you might like to know that I had two identical looking pullets/hens that each laid different colored eggs. On the outside you couldn't tell them apart but one laid a brown egg with a rosey/burgandy tint to it and the other laid an olive egg.

Hope that helps.

God Bless,

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
I've made lots of EEs with my wheatens and I have never had one that didn't lay a greeen, blue, or olive egg, White-laying hens are most likely to give you blue-laying EEs. I really like the results- especailly when you use big hens like orps and cochins.
Most likely the pure wheaten chicks will be the only solid yelow ones at hatch, but other salmon/wheaten breeds can look identical. (faverolles, wheaten marans, etc ) If you want to be sure to know who is who- seperate the wheaten eggs out (like using the giant suet cages Crystalcreek showed us) and band the chicks before you put them all together.

 

[SteveH]

I think that when incubateing crosses and pure breds together, keeping the eggs seperated in "hatching pens" is a must. Sometimes, even though they shouldn't if the two parents are bred correctly, chicks will look like pure breds when they are not................... though it usually indicates you have a bird that's carrying genes it shouldn't be. That being said, I've hatched pure breds with one or two crossbreds and just paint marked the crossed chick's heads, as they hatched, with a bit of paint applied with a straw through a vent hole.................. but had I fallen asleep [and I very nearly did], I would have missed one of them.

I also know that sometimes you just have to work with what you have. However, my personal philosophy is that I don't use anything with a trait that would disqualify that individual from a show, regardless of its other qualities that might contribute to breeding a show winner; and also of the opinion that all Ameraucanas should be homozygous for blue eggs, pea combs, muffs/beard, white skin, and black or slate legs. Because I'm trying to develope a larger, meatier bird that lays blue or greenish blue eggs, with pea combs and muffs/beards, test breeding my Ameraucanas with yellow skinned, single combed birds is convenient for me. I was a little surprized at the number of Ameraucanas I was forced to pull from my Ameraucana pen because they produced yellow shanked males, single combs, or clean faces............................. and haven't even got to the point of checking egg color due to buffalo gnats killing my birds just as they reached breeding age. [Since I desire yellow skin on my crossbreds, Ameraucanas carrying that recessive can just go to that program.] I don't suppose I will succeed at eliminating all undesirable recessives from my Ameraucanas with the time and money I have to do it, and don't expect others to test breed their birds in an attempt to try, but figure that it will not hurt the breed if there's a line with more recessives bred out. LOL [I know that many dedicated breeders, with much more knowlege and experience than I, have worked to improove, and are still improoveing the breed; please do not be offended if you're one of those people................ I congratulate you on the successes and have a bit of understanding of the efforts of getting them.]

P.S. I have one blue Ameraucana hen and an EE left from the buffalo gnat disaster. Long after the 21 days clean time, and with not a male bird left here or within miles, they both produced haloed eggs after several that looked clean. They had been under show quality dark Cornish cockerals that had not been great at getting them fertile. I think I may understand how some recessives may get reintroduced.

 

[Christie Rhae]

So excited! I have been researching and planning for ages and today I am finally setting 24 wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucana eggs in my incubator! Denise from Paradise Found Farms has been so awesome and sent me these beautiful eggs. We used Express mail and she did an amazing packing job. I know it is a crazy long trip from Illinois to Hawaii for these poor little eggs but I sure hope some make it to hatch day!

Here is the great packing job...

And here they are...the eggs have been resting since yesterday and are now ready to get switched on and the incubation to begin! Of course this pic is making the eggs look all washed out... but they are beautiful in person!

 

[SteveH]

Quote:

[and she even used blue bubble wrap

] Best wishes for a great hatch!

 

[equine chick]

Good Luck.

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Keep the pictures comming Christie! Lets see your progress with your first hatch and flock of beautiful

Ameraucanas.

 

[equine chick]

This is a recent egg from one of my blacks. At first they were mint green, but today a definite blue.

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