Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[sssharon]

Wendy F
I was hoping Pearl was a pullet but I have seen him mate the hens several times so that hope is gone. He is actually 19 weeks old and he just hasn't crowed yet. I don't have plans of breeding chickens. I am only allowed so many and I'm over my limit. I'm going to increase my number when I have to renew my permit. I have plenty of room for more than I have which is eleven. I wanted to try to get some green or blue eggs in my egg basket and when I find out for sure what some of these birds I'm going to rehome them so I can get a EE hen perhaps a girlfriend for Pearl whom I expect is going to get a name change. Thought about Earl the Pearl. He's so funny. He and his bf he was hatched with have these little deals where they act like they are going to fight. I LMAO at them. Their feathers around their neck flare out and it's really comical. They never fight though. Just playing I think, I almost wonder if they aren't both cockerels and it's just to soon to tell. I had to rehome their brother Highstepper because he started crowing and I'm not allowed roos. He went to my daughters flock and is with another rooster that is the alpha roo and ironically he doesn't crow at all there. I really liked him.I will feel real bad if I have to rehome Pearl and my daughter doesn't want anymore. I like incubating eggs and know someone that I can buy a dozen assorted from and I think I'm going to do that. She has olive eggers and easter eggers and It's been so long I don't remember what the others are so It's already starting to get cold here so I will probably wait until next spring unless the bug hits me real bad. I really want some colored eggs. Sorry for pulling your ear so much. Sounds like you have yourself some real nice chickens. I bought my 8 year old gson at the time a polish white crested for his bday and he was so cute. He got ornery and they had to cull him eventually. He was being mean to the kids so bye bye Kingston! That was his name. Have fun with your birds!

 

[kschicks2013]

Here's my hen Beauty. She's great. Lays a beautiful light blue egg.

 

[ChickenLeg]

Still trying to figure out this breed. Any opinions of thees 2 roosters and would they be good for a breeding program?

Side pictures and back pictures please!

 

[bchomestead]

Do these young banty girls and roo have enough fluff to their muffs/beards to consider entering a show? The pullets haven't started laying yet. I'm also wondering if the roo is too long-legged. I haven't weighed them.

 

[samouw]

I am looking to start a breeding flock. I've looked at the ABC directory. I contacted a few of them last year and it seemed the directory was not all that accurate. I was hoping to find one that *actually* sells what I'm looking for...

I am in Aiken, SC (and listed on the Ameraucana Breeder's site) and have wheatens/blue wheatens. However, I won't have anything available until next spring.

 

[rainbowchick]

I am in Aiken, SC (and listed on the Ameraucana Breeder's site) and have wheatens/blue wheatens.  However, I won't have anything available until next spring.

It's looking like I may just start my flock in the spring. On the upside, I'll have plenty of time to build/upgrade my coop/run.....
I'm not only looking for correct type, but also good color of eggs. Where would you say your eggs typically fall on the color chart?

 

[jajeanpierre]

It's looking like I may just start my flock in the spring.

On the upside, I'll have plenty of time to build/upgrade my coop/run.....
I'm not only looking for correct type, but also good color of eggs. Where would you say your eggs typically fall on the color chart?

The Ameraucana Breeders Club egg chart is not anything like the Maran's egg chart. There is not scale showing the range from less desirable to most desirable. Maran eggs are easy to grade for color. I can't for the life of me figure out which color is the most desirable of the 46 different colors on the chart. I tend to prefer the colors that have the least amount of green in them.

 

[samouw]

It's looking like I may just start my flock in the spring.

On the upside, I'll have plenty of time to build/upgrade my coop/run.....
I'm not only looking for correct type, but also good color of eggs. Where would you say your eggs typically fall on the color chart?

I have never actually compared my egg color to what is on the color chart. For that matter, I haven't ordered a copy of the egg color chart.

I think the eggs out of most of my girls are a pretty nice blue color, though that is not my primary concern when deciding who to keep and who to cull. This year, after introducing some new stock last year, I experienced a loss of good beards and muffs, so that will be my focus for this next breeding season, along with the other challenges with the wheatens and blue wheatens. I have culled the suspected hens and the rooster that were responsible for the problem this year and am looking forward to my breeding season to see how well my breeding program is working.

You can see some of my birds, and some of their eggs, on my website, sandcastlesfarm.com.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Yesterday I lost a gorgeous splash pullet right at the point of lay. She was a really pretty bird with a lot of substance. A really nice bird. I don't know what happened. It was a cooler day than we have been having (in the mid 90s) but it was very humid. I turned on the mister at noon as I always do in the hot weather. (I have bantam Cochins as well and they DO NOT do heat.) I have misters set up along the Cochin pen and in the bushes for the free range flock. There are two areas where the free range flock can stand in the shade in the cool from the misters. I found her dead behind a piece of plywood I have propped on the west side of the Cochin pen to keep the sun out. The pens and the misters are under a grove of 25 foot oak trees.

My Ameraucana's have taken to climbing up into the trees and I often find them 15 or 20 feet up. They are too heavy to fly down and if they jump rather than climb down they land hard.

Normally I check them a few times in the afternoon--this year found one bird seriously overheated even with the misters on this year--but I was out all day.

I am so angry to lose that pullet. Maybe she died from overheating. Maybe she jumped out of a tree and broke an egg internally. Maybe it was something else. She was the picture of health and vitality the last time i saw her and then she is dead.

This happened two days after a fox took one of my backyard Silkie hens. The fox took the hen about 20 feet from my patio. Where were those useless roosters???? Didn't they read where the purpose of a rooster is to lay his life down for the hens???? The only reason they aren't in the freezer is so they could watch the little bantam backyard flock. Two useless roosters and the fox takes a hen. Grrrrrr.

 

[rainbowchick]

The Ameraucana Breeders Club egg chart is not anything like the Maran's egg chart.  There is not scale showing the range from less desirable to most desirable.  Maran eggs are easy to grade for color.  I can't for the life of me figure out which color is the most desirable of the 46 different colors on the chart.  I tend to prefer the colors that have the least amount of green in them.

Thanks for clarifying that. I hadn't seen any "desired color grade", but it is nice to know it's really just for reference. I personally prefer more on the blue/turquoise side, the brighter the better.