Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Sylvester017]

Question: I have a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana 2 y/o and a friend has an EE about 2-3 y/o and both our girls have quit laying. Our other chickens are laying but my Amer and her EE have quit for many months now. Is the hot SoCalif climate not conducive for these pea-combed girls to lay eggs? My Amer is always panting and digging holes in wet soil to stay cool yet our Silkies are always laying no matter what the weather!

 

[jerryse]

Is this what my white guy is?

You have a Easter Egger . Yellow beak = yellow skin . Ameraucana do not have yellow beaks or yellow skin .

 

[scflock]

Here's a couple of current shot's of a blue and black. I think both of these are cockerels, and in my limited experience with peacombs, it looks to me like 10 or 11 of the 17 straight run are boys...

 

[MrsBachbach]

Here's a couple of current shot's of a blue and black. I think both of these are cockerels, and in my limited experience with peacombs, it looks to me like 10 or 11 of the 17 straight run are boys...

They both look blue to me and yes, they are both male.

 

[scflock]

They both look blue to me and yes, they are both male.

It's the lighting in the second pic. I am under a roof, and he is half in and half out of the shade. The reflection makes him look blue, but he is black

 

[DevilsDenHen]

Question:  I have a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana 2 y/o and a friend has an EE about 2-3 y/o and both our girls have quit laying.  Our other chickens are laying but my Amer and her EE have quit for many months now.  Is the hot SoCalif climate not conducive for these pea-combed girls to lay eggs?  My Amer is always panting and digging holes in wet soil to stay cool yet our Silkies are always laying no matter what the weather!

Mine seem to be oposite lol. my two wheaten ameraucana hens lay almost everyday so far this summer. And it's been terribly hot. Was 110 the other day. But my easter egger completely quit laying for last winter.

 

[Sylvester017]

Mine seem to be oposite lol. my two wheaten ameraucana hens lay almost everyday so far this summer. And it's been terribly hot. Was 110 the other day. But my easter egger completely quit laying for last winter.

My DH gave me the same shirt as your avatar photo!

My Blue Wheaten Am and our friend's EE were dynamo blue egg layers during their pullet year and then they pretty much slowed and stopped beginning their 2nd year. We came to the conclusion these muffed, very underdowny birds are too sensitive to climate changes. Our Silkies today and the Legs and Marans when we had those were not weather-sensitive. I may quit getting Amers in spite of their lovely temperaments if sporadic production is their routine. My very broody Silkies give me more eggs at 3 and 4 yrs old and here we have a B/W Amer that quit after her youthful 2nd year! We ae keeping her because she is a lovely kind flockmate but I certainly don't want to invest in any more "iffy" egg-layer Amers or even EEs for that matter. Convince me otherwise but our thinking is that our SoCalif humid hot weather year-round is not what these breeds want.

 

[msv92]

My silkies are about 4 months old. I believe they will be close to laying age in October. You mentioned weather limits some of the egg laying. Are silkies egg laying affected by colder weather. I live in central Illinois, and am new to the chicken thing. I may not see eggs for a while if they are affected by cooler weather. Thanks for your input.

 

[MrsBachbach]

My DH gave me the same shirt as your avatar photo!

My Blue Wheaten Am and our friend's EE were dynamo blue egg layers during their pullet year and then they pretty much slowed and stopped beginning their 2nd year. We came to the conclusion these muffed, very underdowny birds are too sensitive to climate changes. Our Silkies today and the Legs and Marans when we had those were not weather-sensitive. I may quit getting Amers in spite of their lovely temperaments if sporadic production is their routine. My very broody Silkies give me more eggs at 3 and 4 yrs old and here we have a B/W Amer that quit after her youthful 2nd year! We ae keeping her because she is a lovely kind flockmate but I certainly don't want to invest in any more "iffy" egg-layer Amers or even EEs for that matter. Convince me otherwise but our thinking is that our SoCalif humid hot weather year-round is not what these breeds want.

I thought SoCal had nice weather year round? With the exception of the last few years of real heat and drought.
Idk, we are pretty hot here in the summer and this year has been hot and very humid, and mine are laying fine. They pant too. I do spoil them a bit with fans for those that have to stay penned up. Helps with the humidity. Ameraucanas are not very heat tolerant though, that is true. They are more suited for cold weather, but 100 degrees shouldn't stop them from laying. It might slow them down. If it's 105 or more you can lose them, that puts stress on the bird.
Are they molting? I have had a couple already molt and start up again and I have some that are starting to molt now. Some birds molt slowly and don't drop a bunch of feathers all in a matter of a couple of weeks. Some do. Usually the ones that do it drastically and quicker do tend to be better layers than those that molt more slowly. So, maybe they are molting but not noticeably so? Or something is stressing them, sickness or change in the flock? If something is upsetting a bird (a move, a new adddition, a mean flockmate), they will stop their laying on a dime. Or, it could just be the line. I got into wheatens/bluewheatens a few years ago and I'm quite pleased with their laying habits. I find them better than the BBS, although they lay the larger eggs.

 

[MrsBachbach]

My silkies are about 4 months old. I believe they will be close to laying age in October. You mentioned weather limits some of the egg laying. Are silkies egg laying affected by colder weather. I live in central Illinois, and am new to the chicken thing. I may not see eggs for a while if they are affected by cooler weather. Thanks for your input.

It's actually the length of daylight hours(the light) that affect a birds output. Pullets that start up in the fall or early winter will keep on going their first year. After their first year and first molt, then the length of day starts affecting their production rates. Since winter is associated with the shortest days of the year, birds tend not to lay in the winter. When the days start lengthening in the spring, they start back up and usually keep going(unless they go broody) until they molt in the fall. After they get their new feathers grown, days are short again and birds tend to not lay, take their winter rest and break and start up again in the spring. Now, there are some know production egg laying breeds that lay much longer. They may only take off to only molt and then start back up again. Their production lifespan may be shorter though.
So, it's not the climate, but the daylight hours that tell a hen when to start laying and when to stop. Some people will get their birds started up in the winter by adding a small light (warm spectrum, not cool) on a timer in the coop to simulate spring time hours. In a few weeks the birds will start laying. However, some say this can shorten the birds egg laying lifespan as when they are hatched, they are already carrying the total amount of ova (potential eggs) for their lifespan. This numbers in the thousands, but most never make it to ovulation. Personally, I think the bird will die of some other cause or age before it runs out of ova.
Here is an informative article explaining it all.
http://www.extension.org/pages/65372/avian-reproductive-systemfemale#.VdanWpdG5-w
I found it interesting that a bird that lays it's egg after 3pm is likely not going to ovulate until the next day. So, you have an every other day layer in that case. If the bird lays earlier in the day, she will likely lay again the next day. Hmmm...I may have to get out a little earlier to tend to them. I noticed some of them like to wait on me for the feed before they start looking at the nest boxes.