Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Sylvester017]

That's awesome. We have a pallet that we will try and do something with and I'm browsing craigslist for free stuff. Hopefully a nice doghouse.

My neighborhood is always having yard sales and we picked up a used but very large doghouse for $10. We barely got it into the Jeep it was so large - the thing would've cost us way over $100 new! Our friends have contributed free a couple of their old large doghouses. We got a 4th nice doghouse from a local thrift store for a 1/3 of its new cost. There are deals and freebies out there - make a game out of having your kids look for yard sales as you're driving. I picked up someone's free throw-away lumber pieces on trash day. A furniture mfg friend of ours brought us some lumber scraps from his workplace. For 5 years I haven't been picky about yard aesthetics regarding my backyard hens because I wanted them to be safe first and look "pretty" last. Now that we've leveled the yard and put up a new fence we can finally think about yard aesthetics for the first time but I'll still be bringing out those 4 recycled doghouses again to place around the yard because the hens love to hide/snooze in them.

 

[marchick]

I hatched last winter too... sucks having them inside... this winter we got a double walled insulated vinyl shed for brooding...

I have 12 BCM chicks that are out in a house that will be 7 weeks old next week. Then I will take the ones in my kitchen and put them together. I hope that will work!

 

[Ravynscroft]

I have 12 BCM chicks that are out in a house that will be 7 weeks old next week. Then I will take the ones in my kitchen and put them together. I hope that will work!

Keep them divided with chicken wire or something first that they can see each other but not reach... they'll need to get to know each other first or the big ones will pick on the littles... and be careful...

 

[Sylvester017]

I have 12 BCM chicks that are out in a house that will be 7 weeks old next week. Then I will take the ones in my kitchen and put them together. I hope that will work!

Do you have luck keeping Marans with Ameraucanas? We had to re-home our Marans because she was such a bully. She was ok as a pullet and then turned mean as an adult toward the gentler breeds. Our friends re-homed their BCMs too because of aggressiveness in a 15-hen flock of egg layer breeds.

 

[yummychocolate3]

I only have these two Ameracaunas Hens (3 & 4 yrs old pic below) that were given to me (come to find out they are really EE's). The golden one always bullied/pecked new juveniles or adults coming in, the white hen not as much. My husband wants to cull these ladies next spring if they don't lay..I don't know how they were raised before hand. I'm starting with a whole new juvenile flock so hopefully they'll be laying next spring. I go into their coop every night and visit with them for 30-60 mins. I have 4 chicks (14dys old currently) that I hold & play with each night for 30 mins. I've noticed the more time I spend with them, seems like they get along better. Last wknd it snowed and they were all together under the trees. Also, I don't separate them...they all live/sleep/eat together from 7-8 wks on. I picked up a pure Blue/Black Ameracauna rooster yesterday.. so now I have to get a new pullet/chick...and then make my own Olive egger

White hen lays lg light green & golden hen lays xl avocado green eggs.

all but 3 of my pullets out here together...

 

[marchick]

Do you have luck keeping Marans with Ameraucanas? We had to re-home our Marans because she was such a bully. She was ok as a pullet and then turned mean as an adult toward the gentler breeds. Our friends re-homed their BCMs too because of aggressiveness in a 15-hen flock of egg layer breeds.

Right now I have 3 BCM,2 sapphire and 14 ameraucanas all in one large house with a large run and they get along good.I also have 2 Royal Palm and three Narragansett Turkeys in with them. No problems they all grew up together though. I don't know why but my hens always pluck the feathers out of the main roosters beard. They don't pluck any other feathers! They just groom his beard. Before I found homes for all my other chickens. They did the same! This batch had never been with the other ones to learn from them!

 

[marchick]

Keep them divided with chicken wire or something first that they can see each other but not reach... they'll need to get to know each other first or the big ones will pick on the littles... and be careful...

I will start them in a rabbit cage and put them right under the light first. Then bring them in at night!

 

[junebuggena]

White hen lays lg light green & golden hen lays xl avocado green eggs.

Those are pretty Easter Eggers.

 

[Miss Ameraucana]

I hatched last winter too... sucks having them inside... this winter we got a double walled insulated vinyl shed for brooding...

RavynFallen; I have a question for you. My two EE PULLETS(yes they were supposed to be AMS) that I bought from Orscheln's are 3 months old now.They have been inside at night and out in a cage in the run with the flock during the day..I have had them on mediacted chick food to try to build up their immunity. I don't have a grow out pen so we have been wanting to get them out of the house but I am afraid that they will succumb to coccydiosis, or the temp changes. I have been waiting til it hits 40 to take them out each day. I just mixed in all flock feed for my layers for the Winter. Do u think they would do fine if I go ahead and let them live with the flock? As far as my other birds r concerned they have been in their little cage inside the run for so long they don't even look twice at them anymore. And should I just start feeding the medicated food to the whole flock mixed in so these guys can get more immunity built up? Any advice is very much apprechiated! We live in KS. Its flat..lol! And our property has no trees except for the woods that ecircle our 2 Acres so they can't free range or it would be feeding a chicken a day or more... to all the hawks.. any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated!

 

[carcar80]

RavynFallen; I have a question for you. My two EE PULLETS(yes they were supposed to be AMS) that I bought from Orscheln's are 3 months old now.They have been inside at night and out in a cage in the run with the flock during the day..I have had them on mediacted chick food to try to build up their immunity. I don't have a grow out pen so we have been wanting to get them out of the house but I am afraid that they will succumb to coccydiosis, or the temp changes. I have been waiting til it hits 40 to take them out each day. I just mixed in all flock feed for my layers for the Winter. Do u think they would do fine if I go ahead and let them live with the flock? As far as my other birds r concerned they have been in their little cage inside the run for so long they don't even look twice at them anymore. And should I just start feeding the medicated food to the whole flock mixed in so these guys can get more immunity built up? Any advice is very much apprechiated! We live in KS. Its flat..lol! And our property has no trees except for the woods that ecircle our 2 Acres so they can't free range or it would be feeding a chicken a day or more... to all the hawks.. any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated!

Not sure of the size difference from your adults, but one thing I have done is to take a big dog kennel (what you've been using for them may work) and cover the door with cardboard.. Cut a hole just big enough for the smaller birds to fit but not the older ones. Then put whatever feed you want the younguns eating inside there. Then you can either raise your adult feed to where the babies can't reach, or leave it and they can have free choice. I've done both with no ill effects.

Hope that all makes sense. Good luck!