Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[buddy phoenix]

Curious when I start gettin a good hatch rate is it better to sell eggs or chicks? New to this any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated

 

[scflock]

Curious when I start gettin a good hatch rate is it better to sell eggs or chicks? New to this any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated

My best profit is if I can sell day old chicks. Pullets sell high, but they rarely last long enough for me to sex. I'll be honest, I'm too selfish to sell my own eggs locally. I'm not wild about a local with an incubator competing with me with my own chicks
ETA: let me explain that statement. If someone buys chicks, raises them, breeds them, then sells those offspring I have absolutely no problem with that. I have sold eggs twice, to people that claimed they just wanted some eggs for a broody, and I saw those chicks advertised on Craigslist a week before they were due to hatch. That put a bad taste in my mouth, and I don't sell eggs any more. I sell the extras as eating eggs to my egg customers

 

[scflock]

Lol. Oh dear. Well, if you insist.

I took a quad of blacks to the Sandlappers poultry Breeders Association show today.
This hen, from Paul Smith, took CH AOSB in the first show.

This hen, from Clif Redden, took CH AOSB in the second show.

And my cockbird, also from Clif, took Reserve Breed, in the first show.

That breeding pen, with 4 birds, has one CH LF, one Reserve CH LF, six CH AOSB, two Reserve CH AOSB, one district CH Ameraucana, six best of breeds, two Reserve best of breeds. This is from three double shows since last October.

I can't wait to see the chicks from that pen!

(Is that better, @scflock ) lol

Hey Susan, that's the second Redden hen I've seen that looks "beefy". Is that typical of Cliff's birds? Seem like that would be a good mix for the sleek look of Paul's birds

 

[FowlStuff]

My best profit is if I can sell day old chicks. Pullets sell high, but they rarely last long enough for me to sex. I'll be honest, I'm too selfish to sell my own eggs locally. I'm not wild about a local with an incubator competing with me with my own chicks
ETA: let me explain that statement. If someone buys chicks, raises them, breeds them, then sells those offspring I have absolutely no problem with that. I have sold eggs twice, to people that claimed they just wanted some eggs for a broody, and I saw those chicks advertised on Craigslist a week before they were due to hatch. That put a bad taste in my mouth, and I don't sell eggs any more. I sell the extras as eating eggs to my egg customers

Just to make sure someone isn't trying to profit from your breeding programs by buying your eggs for the table and hatching them it is a good idea to put a cock of another breed and/or variety over the hens. I don't sell any eggs, but this is something I also do before selling laying hens locally after each breeding season. If the buyer hatches those first eggs they will get Easter Egger chicks. This is not to be mean...if they want top quality chicks from me they should place an order and pay for them like honest people do.

 

[FowlStuff]

Curious when I start gettin a good hatch rate is it better to sell eggs or chicks? New to this any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated

When asked for hatching eggs, my answer is fairly short saying I don't offer them followed by I do offer day-old chicks. Seldom does anyone ask for the details as to why I don't sell the eggs, although I have it on the FAQ page of my Fowl Stuff site.

, available on the Home page of the Ameraucana website. Ameraucana Alliance members may also post want ads for Ameraucana eggs and chickens on the...Keep in mind many others don’t sell hatching eggs for the same reason I don’t. Buying day-old chicks is far less risky for both the seller and the buyer.

There can be problems with day-old chicks too, but those problems arise in transit and neither I or the customer can be blamed (normally).

 

[dstokely]

Hey Susan, that's the second Redden hen I've seen that looks "beefy". Is that typical of Cliff's birds? Seem like that would be a good mix for the sleek look of Paul's birds

I have two black hens from PSmith, one is beefy and the other is sleek as you call it. Not sure which one I think is prettier and trying to figure out which one I am going to put with the Lav roo and hen.

 

[FowlStuff]

Crests are dominant or at least partially dominant... As in you can only get crests if at least one or both of the parents had crests...

It was at one of the 10,000+ bird APA/ABA joint National Meets in in Ohio that the late judge Earl Jones gave me the idea of crossing a buff laced Polish with my buff Ameraucanas to darken the shanks. He was going to try the same cross. Anyway it helped and that is when stubs started showing up on LF buff Ameraucanas. The lacing wasn't a problem and the crests were gone by the F2 generation. The combs took years to get back to look like a good pea comb.

 

[samouw]

Hey Susan, that's the second Redden hen I've seen that looks "beefy". Is that typical of Cliff's birds? Seem like that would be a good mix for the sleek look of Paul's birds

Well, in the ones that I have gotten, my hens from Clif have a bit more substance than the Paul Smith hens. Since they are all eating the same diet, I don't think it is that. All four of my Paul Smith hens are just a tad under the weight limit (within the allowance, but under the standard) and I'm hoping that the two big boys from Clif (one is 6lbs, the other just a tad over) will put some size on those girls and even out the size across my breeding program for blacks.

The second cockerel that Clif sent - the one that went CH LF and Res CH LF in December, was chosen by him because I told him I needed something that would put size on.

 

[mirandaleecon]

It could be nutritional. Make sure breeders are given supplemental vit/min mix in their water several weeks prior to collecting hatching eggs. Chicks may benefit also from water supplements for first few weeks after hatch. Feeds can sometimes be lacking due to long or improper storage or just not getting put in.

Editing to add that nutritional deficiencies can be responsible for many hatching problems and early chick problems. Death of chick in shell, unabsorbed yolk, curled toe paralysis, splayed legs, parrot beak, star gazers, perosis can all be caused by vitamin/mineral deficiencies of breeder or chick. Something to consider.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p..._poultry/mineral_deficiencies_in_poultry.html

This could be entirely possible, although I got these chicks from a reputable breeder and I have a pretty good feeling that they take the nutrition of their birds seriously. Could have been a fluke though, who knows...

I did check them all over this weekend and out of 25, three of them have crossbeak. Two of those are siblings, and there was only one other chick in the batch that was also their sibling. I won't breed that one, even if it doesn't have crossbeak now, I don't want to take the chance that it's in the genetics, especially since 2 out of 3 siblings have it. The third one that had crossbeak had no siblings in the whole batch. So, out of 25, I will only end up culling 4. And the breeders offered a refund, which is pretty awesome.

I feel a lot better now. Still sucks and we did end up culling one that was severe. Luckily I have an amazing boyfriend who will do the unpleasant stuff for me. We will let the other two grow up until it seems like there is any possibility of suffering, or they are up to eating size. One of them is actually bigger than most of the other chicks so I'm pretty sure it is not having any trouble eating at all.

 

[FowlStuff]

Got a McMurray catalog in the mail last week. I know most have seen the ad, but they get out of it by saying "Our ameraucanas are not for show".

FYI, Cackle Hatchery is now offering LF black Ameraucana chicks. They bought chicks from me to start their flock.