Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Alaskan]

I picked up a pair last fall trying to start a small pin of wheatens. But cant say I have the space to breed them toward quality with all the other birds I have around here. Are there many ameraucana breeders up in Alaska?

A few, I think I am the only with wheaten bantam.

 

[ChickenLeg]

A few, I think I am the only with wheaten bantam.

Nice, I raised them in the past, they seem to be a pretty variety but i had to hatch out a good amount to get good colored keepers.

 

[Alaskan]

It is interesting how even a good colored pair will hatch out a bunch of duds.

Definitely a difficult color.

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

Hello all! Jumping in here, as I have recently started breeding Ameraucanas (blue, black and splash specifically). I found this thread and see it’s not super active, but I’d love to open a dialogue about the beginning of my journey and where I’m heading. I would like to focus on blue and black while not kind of diminishing the colors of both by trying to focus on too much at once. I am thinking of having a pen with a black rooster if one of my growouts ends up being nice enough and then running him with mostly black hens and maybe a couple splashes so produce nice blues if I end up having splashes that have good lacing genes. I already have a blue Cockerel (almost rooster, he’s 10 or 11 months) and I have a blue and a splash hen in with him. Would you bother growing out the chicks from him and the splashes offspring? I plan to grow out the ones from him and the blue hen. Am I wrong in my thinking that the blue color might be too light or not laced from the cross of blue x splash?
I just hatched out 11 BBS chicks from Paul Smith lines yesterday, and have 3 that I hatched out a few weeks ago from Gypsy Hen. And a couple black Ameraucana eggs set to hatch next week that are from a Paul Smith breeding trio that he sold to someone when he got out of breeding all colors except lavender. I’m looking forward to growing all these babies out. What are things you look for right away that would make you decide it’s a cull. Would love to hear what you all look for as they grow and take note of.
Anyone who read all of this, thanks for listening to my ramblings.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I set 36 eggs from my stock today. I'm interested in what peoples first impression culls would be based on too.

I think the obvious would be good beard/muffs, pea comb, deformities, crossbeak, etc. But I wonder if there's anything else telling.

 

[chickenmomma16]

Hello all! Jumping in here, as I have recently started breeding Ameraucanas (blue, black and splash specifically). I found this thread and see it’s not super active, but I’d love to open a dialogue about the beginning of my journey and where I’m heading. I would like to focus on blue and black while not kind of diminishing the colors of both by trying to focus on too much at once. I am thinking of having a pen with a black rooster if one of my growouts ends up being nice enough and then running him with mostly black hens and maybe a couple splashes so produce nice blues if I end up having splashes that have good lacing genes. I already have a blue Cockerel (almost rooster, he’s 10 or 11 months) and I have a blue and a splash hen in with him. Would you bother growing out the chicks from him and the splashes offspring? I plan to grow out the ones from him and the blue hen. Am I wrong in my thinking that the blue color might be too light or not laced from the cross of blue x splash?
I just hatched out 11 BBS chicks from Paul Smith lines yesterday, and have 3 that I hatched out a few weeks ago from Gypsy Hen. And a couple black Ameraucana eggs set to hatch next week that are from a Paul Smith breeding trio that he sold to someone when he got out of breeding all colors except lavender. I’m looking forward to growing all these babies out. What are things you look for right away that would make you decide it’s a cull. Would love to hear what you all look for as they grow and take note of.
Anyone who read all of this, thanks for listening to my ramblings. View attachment 2072982

Vigor is something I’ll be culling early for in 2020. I can’t say how to best breed your BBS but for my Wheatens, I will keep Splash Wheaten females if they have good type/color but I don’t bother growing any Splash Wheaten Males. Breeding Blue/Blue (or Blue Wheaten/Blue Wheaten) is supposed to be good for lacing. I’m not advanced enough to say that from experience, just what I have heard a few times. Whatever you do, have a good ID system in place and take good notes.


Happy Hatching in 2020!

 

[Alaskan]

I set 36 eggs from my stock today. I'm interested in what peoples first impression culls would be based on too.

I think the obvious would be good beard/muffs, pea comb, deformities, crossbeak, etc. But I wonder if there's anything else telling.

That is mine... just basics

Whatever you do, have a good ID system in place and take good notes.

That...golden... and harder to do in practice than in thought.

If you are good at bagging or covering with a basket the eggs in the incubator .... and can mark which eggs came from which girl... then the first year hatch all eggs that are a good size, and see what you get.

Record, analyze, then go from there.

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

Vigor is something I’ll be culling early for in 2020. I can’t say how to best breed your BBS but for my Wheatens, I will keep Splash Wheaten females if they have good type/color but I don’t bother growing any Splash Wheaten Males. Breeding Blue/Blue (or Blue Wheaten/Blue Wheaten) is supposed to be good for lacing. I’m not advanced enough to say that from experience, just what I have heard a few times. Whatever you do, have a good ID system in place and take good notes.


Happy Hatching in 2020!

Thanks for your response! Yes, culling for vigor makes sense. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on that. And I agree about the Splash males. I don’t plan on growing any out either. I really only want a black male this year, but I’m going to grow out the blue boys too just in case I find one nicer than my current boy. Or if I don’t end up with a nice enough black Cockerel, I’ll keep a second blue and really focus on the blues instead of trying to do blue and black.
As of now, I’ve been doing one color band on right leg to indicate blood line and then a different color on left legs to tell each chick apart from that bloodline. This method won’t work out when I start hatching more chicks in each color than I have rubber band colors.

Happy hatching to you as well!

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

That is mine... just basics



That...golden... and harder to do in practice than in thought.

If you are good at bagging or covering with a basket the eggs in the incubator .... and can mark which eggs came from which girl... then the first year hatch all eggs that are a good size, and see what you get.

Record, analyze, then go from there.

So if it were you, you’d grow out the blues from the blue x splash cross, not just the blue x blue? And yes working on honing in on an ID system that will workout long term.

 

[Alaskan]

So if it were you, you’d grow out the blues from the blue x splash cross, not just the blue x blue? And yes working on honing in on an ID system that will workout long term.

The first year I I would, so you could get a better idea of what genetics are in each bird.

But, it works best if you know who laid each egg.