Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Ivywoods]

Quote:
I fall into the "do not feel experienced enough to be qualified to answer and lurk in the background trying to learn from the answers themselves."

I know which ones I prefer when they're laid, but can't say they're right or desirable. I've ordered egg color charts from ABC, but they haven't come yet and it's not something I'd go off of on screen.

I know the trivial stuff but I just haven't been doing it long enough to tell you ei. which variety feathers out the slowest, OR which variety needs the most work OR if its normal to get XYZ. I try to answer all the questions I can but I'm still pretty new to Ameraucanas going on 2 years. Chickens and ducks for 4 years.

I think this is exactly as it should be. The people who really know are willing to step up to the plate and answer questions. Those of us who are newbies learn from everyone. I would much rather have someone not answer or tell me they don't know the answer than to pretend they know it all based on little or no experience and give out faulty information.

This is a GREAT website.

 

[CRYSTALCREEK]

Some of the breeders who are members of ABC and have superb birds do not even visit this site. There are plenty of old-timers with a wealth of knowledge and information to share that aren't computer savy or even hooked up to the internet! I made the mistake of posting huge picture files to an email to a dear and helpful friend, not realizing that he only had dial-up and the simple task of trying to open the email locked up his whole computer! We are fortunate that there are a few long-time and experienced members right here on this thread who take the time to educate the rest of us and answer questions they have probably answered a hundred times before. It is not always reasonable to expect an immediate answer on a message board format, but, good things will come to those who are patient!

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
...Many do not feel experienced enough to be qualified to answer and lurk in the background trying to learn from the answers themselves.

Yep. That would be me.

 

[CRYSTALCREEK]

Me too.

 

[jdopler]

Hi, new to the thread, I am finding it difficult to get ameraucanas in colorado. The colorado thread seems to say that only EEs are out here now. And while I have found a few people I could order from, I don't think I can handle adding 25 new birds to my growing chicken population!

any one know of someone in colorado or perhaps a breeder I could order a few birds from?
Thanks!

 

[Ivywoods]

Hi Jdopler

I don't know anyone in Colorado. Generally it is really expensive to ship birds older than day olds. Is there someone you know closeby who would go in with you for an order of 25? There are several good breeders who ship day old chicks. Another option might be to order hatching eggs if you have the ability to incubate them. (Personally I'd rather order day old chicks as I've not had very good luck with shipped eggs.)

Wish you luck finding some.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Hi I wanted to join this thread and tell everyone how beautiful I think their birds are!

I saw these and fell in love but I am totally new to the breed. I am contemplating replacing my current layers with Ameraucanas. But I am a total newbie about the breed. So if I ask a stupid question please don't get mad.

I've done enough reading to understand the basic idea behind Ameraucana vs. EE... so these questions might be dumb but...


1. If you have a few different colored purebred Ameraucanas running around in the same pen and the are breeding and one of the babies doesn't fall under an Ameraucana color, does that make it an EE?


2. Can you get blue or splash or lavender Ameraucanas without getting black also?


3. How well do they lay?


Sorry again if dumb or redundant... it will take me a while to get through all 400 odd pages of this thread...

Thanks!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
No problem! Welcome to the thread, and to the breed!!

1. It won't make the offspring an EE, it will make them an Ameraucana that's "not bred to standard".

2. Lavender breeds true, you do not have to breed blacks in, the blacks are currently being used to improve certain aspects of the lavenders. Like egg color, size, type, and feather quality. If you breed only blue to splash birds, you will get only blue and splash. If you breed blue to blue, or blue to black, you will get black birds as well.

3. How well they lay depends on how they are bred. In general, exhibition poultry do not lay as prolifically as birds raised for production purposes (think hatchery EEs) though some private breeders selectively breed for higher egg production. In general, during a hens peak laying years, you can probably expect 4-ish eggs a week, some less, some more.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
Sorry Steve, don't feel neglected if we aren't able to respond immediately. Some members have full time jobs and families, too, in addition to their chicken interests, and catching up can be hard sometimes. Many do not feel experienced enough to be qualified to answer and lurk in the background trying to learn from the answers themselves.

I fall into the "do not feel experienced enough to be qualified to answer and lurk in the background trying to learn from the answers themselves."

I know which ones I prefer when they're laid, but can't say they're right or desirable. I've ordered egg color charts from ABC, but they haven't come yet and it's not something I'd go off of on screen.

Me too. Plus I don't have a big box of crayons around- the kids immediately scatter them thoughout the house, never to be in the box again......

 

[chics in the sun]

Okay, folks, yesterday I tried to educate our pet store that the chicks they are selling as "Ameraucana" are NOT. I bought three chicks last year (I posted this a while back when I was trying to figure out what I had gotten), and the yellow "Ameraucana" chick turned into a White Leghorn. I stopped by the same store yesterday when I noticed that they had a sign up for baby chicks. Sure enough, same claim - they have the brooder labled, "Ameraucana", "Barred Rock", and "Rhode Island" (which mine is actually a production red), so I called the clerk over. I told her I had purchased chicks from them last year, and the yellow ones are not Ameraucana (they aren't even EE's!!!). She got agitated and waved her hand at the sign, and said, - "yeah, see, it says that" Sure enough, in a much smaller little dark colored lable "white leghorn". So I said, "but NONE of the chicks in here are Ameraucana. You can tell by their leg color" She muttered something about selling out or the order not coming in. The chicks looked no more than a day or two old. YEAH RIGHT!!!

To top it off, I asked for a few pounds of chic starter crumbles, as I was mixing it in with Manna pro feed to see if I could switch my birds over, and wanted to do it gradually. They are the only place that sells it in bulk. AND THEY DIDN"T HAVE ANY!! What are they feeding the chicks?!! I told the woman who appeared to be more of a manager type that chicks should not eat layer feed. She seemed to know this, and I certainly hope she is planning on going up to the real feed store to purchase some. What are they going to sell the people that buy chicks? They also had one lone peking duckling in there.

I wasn't even going to try educating them on the "EE"/ "Ameraucana" thing. The sign said they had gotten them from Ideal.