Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[wpalmisano]

Quote:
Then it would be an Auracauna !, lol.

 

[ChicksterJo]

Thanks for the advice. Yes I do separate them during the day, but my problem is at night when I start putting the Ameraucanas up on the roost to sleep. I don't want them sleeping on the ground, and they don't like it either - they make terrible crying sounds if they don't go on the roost.

They are smaller than the other breeds I've had at this age, which makes it more difficult.

 

[aurorarose25]

So I got some chicks from Wayne Merideth and I am having problems knowing which ones to select for breeding & showing only. I have 3 BW roo babies that are gorgeous but what should I be looking for in colors combs? Is it true that you can tell a male by the 3 rows on its comb?

 

[Arizonachicken]

My Ameraucana chicks are almost 12 weeks old and I still keep them separated from my 2 full grown hens, except when they free range with the 2 hens. Today was the first day one of the larger hens did not try to chase one of the young ones.

I'm hoping to put them all in the coop/run together soon. They have all free ranged together for a little over a month now. The 4 little pullets all move around in a group and stay away from the larger two hens.

I really want to put them all together, but I think I'll wait a little longer. I just have a feeling the little ones will get pecked too much at this point. Anyone have any advise?

 

[ChicksterJo]

My three do that as well, Arizonachicken. But they will get the occasional peck, and sometimes those pecks look brutal.

I have done two integrations already, one with 2 chicks and another with 5. But this was when everyone was younger and no one was at the POL. I make sure to separate them until they get some size but this particular integration is just the worst. If yours get to free range then that takes some tension away during the day.

 

[cpartist]

Quote:
As bummed as I am, I am really glad that we can tell right away when they are chicks and that 'easter eggers' are... well, branded. If that makes sense. Some breeds, we don't know until they are older sometimes.

Have you asked the breeder about these? The solid black chick is most definitely suspect, but could just be a collecting mix up from another pen...
None of my original breeder Wheaties was great for tail color, but I hatched a few second gen that had the ! on the head. Some pullets I culled for hackle ticking,
but one had almost solid black in the tail and hackles with just a bit of bit of color. She threw chicks with a light chipmunk stripe. One of these offspring has almost
solid black tail and almost clean hackles. She looks great for size, beard and leg color... but her tail is not as spread and wide as some of the others. I am hatching her chicks and they are
showing darker back striping. These are my 4th gen and no doubt they are pure. I am thinking the head markings and striping are signs of a well tail colored W/BW..
I will know more in a few months, but I don't think you should assume your chicks are not pure Wheaties and they MAY turn out to be nice breeders. My early conclusion
is that the ones with some striping or head markings may end up with the best and correct tail color.

 

[Haunted Chicken]

Quote:
Then it would be an Auracauna !, lol.

lol, good one

 

[VioletBlueIvy]

Quote:
Hope they are roos and taste good? (oh, and that you have another roo that you can breed)

I shouldn't have said 'Hatchery' they came from Hodges Farms, they are definately true Ameraucanas. Well, mini ones anyway. Seriously, they are only a tad bigger than my almost week old EE's. They are at least three weeks. I ordered 6 Wheaten Marans, 2 Wheaten Am's and 4 Blue Am's. They shipped 13 chicks. 5 blue/black chicks, and the rest Wheaten Marans. They refunded for the Wheaten Am's. I looked on their website and didn't see any bantam Am's.

It sounds like "failure to thrive". It just happens sometimes. They might survive to be small birds, or they might not survive at all. I've never had an FTT bird grow to be full size.

I got some blue copper marans from them a year ago. I had some blue ams thrown in as extras, none of them lived past 2 months. The marans did amazing though and they were all brooded together.

Well, I took some pics of them.
The two normal sized ones.

#1

#2

Closeup of crossbeak,poor little one.

One of these next to one of the small ones.

And the little ones, smallest first
#3

#4

#5

#3 & #4 were smaller than the others on arrival, and have grown at the same rate as the others. They seem perfectly fine other than their size. They were getting TRAMPLED by the Marans though, we had to seperate them. These two are in the brooder with the EE's I hatched last week.
I am wondering if #3 is even a blue? It is lighter than the other two and has more patterning on the wing feathers. The two black ones look different than the black one I hatched earlier this year.
What do you think?​

 

[Goose and Fig]

How long have you had the chicks? Hodge's does ship birds that are different ages in the same order.

 

[VioletBlueIvy]

Three weeks today. They are all sort of graduated, that would make sense, and that was my first thought, but I didn't see them until two weeks after we got them. If you dont take size into account, the larger have less down, so maybe that is all it is!!!I m glad you noticed that to, It makes me feel better...
My biggest concern is the crossbeak and whether it is something that occurs with the blue Ameraucanas, something that just happens occasionally in any breed, or is it because of inbreeding? It just seems like quite a coincidence I ended up with two oddballs of the same variety, different breeders, and it's not like I am dealing with a hundred chicks here, and would expect to see things pop up. I only have 7!