Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[BarnGoddess01]

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That's what I'm sayin'. My Buff pair from you - Natta. Now, the Buff male x Wheaten females from someone else - Feathers. Full on feathers.

Feathers on an Ameraucana and yet half the Marans I hatched were clean legged. The joys of breeding/hatching!!

 

[SteveH]

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Any speculation as to what is in your birds is just really only that..speculation. You could go many breeding seasons and not see what the birds are really carrying. I had feathers show up on the shanks of a white leghorn pullet this year. I have a closed flock and trust me no birds are jumping fences here. In 30 years I have never seen feathers on the legs of these birds and here it is. These are not sparse feathers either, these are a row of feathers on each shank. I will try to find the pics that I took with my phone.

Walt

Here is the pic of my leghorn pullet. It finally arrived from my phone....don't know why it took so long.
This is from a closed flock that I have never seen a stub in during at least 30 years of breeding these. I culled the parents and the offspring...don't know how this happened, but all my pens have tops on them and other than the leg feathering, this was a good looking pullet.

To be a serious breeder you have to insure that there are no "mistakes". No male should be somewhere it should not be.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66947_131731917295074.jpg

Walt

I might not have culled the parents without further breeding of them to see if it happened again

but I applaud you for doing so.

Most accept many theories as facts, and in chicken genetics any breeding results that fail to support a widely accepted theory are often either explained away by a mistake as to who a parent was, or a mutation. I believe it's possible that many so called mutations that occur at a relative frequency [frizzle feathers and feathered legs come to mind in birds] are a result of a so called dominate gene carried by some, possibly even most or all members of that species or family, that are normally accompanied by a gene that serves as an off-switch to keep the dominate gene from being expressed. If the suppressing gene is lost or damaged in the exchange of DNA, the so called dominate gene is expressed and it's then claimed a new gene has appeared.

I wouldn't be very surprized by a feather legged chick appearing in a line that expressed down between the toes; nor a frizzled chick appearing from a line that expressed an occassional curled or twisted feather.............................. which is why I'm so prejudiced against pulling those feathers for show or sale, or breeding them and selling their offspring to an unsuspecting person.

 

[fowlman01]

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Here is the pic of my leghorn pullet. It finally arrived from my phone....don't know why it took so long.
This is from a closed flock that I have never seen a stub in during at least 30 years of breeding these. I culled the parents and the offspring...don't know how this happened, but all my pens have tops on them and other than the leg feathering, this was a good looking pullet.

To be a serious breeder you have to insure that there are no "mistakes". No male should be somewhere it should not be.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/66947_131731917295074.jpg

Walt

I might not have culled the parents without further breeding of them to see if it happened again

but I applaud you for doing so.

Most accept many theories as facts, and in chicken genetics any breeding results that fail to support a widely accepted theory are often either explained away by a mistake as to who a parent was, or a mutation. I believe it's possible that many so called mutations that occur at a relative frequency [frizzle feathers and feathered legs come to mind in birds] are a result of a so called dominate gene carried by some, possibly even most or all members of that species or family, that are normally accompanied by a gene that serves as an off-switch to keep the dominate gene from being expressed. If the suppressing gene is lost or damaged in the exchange of DNA, the so called dominate gene is expressed and it's then claimed a new gene has appeared.

I wouldn't be very surprized by a feather legged chick appearing in a line that expressed down between the toes; nor a frizzled chick appearing from a line that expressed an occassional curled or twisted feather.............................. which is why I'm so prejudiced against pulling those feathers for show or sale, or breeding them and selling their offspring to an unsuspecting person.

I agree with your post......Like the switch notion too....sounds very possible. I'm just saying to the folks here......don't believe everything you read. Geneticists don't always agree either, another clue that it is not precise when applied to chickens.
If we knew what was really in these chickens we could use most of the genetic rules. If I only had a few birds I couldn't be this ruthless in culling, but I have a 100 or so I can be heavy handed. That was a male mating that produced some very good males, but I have two more others that are about the same..I just have to be ruthless in culling. It has always payed off in the long run.

Walt

 

[chicken stalker]

So the lavender hen's photo shoot for Vogue magazine is next week, besides a bath what else should I do to make her look her best.....I've never shown before so I'm not sure.....

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I'm so sad!

The other day I was browsing craigslist and found someone (turned out to be a BYC'er) selling some Blue, Black, and Buff Ameraucana pullets for only $6.00 each!!

OMG I of course emailed him, but they were already all sold!!

~Aspen

 

[SteveH]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

I'm so sad!

The other day I was browsing craigslist and found someone (turned out to be a BYC'er) selling some Blue, Black, and Buff Ameraucana pullets for only $6.00 each!!

OMG I of course emailed him, but they were already all sold!!

~Aspen

I'm always skeptical of bargains, but that's not a bad price even for EEs pullets, depending on health and cost of shipping.​

 

[SteveH]

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I'm very happy for you, though I'm embarassed to admit I don't even know what Vogue Magazine is about. Perhaps they have make up artists that work with the photographer on photo shoots of chickens.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

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I'm always skeptical of bargains, but that's not a bad price even for EEs pullets, depending on health and cost of shipping.

These were not Easter Eggers, they were Ameraucanas. I have Lavender, Black, and Blue Ameraucana Bantams and Standards and I also have Easter Eggers. I know the difference.

Heck, even if they were EEs I would have still have liked to have them.

~Aspen

 

[Illia]

Pictures! ( warning - lots of them!

)


Okay, here's a feather-shanked Wheaten x Buff chick.

And why do I say that in assurance? Because the chick shown here by its side is what happens when someone jumps the fence. Completely different. Also, no feathered shanks.

The mutt chick basically looks like an EE. And here's another from a previous batch - (chicks on left are Buff x Buff, chick on right is a mutt)

Anyway, here's a view of the feathering. Yep, those are inner toe feathers too that you see.

Chicks in general. Notice, normal buff color as well as a few faint black dots. Now, these black dots are normal. . .

Because this chick here is from a previous Buff x Wheaten hatch, same parents, - And still, buff color with a slight black dot on the head. Notice the clean shanks. Sadly this chick died from a cat.

So, I know I'm not exactly correct, there's little assurance in being right, but in my opinion - I don't have a fence jumper issue here. This is a parental issue.

Oh and if you're not too tired of chick pics - This is just one example of my most recent Buff x Buffs. Clean shanks.

 

[Cass]

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Some perfume, a little lip gloss and blow dry the other end so it is nice and fluffly.