Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Why could it not just be 'black'? I get some all black chicks (like that one) from my black Am' pen. I've never marked any to make notice if there is any difference when they feather out. As far as I've ever seen, they all end up looking the same.

 

[Ivywoods]

I work nights so I was in my pajamas, but I ran outside to check for sure. Thank goodness for good weather and no neighbors.

I would call their legs black, not blue. They have a greyish apearance from a distance, but when you look up close the little bumpy or scaly parts, kind of like alligator hide, are definitely black. The skin that is recessed between the bumps has a lighter appearance, but not blue.

 

[Ivywoods]

Dipsy-Where do your black ameraucanas come from? Have you had your line for several generations? I still kind of wonder if this is a recessive thing. It sure looks different than all the other black ameraucana chicks.

 

[rb roosting]

I have a chick question. I hatched a pure black chick. I am relatively certain it came out of a black ameraucana egg. There is a slight chance it came out of a different egg, but highly unlikely. My breeders are all well separated, so no crosses.

I've never even seen a chick this black. There is absolutely no white on it. The pics may make it look a little brownish or greyish, and there is a spot on it's head where the fluff is stuck down, but it is a pure black chick. Even the beak and legs are blacker than they appear in the pics.

What is going on here? Melanistic? Some sort recessive genetic thing? I'll admit, I'm no genetics expert, but I really wonder what the heck is the cause of this chick being so black. My black ameraucanas are all from John Blehm's stock.

I wouldn't be worried my best cockerel was a solid black chick with solid black legs and beak. I know because I toe punched him last year to see what it turned out to be. He is solid black with the most amazing green sheen I have seen so far at my house. I will be looking for more like that this spring

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

My Ameraucana came as eggs from a Kim Roll in '06. They have been a 'work in progress' since then.

 

[Reyvaughn]

Well... I managed to hatch 7 chicks out of 40 eggs. My foam incubator hates me. My girls hate me, too. They must or they'd be broody. I had a broody Silkie until I made her a nest box. I put her in it and she was done.

Four of the 7 chicks are Ameraucanas - 2 black splits (who are pure black like the above chick) and 2 lavenders from Crystal Creek.

Just got the fun f it... I collected about 18 of my own BW/W eggs from my Peachick flock. The oldest egg is about 3wks, plus or minus. I set them all tonight. Heck with it. I decided to keep extra close attention to the temps the first 3 days. I also have a dozen eggs coming from WhiteMountainsRanch. ...And I set bantam Cochins...

I'm not a God fearing person, but maybe I need some prayer to have a decent (better than 20%) hatch. Prayers, please?

 

[Tailfeathers]

Not abrasive at all. Bummer to have a whole well thought out post disappear.

And I will bite... why did you plan to get white eggs? I ran a search but came up with only one million results! lol
I just got set up to post at ABC forum... yay!!! Is the answer there maybe? I am curious about all things ameraucana.

I'm glad that my post was taken ok. I just came it from making my rounds - another long day at work - and have about 15 minutes before supper so I'll try this again quickly. And yes, that guy beating his head against a wall is EXACTLY how I felt!!

Christie, the reason I planned to get white eggs started with my attempt many years ago to identify and get rid of the brown egg modifier genes that were creating some greenish tint to some of my eggs. Thru linebreeding and keeping meticulous records I was able to identify which lines were carrying the brown egg gene. I eliminating the roosters from those lines and subsequent breedings resulted in some white or very near white eggs.

Then the next year or maybe the year after I began to experience a problem with productivity. I had birds that weren't giving me any eggs for a 6-9 month period. I got rid of those hens amd decided to re- prioritize my breeding plan to focus mainly on egg production for awhile. At that time I had two BW #10 hens that were giving me about five eggs each per week. So I looked at my various records and lineage and used those two hens along with a rooster that carried some of their blood.

Fast forward to today. I am now getting a lot more eggs than I was before but several pullets this year are still laying a white egg. I haven’t put my breeding plan together yet this year so I don’t know which gals are laying the white eggs. Once I put them in pens and have them separated, I’ll know whether I want to use those lines or not.

I’m not real concerned about the white eggs. The blue gene is dominant so I know I can get it back in a pretty good way within three years once I’ve got the productivity where I want it – and I think I probably do now. I’ll know for sure once the gals are in the pens.

On the upside however is that I haven’t lost any of the black (or blue) in the tail and wings that I had improved on. So all in all I think things are progressing well.

God Bless,

 

[Christie Rhae]

I have blacks from Dipsy Doodle Doo. One of them was very very dark. I noticed that one chick and did keep track of her as she grew. She is now 5 + months old and is a beautiful black but her eyes are very very dark. Too dark for Am standards but I wonder if the extra melanizers (or whatever it is) would be of use in future breeding? Not sure what that use would be but I am starting to see my birds as these cool carriers of genes. Genes that I may want to add to the mix one day. "one dash of this...one dash of that" lol.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:

Color can fade as the hens' season progresses, but the actual color will not change - just be a more faded hue of the same color. If you are getting white eggs and it's this early in the season, I would be questioning the birds' heritage.

I hear what you're saying but if you've read any - and many - of my posts in the past, I've repeatedly talked about the NEED to ask a LOT of questions of a "breeder" before buying eggs. I think I also addressed that in my original post about this issue.

I can assure you, I absolutely KNOW the heritage of all my breeds. All my original Ameraucana stock came from what is probably still one of the Top 5 Ameraucana breeders in the country. He continues to do very well with his birds at the shows and, if memory serves me right (which is doesn't always do these days), I think he did very well at the Nationals this year.

These eggs are "white" - not faded blue. And, as I just wrote, they are white for a specific reason of my own doing. The white egg gene is recessive. Which means if anyone out there is getting a pretty light blue egg, then you've probably got mostly white egg genes in your birds. Remember, all eggs are white. With the blue egg, the color is mixed in at the time of the formation of the egg rather than just a coating. Moreover, if you're getting any kind of green, then you've not only got white but brown as well and that is going to dilute the blue coming out which going to lead to more of a white egg when the brown is removed.

I wish I was more of a geneticist so I could say that this gene isn't on that allele or what-have-you, but I'm just not there.

God Bless,

 

[CRYSTALCREEK]

Christie I would think that bird would be very useful in a lav breeding program as the lavender gene seems to be diluting eye color as well as feather color in my pens. I have a pen of offspring which are both splits and lavs; full siblings. The splits have bay eyes while the lavs have too light eyes. I would be curious if using a black with too-dark eyes would yield lavs with eyes that are closer to the standard....
Not that you have any plans to work on lavs....just a thought....

Any other lav breeders making progress on the eye color issue?