Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Tailfeathers]

I took my POL girls to Erin's MD swap in October and everyone was thrilled to find 'cheap' $10 POL pullets - from the hatchery! I sold out in less than an hour. I took some of the same girls to a swap 70 miles south of me here in PA before that and I put them up for $7. I brought every one of them home. Location, location, location!

RV, one thing you might want to think about trying is to have a few hatchery birds around your place and then have some breeder SQ birds of the same so folks can see for themselves the difference. I don't show Orpingtons, RIRs, or BRs but I have some from top breeders and one each from a feedstore/hatchery. When folks see them side-by-side they are almost always awestruck and impressed enough with the difference to want a breeder bird vice a hatchery bird.

Just a thought. Might work for you too.

God Bless,

 

[Christie Rhae]

Interesting. I always thought they had yellow skin like most of the other Mediterranean breeds.

I am far from an expert on anything but I am pretty sure about their skin color. I have volumes left to learn and the only reason I know anything about the few birds I have decided to breed is cuz I have been studying about them so much. And the reason I study them so much is cuz it takes forever to get the birds I want here in Hawaii!

lol

 

[heatherscooby77]

I am almost certain that the Sumatras have black skin. I haven't gotten my SOP yet so I don't know what it says. Silkies are desendents of these birds and I am pretty sure that is how they got there black/gypsy skin. I am going to ask the question about what is so horrible about chickens with yellow skin? Besides it not conforming with the SOP. The lacing needs worked on so badly that you can cull later for skin color, imo.

I wouldn't suggest using Blue Sumatras or Blue Andalusians to try to get better lacing in your Blue Ameraucanas. Both breeds have yellow skin. This is not something that you want to breed into your Ameraucana liine, yellow skin is a trait that can "hide" recessively in birds and generations later "reappear" unexpectedly. It is something that is very difficult to breed out.

 

[Christie Rhae]

I am almost certain that the Sumatras have black skin. I haven't gotten my SOP yet so I don't know what it says. Silkies are desendents of these birds and I am pretty sure that is how they got there black/gypsy skin.

I am going to ask the question about what is so horrible about chickens with yellow skin? Besides it not conforming with the SOP. The lacing needs worked on so badly that you can cull later for skin color, imo.


Quote:
I think, there are already so many issues to have to cull for, and one will have to hatch literally hundreds of chicks just to get the desired genetic combo, why add another thing to the mix? If you can find laced white skinned birds that brings the chances of correct genotype in one chick to 1 in 4000... lol
I plan to hatch hundreds of chicks in the F2 generation. Maybe I will get lucky and get some sooner that have everything I am looking for.
Try playing with the kipper calculator..
http://kippenjungle.nl/breeds/crossbreeds.html
This is not going to be an easy project.

 

[BCF94605]

I am almost certain that the Sumatras have black skin. I haven't gotten my SOP yet so I don't know what it says. Silkies are desendents of these birds and I am pretty sure that is how they got there black/gypsy skin.
I am going to ask the question about what is so horrible about chickens with yellow skin? Besides it not conforming with the SOP. The lacing needs worked on so badly that you can cull later for skin color, imo.

Sumatras do not have black skin, nor do they have black bones. The only thing they share in common with Silkies is that they both do have dark faces.

I raise LF Sumatras in Black, Blue, Dun and Platinum.

Like I mentioned in my previous post yellow skin is a recessive trait that can "hide" for multiple generations. It is very difficult and time consuming to breed out of a line of birds that is not supposed to have yellow skin due to the fact that it can be carried without being physically expressed.

If you don't care about conforming to the APA SOP for Blue Ameraucanas then it doesn't really matter if these project birds have yellow, black, white, blue, pink or purple skin. But you will not have true Ameraucanas, you'll have beautifully laced Easter Eggers.

 

[heatherscooby77]

So how would you recommend improving the lacing on Blue Ameraucaunas? You have to outcross to some other breed to get the desired results. Some people are trying Orpingtons, Blue Andalusians, or.....................

I don't claim to be a Sumatra specialist. Thank you for the info.

Every chicken breed and variety has been created by selective breeding. Every Ameraucanas ancestors has started out an Easter Egger. How do you think you get new varieties? So people working on Chocolate/Dun Ameraucanas shouldn't use Chocolate Orpingtons to get the desired color genes in there birds? Officially yes they are Easter Eggers, I didn't say that I would sell/show them as otherwise. How do you think color innovation happens? you have to out cross. They eventually will breed true. I don't think this is a 1 or 2 year project. I would be happy to have some positive results in 5 years.

Sumatras do not have black skin, nor do they have black bones. The only thing they share in common with Silkies is that they both do have dark faces.

I raise LF Sumatras in Black, Blue, Dun and Platinum.

Like I mentioned in my previous post yellow skin is a recessive trait that can "hide" for multiple generations. It is very difficult and time consuming to breed out of a line of birds that is not supposed to have yellow skin due to the fact that it can be carried without being physically expressed.

If you don't care about conforming to the APA SOP for Blue Ameraucanas then it doesn't really matter if these project birds have yellow, black, white, blue, pink or purple skin. But you will not have true Ameraucanas, you'll have beautifully laced Easter Eggers.

 

[pips&peeps]

Just an FYI for those of you out there. Chocolate is a different color than dun.

 

[Christie Rhae]

Chocolate is a boring color anyway... lol!

Joke! lol.lol.. sigh.. I do crack myself up...

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Chocolate is a boring color anyway... lol!

Joke! lol.lol.. sigh.. I do crack myself up...

I LOVE the chocolates but I'm not so into the work of a "project" so I'll wait a few years for Jean to get them somewhat perfected then beg her and pay her the big bucks for some eggs!!!

 

[Christie Rhae]

Quote:
lol! The laced blues project "speaks" to me. Chocolate project not so much. They are just brown chickens? lol. ok ok I can see how they are beautiful. Same as the lavender... I can see how they are pretty.. they just don't do anything for me. But everyone who knows me knows that blue is my color... ever since I was a little girl.. I wanted everything blue. lol