Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Christie Rhae]

There was some talk a few days ago about outside blood being needed for lacing in Blue Ameraucanas. Perhaps I'm biased (more than likely!) but it sure seems to me that some Ameraucana breeders have made GREAT strides with lacing. My Blue boy and girl follow (from pips&peeps.)

Gene (cockerel - 21 weeks old)



Kelly (pullet - 21 weeks old)



Their black sister, Sally (also 21 weeks old)

Barb those birds are just terrible....you need to pack them in a box and send them off...like off to Hawaii. I will give them a good home despite how...... BEAUTIFUL they are!!! lol joke...

I want those birds in my backyard!


Maybe Jean can tell us if those birds have been crossed with English Orpingtons to get the lacing?

 

[Reyvaughn]

My first 10 for today! I have another Am in the incubator and 5 more eggs pipped!
These are my own stock from Peachick (2 hens from her, 3 hens and Dorian were hatched from her eggs by another BYC member).
100% fertility and 61% hatch so far. I only have 2 more not doing anything yet. They are actually on day 21 now, so they may still hatch!

I have 7 more due on the 25th-26th.​

 

[Tailfeathers]

I have a couple question. I have a three month old EE I got from ideal. And he is pure white, so my question is, can I show him as a white Ameraucana? And if I breed him with a white Ameraucana and the chicks all come out white then I'll have legitimate white Ameraucanas, right? All feed back is appreciated. thanks https://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/6973503/width/240/height/240/flags/LM

I would say that if you "know" that the bird is an EE, then you really should show it as an "Ameraucana". And like Aina says, there are many things besides just plumage color and leg color that a judge will be looking at.

You can try to show him as an Ameraucana, yes. However, there is much much more to an Ameraucana than feather and leg color. Chances are pretty good that he won't have good enough type to do well in a show. If you breed him with white Ameraucana and all of the chicks are white, again you will technically have "legitimate" white Ameraucanas. But the chances of them being of any quality with a hatchery EE rooster are pretty slim as they are likely to inherit poor type from the rooster. I would certainly show him and get the unbiased opinion of a judge before deciding to use him in a breeding program if you are planning on selling the chicks or hatching eggs as anything other than EE.

I would disagree with the statement that they would "technically have "legitimate" white Ameraucanas. If an EE was used to breed a bird, there is a host of unknown genetics that may or may not reveal themselves in the first generation. This may be one reason why the APA requires that a breed and/or variety breed true for five generations before it can be accepted into the APA.

My advice is, if you want White Ameraucanas, go to a trust breeder of White Ameraucanas and get a good start right out of the gate. You'll be much happier with the results and gald that you did.

God Bless,

 

[Christie Rhae]

I would say that if you "know" that the bird is an EE, then you really should show it as an "Ameraucana". And like Aina says, there are many things besides just plumage color and leg color that a judge will be looking at.

is this a typo? did you mean to say "should not"? lol

 

[dfdesigns]

Barn Goddess, do you sell & ship eggs? Those laced birds are stunning!

 

[Tailfeathers]

Hi everyone. I am considering purchasing a couple of blue wheaten hens from RKR Poultry Farms but I'd like to hear about some other people's experiences with them first. Their birds seem quite nice from the pictures and are from Wayne Meridith's lines. Has anyone bought birds from this breeder before?

Also, I'd love some feedback on this Wheaten boy! He is from John Blehm's lines. His beard has filled out since this photo was taken, although the picture hardly does him justice


A couple things I personally dislike about this cock are his earlobes (they are a bit light but no positive enamel white) and his comb (it is a bit large and lopped although not below the horizontal), but otherwise he looks nice to me.

As you can probably tell, I hope to set up a breeding trio and I want some of the nicest possible birds!

Regarding the RKR birds and Wayne Meredith... I know nothing at all about RKR so cannot comment at all on their birds. Regarding Wayne Meredith, he has been breeding the WBS variety longer than anyone I believe. I believe it was either John Blehm, Mike Gilbert, or Paul Smith (and perhaps all three) that told me most, if not all, WBS birds can be traced back to Wayne.

Having said that, you need to realize that my guess would be you are not getting Wayne Meredith "line" birds but rather RKR line birds that originated from Wayne Meredith's lines. So that would mean thta RKR has birds with the Meredith "strain".

Once you put two birds together, breed them, and get offspring - for all intents and purposes you now have your own line. That is most certainly the case after you've bred for 2-3 years.

Ugh! This is edited to add a couple things I forgot. First, you're right, the comb is a bit oversized but you can get that down fairly easily by future selection. Also, from what I can see, the earlobe color isn't too bad at all. He's got real nice, clean hackles, tail set is pretty good though you'll want to get rid of all that fluff, leg color look good, got a little red edging in the tail and I'd get rid of that, you will likely have to continue working on getting a full black beard (I've seen few with one), and overall pretty good Type. At least from what one can tell in a snapshot of time.

If I didn't have anything better, I wouldn't hesitate to breed him and certainly would do that before going outside to bring in anything else.

God Bless,

 

[Tailfeathers]

is this a typo? did you mean to say "should not"? lol

Yup! That would be a mistake. I should've said "should not". Gosh, now I'm no longer perfect. Ugh!

Ha!

Thanks Christie! I appreciate you catching that.

God Bless,

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Barn Goddess, do you sell & ship eggs? Those laced birds are stunning!

Thank you but pips&peeps gets ALL the credit for those birds. I hatched them out of eggs from her and I am thrilled with them. They are 22 weeks old this weekend and aren't laying yet. The girls are starting to pink up but have NO interest in the boys yet (and vice versa) so I think eggs are still a bit away.

 

[azamazal]

thank you

 

[heatherscooby77]

I would be interested too!!!!

Thank you but pips&peeps gets ALL the credit for those birds. I hatched them out of eggs from her and I am thrilled with them. They are 22 weeks old this weekend and aren't laying yet. The girls are starting to pink up but have NO interest in the boys yet (and vice versa) so I think eggs are still a bit away.