Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Shaffer]

Do you guys prefer to order hatching eggs or day olds? Why or why not?

First buying poultry this is a buyer beware market. Do research on the breed you are interested in. Most breeds have club sites and if you can view them it would be something that you should do. You will need to research the history of the breeder and ask around. If you are new and did not do any hatching you will be better to buy day old chicks or started stock if they are available. Shipped hatching eggs are usually risky. Most people I sent eggs to have had very good luck but not all of them were that fortunate. You should go to the club forum since there is a breeders list and if you can find someone near you all the better. Good luck, the ameraucanas are very nice birds to breed and show.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Here are a few of my babies... RIP Little Lavender (fox got her)

 

[chicknadventure]

I probably should have stated why ideas asking about hatching vs day olds. In trying to build ups breedIng clock of high quality do you diversify with shipped eggs or chicks or hope you have someone nearby? At what point do you worry about diversified blood?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I probably should have stated why ideas asking about hatching vs day olds. In trying to build ups breedIng clock of high quality do you diversify with shipped eggs or chicks or hope you have someone nearby? At what point do you worry about diversified blood?

I don't think you can make any judgements about quality between eggs and day olds. Both are a total crap shoot. If you want high quality you HAVE to buy mature birds - and even that isn't a guarantee. Diversified blood can be from eggs, chicks, or mature birds.

 

[Shaffer]

I probably should have stated why ideas asking about hatching vs day olds. In trying to build ups breedIng clock of high quality do you diversify with shipped eggs or chicks or hope you have someone nearby? At what point do you worry about diversified blood?

When you state "diversified" are you talking about getting birds from a bunch of different sources. You should consider line breeding instead of contiuous outcrossing from several or many different lines. Every new bird you add, you add their good qualities but you also add their hidden bad qualities. Line breeding hopefully will double up on the good qualities it will also bring out all the recessive bad qualities as well but now you know what you are working with.

 

[chicknadventure]

Ok yes that is what I meant thank you! I am more familiar with dog breeding than chickens so still trying to nail down the differences.

 

[ashandvine]

When you state "diversified" are you talking about getting birds from a bunch of different sources. You should consider line breeding instead of contiuous outcrossing from several or many different lines. Every new bird you add, you add their good qualities but you also add their hidden bad qualities. Line breeding hopefully will double up on the good qualities it will also bring out all the recessive bad qualities as well but now you know what you are working with.

This is one of the clearest and most directly helpful answers I've seen regarding breeding. I appreciate open availbility to information rather than the snobby, don't steal my sunshine attitude of some. In order to continue to raise quality birds, or mentor good keepers, 'the veil' of how to get and maintain great birds needs to be dropped. (How did that soap box get there?) I have found, in other threads, an attitude of discrimination and secrecy towards newbies that isn't helpful to getting anyone good press. The process of earning 'your stripes' will happen by nature of waiting, trying, failures and success if a newbie sticks it out and will vet them so those in the know don't have to. Thank you Mr. Shaffer for sharing.

 

[chicknadventure]

This is one of the clearest and most directly helpful answers I've seen regarding breeding.  I appreciate open availbility to information rather than the snobby, don't steal my sunshine attitude of some.  In order to continue to raise quality birds, or mentor good keepers, 'the veil' of how to get and maintain great birds needs to be dropped.  (How did that soap box get there?)  I have found, in other threads, an attitude of discrimination and secrecy towards newbies that isn't helpful to getting anyone good press.  The process of earning 'your stripes' will happen by nature of waiting, trying, failures and success if a newbie sticks it out and will vet them so those in the know don't have to.  Thank you Mr. Shaffer for sharing.

Ita. I was with another breed for a few weeks and I am happy I chose to go another way in breeding simply based on how you all have responded to me so far. I am sure I said some stupid comments. It hey I am newbie I didn't raid e chickens for 4h or live on a farm. I just know I don't want a backyard mix and I don't want to wait 5 years before getting into quality birds. A pure breed sq chicken eats the same amount of food and lays the same amount of eggs

Which reminds me.... The eggs I ordered from huckleberry farms are arriving today. I can't wait! I have a chicken friend with more experience hatching them for me please sprinkle some egg dust at me for lots of hens

Side note.... Even though there are 2 roosters and multiple hens I will need to buy a rooster or a hen from a different farm in case this whole batch is brother and sister. Is that correct? And does anyone have any good links to read about ameraucana genetics!

 

[ashandvine]

No you don't have to change out lines for a while if you have good roos and good hens. That is what Shaffer was suggesting. Line breeding keeps your genetics consistent which allows you to discover and then know what you are breeding for both dominant and recessive traits. What happens after that is up to you. You could get a great looking roo in there next and discover that he breeds some recessive traits that you really didn't want and then you have to decide what to do with the offspring. I haven't met too many folks who are into breeding and into butchering. Chickens are different from dogs in a lot of ways. Dogs you need to keep track of which sire and ***** came from which etc so you aren't creating English Monarchy. I say this because it was only a month ago I was asking the same questions as you and getting some great answers. I don't know if it is just that Ameraucana folks are more friendly, a lot like the birds they raise, but I found that this is definitely one of the most friendly lines so far. Cream Legbars is pretty good and so are the Brahmas folks in my limited experience. So, to return to genetics. If you get yourself familiar visually and statistically with what your birds should look like to meet their standards and then read in here about some of the genetics in the forums on the 'home' page you'll have a foundation for knowing what you do/don't have and then what you can or should do etc. Starting with a great breeder shortens the amount of time you need to work to get a good flock going. Starting from good stock means supporting someone else who is already a responsible and careful breeder-- ie your community of chicken folks, ie a breeder, not a hatchery. Then you can breed breed breed as you like until you see something you don't like or want to change things up. If you get into certain colors which you want then you have to worry more about how the colors are and aren't recessive or combine with each other but you should probably start by worrying about body type/conformation first. You want your birds to meet the standards in their size and shape, temperment and eggs first, which are harder to breed for than color. I still know just a fragment of what's what but this is what I have learned so far. In the end they poop fertilizer, can be eaten and sometimes lay eggs. Everything else is what we attribute to them, just like the breeding of dogs: a doberman is born a doberman without being docked or clipped. What we put on it is just barbie language for doberman. Same for chickens. (What I mean here is: just try. Even if you 'fail' you can still succeed by having great meals and learning something.) Goodluck. The folks in here are pretty great so keep asking.

 

[heatherscooby77]

Well, this is my breeding plan. Right now I have accumulated a bunch of birds from different breeders. I bought eggs and hatched them all out myself. I am keeping the best chickens from these eggs. The culling started at birth. I wanted to know if they had yellow point at birth, what color egg they came from and so on. I kept egg shells, and kept all the pointed ones marked to see if they had the color I wanted. I am also doing black, blue, and splash. I am looking for lacing!!! Next cull is at 12-16 weeks, looking for color and type. Then the next cull is at laying time, if the egg color isn't right that can be improved on with future generations, but I don't want it to be light green. If roosters don't have a tight comb, they go. It is a pet peeve of mine to have a "purebred" Ameraucana with a comb that stands an 2 inches over there head, that tells me there is some other genes that are there that I am not interested in. Some judges at shows are fine with it. That is just me. I am also doing a lacing improvement project, that will start next year.

So this fall when everyone that is left is old enough I will make the final cuts. Out of hundreds of eggs I will have hatched this year, I hope I get 20 hens that I really really like. These hens will go in with my current roosters. One is a blue from Paul Smith, one is a splash from Jean. Then I am going to put my current hens which are out of the blue and splash mentioned in the previous, with roosters from this years hatch from the different breeders. That will make two different pens that I can get my own chickens out of to introduce new blood.........................

Ita. I was with another breed for a few weeks and I am happy I chose to go another way in breeding simply based on how you all have responded to me so far. I am sure I said some stupid comments. It hey I am newbie

I didn't raid e chickens for 4h or live on a farm. I just know I don't want a backyard mix and I don't want to wait 5 years before getting into quality birds. A pure breed sq chicken eats the same amount of food and lays the same amount of eggs

Which reminds me.... The eggs I ordered from huckleberry farms are arriving today. I can't wait! I have a chicken friend with more experience hatching them for me

please sprinkle some egg dust at me for lots of hens
Side note.... Even though there are 2 roosters and multiple hens I will need to buy a rooster or a hen from a different farm in case this whole batch is brother and sister. Is that correct? And does anyone have any good links to read about ameraucana genetics!