Ameraucunas still not laying

[luvmichicks]

I adopted an adult Ameraucunas hen in October. I also adopted 2 barred rock pullets. The barred rocks have just started laying in the last two days but the Ameraucunas hen has yet to lay at all. Is it still too early in the season for her to lay? thanks!

 

[sugarbush]

Mine lay all winter long. She may be laying a brown egg, one of ours does.

 

[sewchick]

My red star sex link pullets just started laying. I got them on Oct 17th as day old chicks. Three of the six are laying an egg a day. They lay an egg every other day if I turn off the lamp. I have been giving them some extra light. I have been running one of those low wattage bulbs. I think it gives off 60 watts of light but only uses 14 watts. I also have a window in the coop. Maybe she is a late bloomer. Does she get plenty of light. I am still new to this so I might not be of great help. I know what has worked for me. Hopefully your hen will start laying soon.

 

[luvmichicks]

It is a brown egg - I assumed it was from the Barred rocks but maybe I'm wrong. I live in So. Cal so I'm just waiting for the days to get longer and have not added additional light.

 

[Tailfeathers]

As an Ameraucana Breeder I can assure you that you are NOT going to get a BROWN egg from an Ameraucana. Please do a "Search" on here for "Ameraucana" or me as the "Author" to find a plethora of information on the topic.

I am guessing from your reply and the comments made that you may not know whether you have an Ameraucana or Easter Egger. That will make a difference. Having said that, Ameraucanas are not the most prolific layers and they are prone to "go off the lay" during periods of stress which can be brought about by things such as a relocation for example.

I pulled my birds out of the coop and put them on roosters in various breeding pens and the potlickers stopped laying for two weeks! We also had shut unusually very cold weather for us and that stopped them from laying as well.

Hope that helps.

God Bless,

 

[sugarbush]

That is what I don't like about Americauna chickens. I call them all Easter Eggers because I don't care whether it is an Aracuana, Americuana, or Easter Egger according the "breeder club standards", they are all the same bird with just gene differences. They are all decendant of the same birds. They are all mutts that with selective breeding can be made to conform to one of two standards and a third class that they throw all the offspring that do not conform into...

They are grade birds...none of the three are a pure breed.

What I am saying is that if your bird lays other than blue eggs it is disqualified as an americauna even if its parents both conformed to the requirements. The requirement is that only 50% of the offspring breed true to standards so the other 50% is where your Easter Eggers come from.

None of them should have ever been classified as a breed.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
That is a completely untrue and absolutely ridiculous, idiotic statement! It shows a complete lack of knowledge on the breeds mentioned and a utterly total lack of understanding of what each is. It is also a tremendous insult to the folks who put a LOT of effort into developing the breeds AND getting them accepted into the APA.

According to your own definition Sugarbush of "they are all the same bird with just gene differences. They are all decendant of the same birds." - that would make every single bird on the face of the earth a mutt. Never mind that all the breeds today regardless of which one you choose was a result of careful selective breeding, according to your definition every bird on the earth is a mutt.

The fact of the matter is the Araucana and the Ameraucana may be totally unrelated. Nobody really knows for sure. The fact of the matter is also that an Easter Egger can be a cross of anything as long as it has the potential to lay a blue or green egg and there is no way of ever knowing what color of egg the offspring will lay. In other words, it might be a cross between a white egg layer and a blue or green layer, a brown egg layer and a blue or green layer, two blue or green egg layers or a combination there of, heck it could even be two EE's that lay a brown egg.

Finally, I'll just say this - I'm really getting tired of hearing the line "I don't care whether it is an Aracuana, Americauna, or Easter Egger according the 'breeder club standards'" and then something that follows as a definition of their own. That is nothing more than arrogant, self-elevating pride that refuses to acknowledge the hardworking efforts of many others. If you don't like the fact that your bird can't be accepted as authentic, then fine. I understand that. But rather than thumbing your nose at anyone elses birds and those who do work to maintain a standard, just be happy with your own birds and stop trying to degrade others.

Just be happy and content with what you have and let the anger go. Don't let the pride you have in your birds turn into a self-pride that results in anger because you somehow feel your birds are inferior.

As I have said many, many times. There is NOTHING wrong with an Easter Egger. Just don't call it an Ameraucana or Araucana because that is a lie.

To make the statements that you did Sugarbush, not only really showed your personal bias, anger, total lack of knowledge with regard to the breeds and poultry in general but it only serves to further confuse others and the issue.

God Bless,

 

[sandypaws]

sugar.. welllllll... yes and no... to start ANY breed you start with mixes.. you make a standard and breed to that standard and after they BREED TRUE for 10 generations,, you can call it a "breed"...

if your way of thinking is correct then the ONLY PUREBRED horses on the planet are arabians.... EVERYTHING else can trace its blood back to the arab (and BARB...but its just a type of arab)
and 1/2 of all dog breeds out there have POODLE in them.... so are they all just mutts???? even tho some breeds have been true for 200 years??

so even tho they/we started with a not so purebred chicken, it took time and reseach and a lot of hard work and coroperation to form this "breed".... you might not agree, you should at least respect all the hard work it took...

 

[sugarbush]

Sorry I insulted everybody... The diffrence is that the horses and golden retreivers of the world breed true 100% of the time and have been doing so for hundreds of years. How would dog breeders feel if the AKC classified the Cockapoo as a breed? The Americauna only has to breed true 50% of the time.... The Standards are also diffrent world wide for what can be considered an Araucana. Both breeds genetics are still far to random to even start to be considered a breed in my book. The only reason either even became recognized as a breed is because of presure from breeder clubs. If I breed a RIR to a RIR and half the offspring come out barred than I have a serious problem with my RIR stock.

I feel for you breeders, you are fighting an up hill battle because the hatcheries, and probably 99.9 % of poultry enthusiest call them all Araucana. I can't even go to a swap without having a dozen and a half people tell me how nice my Araucanas are. None of my birds are rumpless

Of the two breeds the Araucana breeders have the strongest leg to stand on, but they have the same problem with their breed not breeding true 100% of the time.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
I'm not sure where you are getting your information but it is simply not true. I breed WBS Ameraucanas and I get 100% WBS Ameraucanas. I'm sure every other breeder of a recognized and accepted Ameraucana variety will tell you the same thing.

I think perhaps you may be confusing a couple of different criteria. For example, to be accepted into the APA recognition requires that birds of the variety seeking recognition be shown at least twice each year for two years. There can't be fewer than two each pullets, cockerels, hens and cocks. Judges then submit their opinions on the variety and a qualifying meet is held. At least 50 birds, from no fewer than five owners who have raised the birds for at least five years, must be shown. Obviously, the five breeders must be working towards the same goals and standards. The judges make their determination on, among other qualities, the similarity of the birds to each other, establishing the color variety.

On the other hand, when it comes to a Breeders' Club such as the ABC, they can set definitions for which a variety may become recognized within that specific Club so that those folks working on establishing a recognized variety can then go on to get that variety recognized and accepted by the APA.

As for the AKC, have you not noticed that there are new breeds that pop up in the Shows almost every year? It wouldn't surprise me at all ifa Cockapoo doesn't become a recognized breed with the AKC.

To say that "the only reason either even became recognized as a breed is because of presure from breeder clubs" is complete nonsense. Just read what the efforts were to get the Ameraucana recognized on the ABC "History" page. If anything, there was a whole lot of resistance from the APA. Simply put, it was the extremely hard work and tremendously diligent efforts of some VERY dedicated people who are and should be credited with establishing the Ameraucana BREED.

God Bless,