Araucana-reason to keep clean faced tailed?

[klf73]

I have some tailed clean faced araucana. I was going to sell them at chickenstock because of the tails. I am keeping the rumpless/clean faced but is there any reason to keep the tailed ones?? I need to downsize as there are way too many chicks still here and since I can't tell gender I am going with obviously noticible things/faults. Suggestions?

 

[wilds of pa]

Hi, I would keep them till you build up the flock as to what your looking for, some may have better egg color than the rumpless, Also you may get tailed ones with proper color(skin or plumage) and may want to use them for that reason as well. If you end up with stubby backs down the road with the rumpless you may want to use a tailed bird to give a nice long back on them to..

i like the tailed ones my self, however the few tailed that we have all have double tufts now.
We pretty much sell off none traited birds just for backyard layers now,. however when first starting out we kept evey thing until we mainly had all what we where looking for..


charlie

 

[Shaffer]

Good advice Charlie.
I would definately keep the pullets until you run out of space or have better pullets to replace them. If you watch all the adds they are mostly cockerels or roosters for sale. Nobody really wants to sell hens/pullets generally so they will be hard to replace if you lost them for some unfortunate reason. Remember to keep at least two roosters also if you cut back to one and something happens to him you may loose the whole breeding season till you can find an acceptable one. HS

 

[Birch Run Farm]

I'm still really new to the breed and learning. I've gotten good chicks from Jody & Charlie, a pair of started from another breeder (Ann Charles) and have something on the way from Harry too.

I did much better by purchasing some birds to start with and my pair from Ann has produced some good chicks who are now teens to work with besides the others.

I have a lot to learn about genetics yet. I have seen from my own hatching results that I get mostly males. I am not sure if that is standard or not. I also can't figure out how I can get clean faced birds from a pair that is tufted!

 

[wilds of pa]

It happens, tuft to tuft and still a clean faced..

We have that problem with our whites, always seems like more males. But we take the good with the bad, much better male choices with the white in this case..

Finally Got a super clear black tufted rumpless growing out real nice. been tough for us to get a nice male without any bleed through..however i think this time we've done it...

Thanks Harry for that pat on the back...

Charlie

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Charlie,

I have a young cockerel who has gigantic tufts but has gold bleed through. I'll still use him, he is going to be nice otherwise, nice body type, rumpless. He's got some pure black brothers but I am sure the other color might be hiding. Pullets don't seem to do the bleed through, another thing I can't figure out!

A blue and yellow cockerel I have is from your batch of chicks. He is gorgeous color wise and I am going to try and make more like him.

 

[wilds of pa]

Id think if you dont see it in the hackles or saddle feathers you should be able to produce some good black off spring.. if they do have bleed out, you just got to keep breeding them and keeping off spring year after year with less and less bleed out..Thats about where we are with are's after 3 years with the blacks being penned by color now..... the part that is hard is most of the time you dont see it till the hackle and saddle start coming out, of course somtimes there is a reddish hugh to the down color of the chick in the head area...but you just keep going with them. Its fun anyways..


charlie

 

[Shaffer]

Ann,
You could still get bleed out on blacks after they are two years or older. Now you will get some white tipping on some but that is with age when they turn two or more years old and the same with the hens these would really not be considered culls by me unless they are throwing young birds with that flecking like a moulted chicken.
Charlie is correct about the chicks if they show reddish color on their heads, even a red cast in the sunlight. They also can show red as an eye mark or any where else on their body. I cull all of them.
It will take several years to breed this out, it may be sexlink but I haven't really worried to research it. Most of the pullets will be pure black that is why I am thinking sexlink.
I have some pure black cockerels but I could not find any that were pure black when I was trying to buy foundation stock this time when I started back into breeding chickens again. Most breeders weren't concerned about APA standard colors that I contacted. Harry

 

[Birch Run Farm]

I hope this isn't too complicated to read:

All of the chicks I hatched but two so far were pure black, some white fluff and their first set of feathers were black. None of the black chicks had any hint of red, gold or silver at hatching. Not in their fuzz or first set of feathers until they had that first molt.

I have only gotten two females from this pair so far, one is black and has a pair of small tufts. The other female looks like a wild partridge, she is very interesting. I plan to put her with the blue/yellow male.

Of their black brothers, one has grown a lot of red and has blue/white ear lobes. I am fairly certain he should be culled? I welcome opinions on that note. Another is all glossy black but smooth faced. Another is all glossy black with one tuft.

The fourth black brother is the one with the big tufts and he has the gold bleed through. These are all from different hatches, same parents. Last night I noticed this tufty one is going to be larger in body than his older brothers. He is very stout.

I have a smooth rumpless black two week old chick of unknow sex (I am assuming it is a male) and some eggs due to hatch this weekend from the same pair. It is always interesting to see what pops out!

 

[Anne]

I keep tailed/clean-faced pullets "just in case" IF:

1) They have right leg color (leg color has been a challenge in my flock)

OR

2) They have very nice plumage color (also has been a challenge for me)

OR

3) Minus the tail they have phenomenal type & good body size.

OR

4) They lay a nice blue egg.

In other words, if they have other traits that are valuable because I need them in my flock, I keep 'em! They can always be mated to a rumpless/tufted rooster.