Araucana thread anyone?

[cashdl]

Ok,

Megan and Cathy I sent you photos. I am now off to try to upload some to here. What to delete, that is the question.

Lanae

 

[cashdl]

Ok it went quicker than I expected and I didn't have to delete anything. Yeah!

Here is Minnie and Silver from Birch Run Farm. I applolgize for the horrible pics. I seem to not have been born with a picture taking gene.

Lanae

 

[cashdl]

I thought it might be interresting to post pics of a bird as it changes in growth and color, just to show how much they can change from a chick to an adult.

So here is a series of pics of one of my splash roos.

Here he is a two months:

3 months:

4 months: (sorry about the sideways view)

Pics taken today at 6 months

I can't believe how much he has changed. He is double tufted if the girls would stop picking at them.

Lanae

 

[poularde]

Thank you for the photos cashdl... It is shocking how much your roo's color changed. I really like the color of the pullet in the first photo. Nice birds.

 

[cashdl]

I was shocked too cause I was soo looking forward to a silver duckwing roo. His dad is a golden duckwing splash. Course he has turned out really nice. Once his tufts grow back in he will be stunning. His tufts are pretty good sized and balanced. His girls will be the two silver duckwings, so I should get some nice tufted silvers out of that pen this year.

Lanae

 

[puredelite]

Cashdl, I do understand why you were so excited about getting those two pullets, they are really pretty! With that nice splash roo of yours you should indeed get some nice chicks. He difinitely metamorphed didn't he. Just amazing how these birds can turn out sometimes. I too have a splash roo that at one time had nice bi-lateral tufts but now appears clean-faced due to being picked on. Other roo's in the same pen seem to have no problem with keeping their tufts, maybe they just won't put up with the abuse? Thank you for taking the time to post these pics!

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Glad to see Mini and Silver! They must be so wondering where they are. Last year Silver went broody and raised chicks, she was a good mom.

 

[cackleberrycoop]

Goodness, Lanae, Silver is breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking! Ann, those birds are gorgeous!!!! Wow. Do you have any blue birds available?

Lanae, the photos of the wheaten trio, where did those birds come from? I'm hunting for a tufted bantam wheaten boy for my two girls. Didn't plan on getting into that color variety, but I just can't spend enough time looking at my two wheaten pullets and, well, you know how it goes.
I don't know if it's just the photo that you sent me, but the splash girl looks lacy to me and you say you're not crazy about her coloring, but I LOVE it! Also, her face is very sweet which surprises me; I tend to think that white Araucanas faces look grumpy..?
Thanks for sharing the photos. It is fun and encouraging to watch a fellow Araucana enthusiast meeting with success!

 

[cashdl]

Hi Megan,

The splash baby is very lightly barred. She is so pretty. I love her shape and her coloring is different. She is getting slightly darker as she get older so we shall see. Either way I am happy with her.

The roo is a actually a duckwing but his coloring is unusual. He is more of a red breasted gold and his chest is mottled. I got him from Gary Ramey. The girls are some of mine that hatched last summer. They are both ginger colored more than wheaten but I love how brilliant all the red in their pen is.

I love the stern look on Silvers face. So far that seems to sum up her personality. Minnie is a doll. Silver doesn't mind having her own cage but Minnie hates it so I have been holding her and she relaxes.


Lanae

 

[cashdl]

So I spent most of the day today building a chicken tractor. I found a great website called city chicken that has over 100 pics of chicken tractors. Mine is a blend of several. Tomorrow I just need to finish with the hardware cloth on one side put on the wheels and load the chickens in it. I am super excited about it.

I want to paint it and put a stencil of an araucana on it but my artistic skills leave much to be desired. I can build just about anything, but I cannot draw. I am thinking about making a stencil of a chicken, cutting off the tail and adding tufts. Should be close enough. My goal is to have about 8 or 10 chicken tractors for breeding trios and baby pens. I have 10 acres. So plenty of space to move them around, and most of it is lawn that could use the fertilizer. LOL!

As soon as the construction is complete I will take photos. I won't have it painted yet. The weather needs to get better, but I will have the chickens in it.

Lanae