Araucana thread anyone?

[smoothmule]

Can you post some photo's of your new rooster? And welcome to the group here

Your hens can be fertile by the new rooster pretty quick but there may still be some that will be by the other roosters. I've heard so many different things about this subject that I don't really know what to tell you.

 

[cackleberrycoop]

Very interesting - it would be fun to see photos of your new rooster.

Three weeks is the amount of time I leave my girls in with the desired rooster before collecting eggs for hatching.
The storage temp is supposed to be about 55 degrees f. I've collected for ten days at a time without any decline in my hatch rate, but most people I've heard suggest eggs being only seven days or younger before they are set.... I place eggs that I am gathering for the incubator in a carton, big end up, and place a block under one side of the carton. I move the block to the other side of the carton once a day to keep the embryo "exercised."
If I really want to set an egg but it is filthy, I wash it under very hot water. I know that this is often touted as a big no no, but I kept very close tabs last year on hatch rates on my washed eggs and they hatched at just the same success rate as my unwashed. I'd rather risk damaging that one egg with washing than risk the entire hatch with contamination from a really filthy egg. It works for me.

Have fun with your new rooster!

 

[Wild Trapper]

Quote:
I have not taken any pictures as of yet of him. Was not even sure if he was actually pure or not, since he is kinda second hand by now. I also found it quite awkward to post pictures, and I have to resize my photos way down to post them.

On the fertile thing, I've heard that a hen can remain fertile from a roo for up to a month, but I'm no expert, or I wouldn't have ask.

That's why I plan to wait a month before setting (incubating) the eggs.

BTW, Thanks for the reply.

ETA: Thanks also to Cackleberrycoop, for the additional information about eggs. Yeah, I usually don't have much poo on my eggs, but if one is a bit dirty, I would probably wash it off before putting it into the incubator, especially after watching them hatch and run all over the bator. Not sure how I would be able to keep eggs at 55 degrees other than in a refrigerator. I do have one out in the barn where I set up the incubator that I could start up and watch the temp in it ahead of time to adjust it for 55.

 

[cackleberrycoop]

Quote:
Yeah well........ I told you how I handle eggs that I am gathering to sell for hatching, or eggs for my own incubator when I really feel like doing it right. About just as often though, eggs being gathered for my own incubator simply get set big end up in a carton in a safe corner of the house away from sun light and too extreme temperature changes. Unless I am gathering for a long time, this seems to work just fine. I do try to remember to move the block form one side of the carton to the other twice a day - that one does make a difference in my experience.

 

[Wild Trapper]

Quote:
Yeah well........ I told you how I handle eggs that I am gathering to sell for hatching, or eggs for my own incubator when I really feel like doing it right. About just as often though, eggs being gathered for my own incubator simply get set big end up in a carton in a safe corner of the house away from sun light and too extreme temperature changes. Unless I am gathering for a long time, this seems to work just fine. I do try to remember to move the block form one side of the carton to the other twice a day - that one does make a difference in my experience.

Okay, thanks again, I wonder what I could expect, crossing a rumpless roo to EEs with tails muff and beards? Mutts, I know

but could I expect blue eggs, since the lady I got him from said he carried the blue egg gene? She was just happy I planned to use him for breeding purposes and not eat him.

Weather is not supposed to be very good on Monday (rain) to take pictures, but soon as I can I will try. Posting is another story. I'll have to reread how to do that.

 

[magicpigeon]

Hi!

I'm getting two blue tailed araucanas this weekend and was wondering whether there is any way of somehow guessing the gender? I have had no prior experience with this breed and am wondering if anyone with experience can answer these questions:

What is the temperament of a rooster, if I get one?
Can araucanas live with other birds such as silkies?
How heavy can I expect an araucana to grow? (standard, not bantam)
Is there the lethal gene in Australian tailed araucanas?
What kind of egg color would I be looking at if I crossed it to a hatchery-quality black australorp?
What is the egg rate, and are they as "prolific" (

) as easter eggers?


How old do they have to be before I can tell the gender? And, lastly, out of 10 (ten being friendly, easily handled, non flightiest bird and zero being the exact opposite), where would araucanas rate on the scale for YOU?


Thanks. I'm really excited!!

 

[smoothmule]

Welcome to the group here, and wow....lots of questions. The UK type of Araucana is really different in many ways to the type here. I've never seen it posted how close they might really be to the same breed since the UK type has the muffs and the ones here don't. I've had them fool me clear up until one crows,

As far as weight, they should be a full bodied bird, not a light weight, and there is a standard for the weight they should be but I have standards that vary alot in the size. They're all nice weighty birds for the size difference though. You might check the standard for the UK club. If they have tufts, and I believe they do, then the tufted to tufted breeding will still result in death in the shells for a percent of chicks that got to of the tufting gene. They are not as prolific as easter eggers here but some breeders may not have the same results as I do. Egg color depends on what color your Araucana's are out of and then the Australorps egg color so it could be anything from pale green/greyish/bluish??

My roosters are great. I currently have 6 roosters in a coop with mostly Maran hens and a couple of Araucana's. It was a winter thing so they could stay warmer together rather than pen separate and freeze. No problems but I do want to separate them soon so I'll have pairs or trio's. They are not mean here. I can walk up and pick any of the roosters up and carry them around that have been here a while or hatched here. The one's hatched here fly up on the roost to be picked up. The 2 newer roosters are still shy of me but they won't take long to warm up and be rotten.

I'm sure there will be lots more experiences from other breeders here too.

 

[cashdl]

There is no lethal gene associated with the rumplessness. The lethal gene is with the tufts. Two copies of the tuft gene and the chick dies in the shell before hatching 100% of the time. So if your australian araucana has tufts ( not muffs ) then you wouldn't want to breed it to another tufted bird. Some breeders do, just up to each person.

The muffs and beard have no lethality attached to them.

Typically my araucanas range between a 5 and a zero. There are some that like their independance ( Minnie ) and some that begged to be picked up. None are flighty. They are very sure of themselves and their position in the world, and some would rather not be picked up. But when you do catch the little buggers, they don't struggle, they just give a little resigned sigh and settle in for what ever you have planned.

Egg production is pretty good and reliable unless they are molting or going broody. Broodiness happens alot with some of my birds.


Lanae

 

[Wild Trapper]

Update on my Araucana rooster, if that is truly what he is. I thought the lady told me her kids pulled his little white tail feathers that are supposed to be white. This AM when I went out to let my birds out of their coop I watched them for a few minutes. It seems the Golden Comet hens follow him around and peck at his tail. (hen pecked, no doubt

). I'm wondering if the lady said her girls pulled his feathers out and meant her hens, I just heard it wrong.

Anyway, doubt I could get any usable pictures today as we are now getting drenching rain. BTW, his name that the lady called him was Cotton Tail, because of the white tail feathers.

Wish those hens would leave him alone and let his tail feathers grow back in. Well, most of the GC hens will be going back home to my DIL coop the end of the week. I'm chicken sitting her chickens the past few weeks while my son and DIL are in Thailand. Something got into her coop and killed a couple of her chickens, so I moved the rest in with mine. I might even give her a couple of my GCs to take the place of the two she lost. I have four pullets just starting to lay, and plan to incubate some eggs soon, so I can always replace my flock.

 

[cashdl]

I find jealousy is rampant in the chicken pens. My favorite birds are the ones who can dodge the jealous pecks of the other and manage to maintain their beautiful tufts.

Lanae