Araucana thread anyone?

[kygoatgirl]

Thank you Beth.

I was scrolling thru the pics for the calender....I didn't see any Araucanas.
Is anyone going to post any pics for it?
There are lots if cute ones, but nothing compares to a tufted Araucana showing off!

Check it out....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=531803

 

[josh44]

An Older set of Mottled Araucana Bantams,they're about 3-5 yrs old.
They have all produced beautifully this year

from 1 roo several years ago we have produced Many,many, Chicks & have culled heavy!
We've gone through several generations, through out the years. So far so good, everyones breeding pretty true now

we have about 20 -30 breeders for this year.
We will eventually start showing them soon & high possibility of letting some of them go this year to other breeders for showing & breeding

.

The Only Flaw we have seen, are some yellow in legs & we still hatch out some chicks with red feathers through out the body, in hackels sattles and breast occasionally we get a mille flure color bird from mottleds.

We Even Have a Large fowl Cuckoo Araucana & Bantam Araucana Tolbunt color project coming along since were takling Araucauna colors

See roosters neck in pic. he has a mahowgany color feather in hackle.


Will try to post pics of entire flock running togeather

 

[cashdl]

Beautiful birds Josh,

Are they large fowl or bantam. If large fowl, keep me in mind as one of the breeders who would like a pair or hatching eggs. I am serious.


Lanae

 

[cashdl]

Never mind, went back and read the begining of your post. Darn. I was so mesmorized by their pics I didn't read carefully enough.


Lanae

 

[cackleberrycoop]

Wow, Josh - those birds are so DIFFERENT looking. I really wish that I could see them in person - so intriguing.

Lanae - yeah!!! Go preach some serious Araucana attributes!!! You are such a wonderful spokes person for this breed.

I've got to say, I headed off to our county fair in exactly the same manner, heading into "battle" as it were. Wow, I was so not prepared for how WELL the whole experience went (save from having to bring my birds home early due to a family emergency). As soon as I pulled out my dble tufted pullet, the exclamations of "A real Araucana at last" began and I had so much support and encouragement from the poultry participants of our little show. The tufts garnered a lot of attention. I overheard the judge at one point saying to someone (I missed the first part of the conversation, but I can guess...) "But if you are interested in seeing the real thing, we actually do have two true Araucanas here this year. Take a good look because you won't have many opportunities to see tufts like these." You can imagine how ecstatic i was to overhear THAT!!!
Araucana, the real deal, are so unique - watching someone discovering them for the first time is such a joy.
My pullet received a blue ribbon and my rooster a red, but I'm not sure how much that means because they were the only two chickens entered into their class.... But I did hear recently from a very reliable source that my girl was considered for Best of Show but determined to be too immature yet. She is now in her own coop eating high protein feed and flax in hope of having her at the peak of perfection for the BIG October Exposition poultry show in Great Falls Montana. Last year I drove the five hrs to that show in hopes of seeing some Araucana, but there were none there. I can't go this year, but have a ride up for my pullet. I'm very interested in having her judged in that sanctioned show.
Anyhow, I'm hoping big for you Lanae, that your experience at this Heritage show will leave you as rejuvenated and hopeful as my fair experience left me.

 

[phasianidae]

Those mottled Araucanas are beautiful!

 

[smoothmule]

Josh,
I'm very impressed, not just some gorgeous Araucana's there but the work behind them is to be envied. Put me on the list for a pair or trio when you're ready to sell please

Also, I am down to 11 eggs yesterdays and todays eggs. I'm already shipping out 2 dozen in the morning and I can easily have these packed up and ready to go in the morning. They're starting to moult so I figure the production will slow a lot soon and I don't have room for them. I can't do anything about the shipping cost but I'll drop the price if someone wants them and will have them paid for by paypal before bedtime tonight so I can get them packed and ready to go out early. I think I will set up a couple of small pens for the whites and just hatch a few more this fall and we'll be eating the other eggs unless I get an order I can fill.

First come, first served. $18 for shipping, $15 for the eggs.

Cathy

 

[josh44]

Thank You,

been thinking of selling hatching eggs this year.

I am also working with another breeder with their LF Araucana. Thats about it for Araucana work

 

[smoothmule]

Found another egg when I went out to do a last minute check on everyone. Luvdove and Curlie leave to go to Maine in the morning and 2 dozen hatching eggs to Maryland. I'll have another dozen+ to sell that could ship Wed so I'll put them on the Skybluegg site now. I have chicks hatching tonight, just a couple I had set with some Serama eggs. I'm pretty sure they belong to Lucy and Columbo is the dad. I set Casper (white/CF/rumpless) up with Fawn (white/tufted/couple tail feathers) and India (black/huge tufts/2 tail feathers) as a breeding trio for now. She has been setting and I decided to try and break it up to get her laying again, we'll see....she isn't happy with me right now.

Another group is Blanco (white/tufted/rumpless) with Snowy(white/CF/Rumpless) and 2 nice blue pullets that I think are laying now and were with him in the larger coop before the move. The blue pullets are sold but won't be leaving till October so I might get to hatch a couple chicks out of them before they go.

The smaller coop has Columbo and the BBR and Duckwing hens. Columbo and Slinky are sold and going out east too but not for a few weeks. The buyer just moved and has to get set up and make sure there won't be an issue with having them.

The large coop now has all the young ones I plan to keep for now, several double tufted/rumpless and the hens are black/CF/rumpless in this pen. The roosters are Degas and his young son (he is sold) who is his spitten image other than no tufts, Joker and one of Jokers sons that is duckwing but has not matured enough for his adult duckwing feathering. Degas and Joker can pretty much be in the same coop as any of the other roosters but Rudy can't get along with any of them....yet he sleeps next to my standard Cochin rooster and they are currently sharing the Maran hens as their free range girls.

When Columbo leaves, I'll move either Rudy or Joker to that pen and I'll let Degas free range, he loves to be out, and put Rudy in with the black hens but it will have to be after the 2 young cockerels are gone too I think. Rudy is fine with the young cockerels but these two are getting old enough to annoy him.

So, I have a plan for fall. Anyone else got anything going right now?

I have all the parts and pieces I need now and my son has begun work to turn a non-working wine cooler, dorm fridge size, into an incubator

It's gorgeous, looks new with a smoked glass door. The plans for it came from another BYC'er member. Their will be a double light bulb fixture (two 20 watt bulbs) and the thermostat is an aquarium heater. The heater coil and the glass around it removed to leave just the thermostat which will be mounted inside of a stick of PVC pipe with holes drilled all over it. There will be wiring soldered to the thermostat so it will turn the light bulbs off and on to regulate the temperature. There will be a small fan in the bottom that will run continuous and space for a tub of water for humidity. The racks will be covered with welded wire and I'll hand turn for now. I'll continue to use my stryofoam incubator (still air/no turner) for the hatcher. I may remove the turner from the other incubator to use in it for the Araucana eggs but the Serama eggs are doing better hand turned. It should hold well over 100 eggs, plenty for me and I'll be selling hatching eggs from now till it's set up and running as I have them.

I'll post photo's when it's done.

 

[cashdl]

Hi All. Good news to tell. It is a very small show which I expected. About 200 birds of various breeds. There is one other Araucana, a bantam. I havn't seen it yet but have talked to the people and they definately know what Araucana are so yeah!. I took down about 15 babies today because I was told that all my sale birds had to be checked in and left there along with my exibition birds, but I was able to plead my case and the inspector is going to look my sale birds over every day. Such a nice man.

So I had mentioned to the gentleman who has the bantam araucana that I had brought babies for sale ( I was happy I came prepared) so just before I left they came over and asked to see them. I sold them two tufted babies, a black and a blue. So I am off to a good start.

There were about 8 or 10 real ameraucanas also, the colors looked correct, they were bigger than I expected. Although one poor blue wheaten was listed as an araucana. A clerical error I suspect on the part of the person making the cage cards. They seemed sure the judge would sort it out.

I sold three pullets this week and will meet the person at the poultry show to deliver them. I feel like I may actually be at a point where I can concentrate on the colors that I originally was interested in. It helps that I am finally hatching some silver duckwing pullets. So far I have 4 hatched and 3 are tufted. The duckwing roos colors are all over the place which is what I have been expecting. I do have a nice golden duckwing cleanfaced roo that seems to have the correct colors coming together and since most of my pullets are tufted thats ok.

My birchen roo is at the poultry show and actually acting like a decent bird. He is letting people pet him. I am shocked because the jerk took a chunk out of my leg when I was trying to get him in his dog crate for the trip. I must have gone around the corners a little fast and took some of the starch out of his shorts. I hope someone will be so enamored of him that they will make me an offer and I don't have to take him home. He seems to like the show gig.

I will let you know how it goes, but I have really high hopes for this show. Everyone is so nice and excited to be doing it.

Lanae