Araucana thread anyone?

[smoothmule]

I have rethought the idea of giving up on Araucanas. I love them so much! I thought about hatching out some of my own eggs but I am also concerned it is a line problem so I have decided against that idea. I am going to try a completely different line and see what the differences are....I would like to order some hatching eggs in the spring and see if I can get one of my Wyandottes to hatch them for me or purchase a small incubator. I would like a mix of Araucana and Wyandotte if anyone here will have eggs or chicks available please PM me.

What sort of problems have you been having? PM me
Cathy

 

[Rumbull]

I had one hen that I noticed seemed to be having trouble with an egg. I watched her squatting and her vent was swollen. The next day I found an egg that had no shell lying in the yard. It was as though it only had the membrane and no calcium around it. The following day she layed a very soft shelled egg and then was back to normal. I do sprinkle oyster shells in their pen and they free range.
This has been my only experience with an egg problem.

 

[cashdl]

I have not had any egg laying problems with my various breeding pens with the exception of the lack of eggs being layed this fall. I do think that nutrition can play a part in egg laying. Also stress can play a part.

I would not be quick to judge one line by a single bird. That is unfair to the person or breeder you got your eggs or chicks from. There are many many things that can affect egg laying or health. Chickens are like people, each chicken is affected by health, nutrition, environmental factors differently than another chicken.


Lanae

 

[Kassaundra]

I have not had any egg laying problems with my various breeding pens with the exception of the lack of eggs being layed this fall. I do think that nutrition can play a part in egg laying. Also stress can play a part.

I would not be quick to judge one line by a single bird. That is unfair to the person or breeder you got your eggs or chicks from. There are many many things that can affect egg laying or health. Chickens are like people, each chicken is affected by health, nutrition, environmental factors differently than another chicken.


Lanae

Parts of this conversation were on another thread that she started in the emergency section, she had 2 others w/ back issues that had to be culled.

 

[cashdl]

Parts of this conversation were on another thread that she started in the emergency section, she had 2 others w/ back issues that had to be culled.

Thank you for the additional information. Birds with too short of backs can be a real issue with araucana. I get 1 about every 50 or 60 chicks. I have yet had one live to adulthood. It is like the body is too short to accommodate all the various things it needs to. I would appreciate knowing who the breeder is. A pm would work just fine.


Lanae

 

[imtrying]

you absolutely should not give out the breeders name - - - especially without talking with them first.

even in a pm.

with all due respect, you do not know lanae, nor who she is going to tell this information to. i'm sure if you had an issue with lanae's birds, she would want you to talk to her instead of telling other people first.

 

[gg706]

To consolidate what has been going on.....
I ordered chicks March 2012. In my bunch I received 2 chicks that did not look "right" realized that they couldn't poo on their own. I was kindly advised by an Araucana breeder here on BYC to cull them, which I believe was good advice.....especially now.
Then I got this hen to laying age, it seemed she was attempting to lay but could not get the egg out...after 3 days I ended her suffering and culled her, more good advice here on BYC. After dissecting her to see what was going on, found she did in fact have an egg. It was a large+ size egg and she is bantam sized...I do not think she could have ever passed the egg. This would have been her first egg...and my first Araucana egg. I am concened because I have 2 Araucana hens left that I am still waiting for them to lay. I am worried they will end up having to be culled as well. Not an easy thing for me to do as my chickens are my pets.
So breeder/line problem? fluke? Something I am doing incorrectly?
I have contacted the breeder to let her know. Hopefully she can take the info and bring in some new blood to solve the problem if it is a breeder problem.

 

[cashdl]

To consolidate what has been going on.....
I ordered chicks March 2012. In my bunch I received 2 chicks that did not look "right" realized that they couldn't poo on their own. I was kindly advised by an Araucana breeder here on BYC to cull them, which I believe was good advice.....especially now.
Then I got this hen to laying age, it seemed she was attempting to lay but could not get the egg out...after 3 days I ended her suffering and culled her, more good advice here on BYC. After dissecting her to see what was going on, found she did in fact have an egg. It was a large+ size egg and she is bantam sized...I do not think she could have ever passed the egg. This would have been her first egg...and my first Araucana egg. I am concened because I have 2 Araucana hens left that I am still waiting for them to lay. I am worried they will end up having to be culled as well. Not an easy thing for me to do as my chickens are my pets.
So breeder/line problem? fluke? Something I am doing incorrectly?
I have contacted the breeder to let her know. Hopefully she can take the info and bring in some new blood to solve the problem if it is a breeder problem.

I would like to know a little more about the issue the two chicks that you culled had. You mentioned that they couldn't poo on their own. When did you start to notice this? How old were they? Were they going to the bathroom normally before this issue.


Imtrying,

Most people with araucana are aware of who I am, and know that I am one of the first to defend a true breeder. A person who merely has araucana but does not concern themselves with what colors best go together or how to actually breed for a correct type, are not breeders they are keepers of chickens who procreate. If you would like to know who I am, feel free to look at my website or ask around. You are more than welcome to come visit me and my birds as many have. I have had several people fly out here to see me and talk araucana. I would love to see you at a poultry show. I would also love to see pictures of your birds, because I believe you mentioned that you have BBRs based on wheaten and since that is my all time favorite color, I cannot get enough of looking at them. I have pics of other chicken breeds in the wheaten BBR color saved on my desktop so I can peruse them at my leisure.

I wanted to know who the breeder was because I do know who the majority of actual araucana breeders are, and the quality of there birds. I do not know of any breeders that are having issues with their flock such as what has been described. I did determine with a little searching where she purchased her birds from and I will say that their original flock came from one of the elite in the araucana world, so I really doubt it is a line issue unless they have started buying their birds from someone who merely lets their araucana procreate together but does not keep conformation in mind.

Lanae

 

[gg706]

I ordered my chicks as day olds and they got to my home a couple of days later. All seemed fine, I was watching for pasty butt and taking good care of them. I am a stay at home Mom and both of my children are school age....so I have plenty of time to dedicate to chicks. I was always out there watching them etc. I never saw these 2 chicks go on their own. I noticed 2 were struggling they would squat and try to eliminate but nothing would come out. They looked different as well, they had a wider girth and upright stance noticeably different than the others. They never had poo dried to their butts. It was like an internal pasting up. I would take them to the sink and run warm water on their bum and massage the poo out. It felt like a little hard marble on the inside. It didn't take long and they really looked bad...got to the point they were trying to go constantly and squealing in pain. So I PM'd a frequent poster on this thread and they advised me to cull them. They thought it sounded like they were born with too short of a back which causes them to have elimination problems. So I followed theirr advice, and do feel it was the right decision as they were really suffering. I do not think the breeder I got mine from selectively breeds, as far as I understand all her colors are mixed together. Which at the time didn't seem like a big deal since I was not looking for show birds just backyard pets.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

I ordered my chicks as day olds and they got to my home a couple of days later. All seemed fine, I was watching for pasty butt and taking good care of them. I am a stay at home Mom and both of my children are school age....so I have plenty of time to dedicate to chicks. I was always out there watching them etc. I never saw these 2 chicks go on their own. I noticed 2 were struggling they would squat and try to eliminate but nothing would come out. They looked different as well, they had a wider girth and upright stance noticeably different than the others. They never had poo dried to their butts. It was like an internal pasting up. I would take them to the sink and run warm water on their bum and massage the poo out. It felt like a little hard marble on the inside. It didn't take long and they really looked bad...got to the point they were trying to go constantly and squealing in pain. So I PM'd a frequent poster on this thread and they advised me to cull them. They thought it sounded like they were born with too short of a back which causes them to have elimination problems. So I followed theirr advice, and do feel it was the right decision as they were really suffering. I do not think the breeder I got mine from selectively breeds, as far as I understand all her colors are mixed together. Which at the time didn't seem like a big deal since I was not looking for show birds just backyard pets.

I haven't been on in a while and just got caught up on the last couple of days. So sorry for your loss. Lanea is more the expert here, but from the info. you have provided sounds like you are doing things right. Just some bad luck. We had a bad hatch with our silkies this spring and had various problems and I knew they were from a rep. breeder so sometimes even birds from a good line throw bad. Hope your remaining birds stay healthy. Keep us posted on their progress and post pics! We love pics!