Araucana thread anyone?

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Sounds like you have a couple of house pets!
Oh, I have a lady coming for DT on Friday. He's the cockerel I listed for sale here. She wants to use him for an olive egger project. If she doesn't show, I'm going to take him off the market and keep him.

Definitely keep DT if she doesn’t show or better yet try to sell her your clean faced cockerel instead.
Kathy Brunson says that the cock has a bigger affect on tuft size compared to the hen. So keeping a cock with large even tufts over a clean faced cock is a good idea.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

How’s your Largefowl x Bantam Araucana pullet doing? Will you be keeping her?

 

[Trish1974]

How’s your Largefowl x Bantam Araucana pullet doing? Will you be keeping her?

Yep, I'll be keeping Lil Girl. I won't hatch anything from her, just keep her as a pet. She is so sweet and sociable!
I'll definitely be keeping my clean faced cockerel Buck - he is perfect in body and type, and his head is absolutely gorgeous! Mano has the best tufts. I was thinking though if something should happen to him I won't have a back up tufted cock if I sell DT. Plus, DT is the friendliest. He's the only male (besides Cholo) that will eat out of my hand.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Yep, I'll be keeping Lil Girl. I won't hatch anything from her, just keep her as a pet. She is so sweet and sociable!
I'll definitely be keeping my clean faced cockerel Buck - he is perfect in body and type, and his head is absolutely gorgeous! Mano has the best tufts. I was thinking though if something should happen to him I won't have a back up tufted cock if I sell DT. Plus, DT is the friendliest. He's the only male (besides Cholo) that will eat out of my hand.

Well I say keep them all! At least until you hatch enough back up cockerels and then cull.
I’m happy to hear you’re keeping Lil Girl. If you weren’t I would so take her.

Are you using Kathy Brunson’s first year breeding plan as a reference for your breeding?
How will you mark chicks? Wing bands? That’s how my pullets are marked. You may want to mark your all birds with wing bands and then mark your breeders with certain color zip ties and culls with maybe a clear zip tie.
I’m so excited to follow your breeding adventure!

 

[Trish1974]

Well I say keep them all! At least until you hatch enough back up cockerels and then cull.
I’m happy to hear you’re keeping Lil Girl. If you weren’t I would so take her.

Are you using Kathy Brunson’s first year breeding plan as a reference for your breeding?
How will you mark chicks? Wing bands? That’s how my pullets are marked. You may want to mark your all birds with wing bands and then mark your breeders with certain color zip ties and culls with maybe a clear zip tie.
I’m so excited to follow your breeding adventure!

I'll probably use zip ties on their legs. Right now I'm more excited about getting my blue birchens and breeding them with Cholo. I'm nervous as all get out about hatching; I've never done it before.

 

[TashaFrancois]

Hello you amazing people! I live in Kansas City, MO and no one local breeds arucanas. I’m having trouble finding anything reputable online. Any of you sell? Know someone who does? They are so adorable and their history is fascinating to me. I must have them in my life! Lol

 

[chickengr]

We’re the chicks that hatched double tufted?

yes, all of them.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Hello you amazing people! I live in Kansas City, MO and no one local breeds arucanas. I’m having trouble finding anything reputable online. Any of you sell? Know someone who does? They are so adorable and their history is fascinating to me. I must have them in my life! Lol

Ann Charles of Sky Blue Eggs sells Araucanas. Sign up for her email list and you’ll get emails when she is selling birds. I got 2 double tufted Black Breasted Red pullets from her and I’m very very happy with them.

 

[Trish1974]

Hello you amazing people! I live in Kansas City, MO and no one local breeds arucanas. I’m having trouble finding anything reputable online. Any of you sell? Know someone who does? They are so adorable and their history is fascinating to me. I must have them in my life! Lol

Agree with @Brahma Chicken5000 She sells chicks in lots of 10, various colors. I think that would be a great way for a newbie to get started. Keep what you want and sell the rest.
I'll be applying for NPIP certification in May or June, but probably won't have anything to sell until fall.

 

[Trish1974]

@TashaFrancois You should definitely get some Araucanas...they are amazing birds! There is a whole different level of intelligence in the breed, and I would rank their personality and temperament right up there with Orpingtons. I've been studying this breed and talking with breeders for a year now and have yet to hear of an aggressive Araucana cock. My first Araucana (my avatar) was an extra cockerel out of a batch of hatching eggs a lady a couple hours away from me was selling. I've had him a little over a year now. I was so enamored with him that sent me on a quest to breed these birds. It took FOREVER, (well 7 months, but that is forever when all you want are some damn chickens!) to find more Araucanas. I found out my sister knows Nancy Utterback, who is one of the original breeders and exhibitors of the breed, and she gave me her email address. Nancy is only an hour an half away from me. I harassed her via email all summer until she broke down and sold me some birds. She sold me the last of her large fowl Araucanas, 6 chicks and their mother hen. She now just raises bantams for her grandson to show.
I'm sure everyone here will do what we can to help you get started. Araucanas are an amazing breed that I would like to see become more popular. If you do Facebook, join the Araucana Club of America page, Araucana Breeders and Exhibitor's page, and there is even an Araucanas for Sale in the US page. I personally am anti-facebook, but there is a wealth of knowledge there that I don't think I could have gotten anywhere else.