Araucana thread anyone?

[Frazzemrat1]

Yay on the saddle feather...
And that's a relief. I didn't want to have to look into getting rid of one of the cockerels, and I had hoped they'd get along with the ladies. I know that some breeds, 7 hens wouldn't be enough to satisfy one roo, let alone two.

 

[Trish1974]

Mottled pullet for your viewing pleasure:

 

[Trish1974]

So I was going over stats for my first year of breeding...
I only hatched 23 chicks (that survived). The incubator malfunction in July really hurt me. There were 16 eggs in lockdown that never hatched.
Of the 23, 60% were cockerels. Only 30% of all chicks were tufted. So much for the tuft gene being dominant! Hopefully next year I'll have at least 50% tufted (of course more would be nice, I'm being realistic) and 60% pullets.

Turns out my best pair is my mismatched pair. Lucy the BBR and Triton the triple tufted cock have thrown me the most beautiful chicks, and Triton throws his tufts more than any of my other males. Going off Triton's chick down, he is ER based. However, he is breeding like he is actually duckwing. So I've come to the conclusion he is ER/e+. I have gotten BBR, golden duckwing, silver duckwing, and WHITE out of this pair. (So I'm guessing both Lucy and Triton have recessive white in their background).

I'm going to try the mottling project another year, then may give it up. I've decided I just can't get rid of Manolito. He is one of a kind but his light mottling is going to inhibit the project. I still have MJ, but I will never breed him because of the leakage. I'm considering selling him as a 4-H project. It will break my heart, but he won't have a use here. He is very tame and used to being handled, so I think he would be good for a kid to get some experience with. There is a little more emotion and attachment to this black/mottled group since they were my first Araucanas (minus Cholo).

 

[chickengr]

Ok, @Trish1974 and @Brahma Chicken5000 this is a little boy, isn't it... even though he was sold as a pullet.
View attachment 1952079

View attachment 1952082

And the cuckoo and paint, for good measure. LOL
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the blue one looks like pullet. at least at this photo saddle feathers are round and there is no red in face/comb. at the age of 11 weeks cockerels should have redder comb.

some pullets/hens have somewhat pointy saddle feathers. at least I had 2 like that.

 

[Trish1974]

Lil Sweet:

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Lil Sweet:
View attachment 1956168

 

[Frazzemrat1]

the blue one looks like pullet. at least at this photo saddle feathers are round and there is no red in face/comb. at the age of 11 weeks cockerels should have redder comb.

some pullets/hens have somewhat pointy saddle feathers. at least I had 2 like that.

Well, I got a couple of (poor lighting) shots yesterday. It was at dusk and I was having to herd the kids into the run.
I think the cuckoo cockerel will be Garrus Vakarian (from Mass Effect). I think the blue mottled will be Blackwall (from Dragon Age Inquisition. A character that passed himself off as somebody else for most of the game). I'm thinking Liara for the blue paint (Also from Mass Effect).
They're 12 weeks now. You can see Garrus' saddle feathers quite well. Blackwall is starting to get his in, but those wing bars leave little doubt he's a guy. Liara has one fault I'm not pleased about: She has two feathers that stick out on her rump, not quite tail feathers, but close. But, she is double tufted... poorly.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Well, I got a couple of (poor lighting) shots yesterday. It was at dusk and I was having to herd the kids into the run.
I think the cuckoo cockerel will be Garrus Vakarian (from Mass Effect). I think the blue mottled will be Blackwall (from Dragon Age Inquisition. A character that passed himself off as somebody else for most of the game). I'm thinking Liara for the blue paint (Also from Mass Effect).
They're 12 weeks now. You can see Garrus' saddle feathers quite well. Blackwall is starting to get his in, but those wing bars leave little doubt he's a guy. Liara has one fault I'm not pleased about: She has two feathers that stick out on her rump, not quite tail feathers, but close. But, she is double tufted... poorly.
View attachment 1957487
View attachment 1957486

They’re really pretty.
Hatch chicks from them and your other Araucanas to even out the cock to hen ratio.

 

[smoothmule]

Looking for breeders of black large Fowl and Bantam Araucana’s

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Looking for breeders of black large Fowl and Bantam Araucana’s

Are you on Facebook? There are 3 Araucana threads that are great.