Araucana thread anyone?

[DustyDivas]

I have two beautiful bantam Araucana's
Slow to warm to you, but so worth the wait.

Amazingly big personalities from such little birds

 

[Araucana Nest]

I'm thinking I found a place to get a pair of Araucanas. Is it better to have a tailed male to breed to a rumpless female? I heard that they can get too short of backs continuously breeding only rumpless to rumpless

It depends on how long the rumpless to rumpless breeding has been going on I think. I have some that came with short backs that need to be bred to tailed and apparently that was what that breeder was doing because four of the chicks have tails. I also have several with no issues whatsoever that are rumpless and I will be breeding to rumpless. I'm not sure how many generations it is safe to breed to rumpless. Can you ask the breeder?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It depends on how long the rumpless to rumpless breeding has been going on I think. I have some that came with short backs that need to be bred to tailed and apparently that was what that breeder was doing because four of the chicks have tails. I also have several with no issues whatsoever that are rumpless and I will be breeding to rumpless. I'm not sure how many generations it is safe to breed to rumpless. Can you ask the breeder?

I probably can, I just hadn't thought of that honestly XD.

And what is double tufted? They sell pullets and males that are either clean faced or double tufted. Is it a tuft on each side?

 

[Araucana Nest]

I probably can, I just hadn't thought of that honestly XD.

And what is double tufted? They sell pullets and males that are either clean faced or double tufted. Is it a tuft on each side?

Yes, there is double-tufted, single tufted, and clean-faced. Each one had variations in curl and length. Some of the tufts are micro, barely noticeable. The double tufted (or dt) bred to dt is the one yoiu have to wtach out for. That pairing carries a lethal gene. So you want to breed dt to clean-faced. I'm not sure if the Single tuft - st- carries the same lethal gene. I'm breeding for clean-faced because I prefer it. The tufts aren't so beautiful in my eyes.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Yes, there is double-tufted, single tufted, and clean-faced. Each one had variations in curl and length. Some of the tufts are micro, barely noticeable. The double tufted (or dt) bred to dt is the one yoiu have to wtach out for. That pairing carries a lethal gene. So you want to breed dt to clean-faced. I'm not sure if the Single tuft - st- carries the same lethal gene. I'm breeding for clean-faced because I prefer it. The tufts aren't so beautiful in my eyes.

But double tuft is with one on each side and single tuft is withjust one tuft in one side of the face? I can't find anything online and I don't want to accidentally learn the wrong thing before I get birds

 

[Araucana Nest]

But double tuft is with one on each side and single tuft is withjust one tuft in one side of the face? I can't find anything online and I don't want to accidentally learn the wrong thing before I get birds

Yes, double tuft is a tuft on each side of the face. Single tuft is a tuft on just one side of the face.

The short back issue gives them pasty butt but also hinders natural breeding. I had read after I brought them home because I really just fell in love with them the first time I saw them at a breeder's house. They also don't all lay blue eggs.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Yes, double tuft is a tuft on each side of the face. Single tuft is a tuft on just one side of the face.

The short back issue gives them pasty butt but also hinders natural breeding. I had read after I brought them home because I really just fell in love with them the first time I saw them at a breeder's house. They also don't all lay blue eggs.

Okay. Do the ones who don't lay blue lay a green or do they not lay blue because of outcrossing? I'm debating saving a bit more and getting a double tufted male for the clean females I'm looking at so I get some with tufts from my crossing. We hardly have anyone within hours of me that has these birds so I think they would be decent sellers if they have both traits wanted for showing.

 

[Araucana Nest]

Okay. Do the ones who don't lay blue lay a green or do they not lay blue because of outcrossing? I'm debating saving a bit more and getting a double tufted male for the clean females I'm looking at so I get some with tufts from my crossing. We hardly have anyone within hours of me that has these birds so I think they would be decent sellers if they have both traits wanted for showing.

Some of the eggs I got were gray- all of them from one particular breeder, in fact. They don't all lay a blue egg but the blue egg is prized above all the other colors. I'm pretty sure some people either put a filter on their photos or do something else to manipulate the color of the eggs. The blue coloration is the result of a retrovirus; the entire shell inside and out is blue. The blue i have seen in my Araucana and in my Cream Legbar is a light pastel blue....very pretty but nothing like a blue sky. That may exist; I just haven't seen it.

From what I have been told, be prepared to work with whatever you get. If I had known then what I know now I could have saved a lot of money just starting with what I already had instead of going to a top breeder for foundation stock.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Some of the eggs I got were gray- all of them from one particular breeder, in fact. They don't all lay a blue egg but the blue egg is prized above all the other colors. I'm pretty sure some people either put a filter on their photos or do something else to manipulate the color of the eggs. The blue coloration is the result of a retrovirus; the entire shell inside and out is blue. The blue i have seen in my Araucana and in my Cream Legbar is a light pastel blue....very pretty but nothing like a blue sky. That may exist; I just haven't seen it.

From what I have been told, be prepared to work with whatever you get. If I had known then what I know now I could have saved a lot of money just starting with what I already had instead of going to a top breeder for foundation stock.

Okay, thanks for the heads up.

 

[DustyDivas]

I
These are my girls eggs; white leghorn and two little blue Araucana eggs.
No filters, I promise