Araucana thread anyone?

[cackleberrycoop]

Araucana eggs too dark to candle is exciting! I get a little bummed when mine are so lightly colored that I can see right in.

 

[thyme4jb]

I candled them three different times, unwilling to remove even one egg. Finally on day 19 I removed 8 that were completely clear. I cracked them open and all looked like they had been scrambled inside the shell. (U.S. Mail!) I left the remainder in the incubator even though only 6 of the remaining 16 eggs looked like they went to term. I haven't cracked open the 10 eggs that didn't hatch yet, but will do so sometime today....probably. I hesitate to do this step not just because it is unpleasant but also because it admits the obvious. I'm not weak, I just hate to see living things not make it...animals, even plants.

 

[poularde]

I know what you mean. I stopped cracking open eggs that do not hatch. I give eggs a few extra days to hatch and if they don't they don't. I do not need to check. Just too depressing for me.

 

[thyme4jb]

Yeah, I figure if a hen sits on her eggs three days beyond the "due date" (when the first chick appears) then I should do the same thing, just for good measure. AND, when I went back to the incubator just now to take one of the eggs out and open it, I heard a peep! I think it is from my eggs, the last one that I set which was about two days after I put in the first batch. Probably not suppose to do that, but I did.

 

[Illia]

how early can BBR/duckwing/wildtype chicks be sexed? I'd like to start pulling out excess roos asap lol. any tips? I can post some photos too.

6 weeks is the best time to sex them, but definite girls can be sexed a little earlier than that at times. Same with definite boys. The closer to a true pure duckwing they are, the easier at earlier age.

Some tips are to avoid breasts coming in too black, too much red or white coming in on the neck, wings, back. Females will often come in multicolored but specifically begin to have golden and black or white and black striping in the neck with a particularly separately colored breast from the rest. Silvers will have a red, salmon, or pale peach colored breast, some may be light in the very center and darken towards the wings. Wildtypes will have burgandy, orange, or golden tan breast.

 

[syble]

hmm, i'm afraid with my limited experience (I deal with solid everything, buff/blue/black/splash orps, blue marans) I had never intended to keep any patterned araucanas and yet here i am, a bbs group and a multi-coloured group lol.

 

[Illia]

Waay too young to sex, but I'll take 'em off your hands!

 

[syble]

I figured they were a bit young lol, i thought the top one might have a chance though lol. those ones were all rumpless, so i'm not as eager to get rid of them. I have a wide range though so i'm sure i will have to narrow it sooner rather then later lol. i'm getting alot of chipmunks, but the odd black too, one was a chipmunk black.. first time i've seen that.

 

[msladyhawke]

Mr. Britches is SO handsome! Love him!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I am really starting to like this interesting breeding. Unfortunately I am only fostering the 2 aracaunas until the friend I purchased them for gets them, but I think I might now be getting some in the future for myself after having them. Esp. if I get offspring off the silly Mr Britches!

 

[smoothmule]

Here are a couple from my most recent hatch, both of these are rumpless and double tufted