Araucana thread anyone?

[Brethren49619]

Wow, timing. Was just going to post some pics I took this afternoon. Would you call this little guy mottled? I know, could still change, but what would you call it?

 

[Rumbull]

ooooh - mottled. how pretty.

are there mille fleur araucanas?

Yes, they are being developed...

 

[imtrying]

hmm. not quite what i pictured. thanks for the picture.

 

[cashdl]

Wow, timing. Was just going to post some pics I took this afternoon. Would you call this little guy mottled? I know, could still change, but what would you call it?

He may have 1 dose of mottling but he actually just looks like a melanized duckwing. Duckwings can have white splotches on the chest that will eventually turn black. You can see on his shoulders where the melanizers are not cover up the duckwing coloration completely.

 

[syble]

To anyone who lives in colder regions: do you do any winter breeding? I'm thinking long and hard about hatching out some blacks over the winter, I finally have the chance to combine tufts with rump less... but worry about the possible lack of vigor of winter chicks...
Any thoughts?

 

[imtrying]

how will you be hatching? a broody? incubator? if an incubator, are you set-up to care for the babies during winter?

 

[syble]

no broodies for me lol, incubators only. I do have brooders and an insulated barn, but once they are out growing the brooder, they will go on a ground pen with a heat lamp. it will be draft free but not a fully heated barn

 

[cashdl]

I sorta live in colder climes. Yes I am in California where it can reach 115 in the summer which makes it too hot to hatch and rear chicks. So I incubate and hatch all winter. It gets down in the 20s here easy during the winter. I run my incubators outside. I have a cabinet incubator and cabinet hatcher. I have them wrapped on the sides and front with thick moving blankets but leave the back free of blankets. I use plastic tubs to brood the chicks with brooder lamps and 65 wt light bulbs in them. For the cold nights I cover the brooders in towels wrapped around the lamps. The lamps don't get hot because the bulbs are only 65wts. I will check on the chicks during the night because I am a worrier, but find that even on the coldest nights they are toasty and warm. I have several sheds for older chicks that are from 4 weeks and older. I have brooder lamps hanging at different heights around their pen so that no matter where they are, if they get cold they can snuggle up to a light.

This week the weather was calling for snow which we didn't get but it was at freezing here and my chicks weathered it easily. I am hatching chicks right at this moment and my hatcher is having no problem holding temp outside on my covered front porch.



Lanae

 

[jeremy]

Yes, they are being developed...

Beautiful! Do you have any other photos?

 

[syble]

think I'll give it a go, my hopes are that I can hatch a good cockerel tufted and rumpless that I can use for summer breeding (but hey if theres a couple hens like that, i wont complain haha)