Arkansas Blue egg layers

[1muttsfan]

Does anyone have black birds? I would be interested if so, it helps keep the blues and splashes colors more vivid.

 

[ronott1]

I will be hatching sometime between march - may. If you guys have Splash or blue covering blue hens that would be amazing.

I have a splash rooster that I am going to use with two splash and two blue hens.

 

[DCchicken]

I have been disappointed with my Arkansas Blues. I got a couple of eggs in the summer and then stopped completely. Even my Ayam Cemani are laying better than my AB. Anyone else seeing this?

 

[ronott1]

I have been disappointed with my Arkansas Blues. I got a couple of eggs in the summer and then stopped completely. Even my Ayam Cemani are laying better than my AB. Anyone else seeing this?

I sent the breeding flock to a pen in Winters, for breeding. They stopped laying but it was stress and then low winter light hours. They picked back up in the Spring and laid very well for the rest of the seasons.

I have 4 pullets from last year breeding and they have been laying regularly now for about 6 weeks. The eggs are already in the large size.

 

[gawildlife]

I have read this entire thread and the other one. Could someone please provide a better description of this strain. I get the gist that these birds were developed to create an andalusian type blue bird that lays a clear blue egg of commercial quality. I understand the strains used to make this strain were a white leghorn type commercial strain and a blue egg laying strain of unknown type plus a strain of sumatra type. Am I correct in this? Whatever the case my specifics that interest me are the commercial qualities of production.
At this point I am contemplating acquiring a small flock of laying hens, minorcas, this spring for my own use. Having experience with layers in the past I know I can not produce eggs cheaper than I can buy them so the cost analysis says if perchance I could sell enough eggs on the side I might cover my feed costs, forget my equipment costs that'll have to be depreciated.
Now remembering my younger days and egg sales I recall the blue and green eggs, EEs, were often the first choice of buyers even though the average size was always smaller than the brown eggs which were selected before my preferred extra large minorca whites. So the question is does this strain lay as well as or almost as well as the better layers and what size to expect, I expect at least large.
Or am I better served by a good strain of ameracauna.

 

[ronott1]

I have read this entire thread and the other one. Could someone please provide a better description of this strain. I get the gist that these birds were developed to create an andalusian type blue bird that lays a clear blue egg of commercial quality. I understand the strains used to make this strain were a white leghorn type commercial strain and a blue egg laying strain of unknown type plus a strain of sumatra type. Am I correct in this? Whatever the case my specifics that interest me are the commercial qualities of production.
At this point I am contemplating acquiring a small flock of laying hens, minorcas, this spring for my own use. Having experience with layers in the past I know I can not produce eggs cheaper than I can buy them so the cost analysis says if perchance I could sell enough eggs on the side I might cover my feed costs, forget my equipment costs that'll have to be depreciated.
Now remembering my younger days and egg sales I recall the blue and green eggs, EEs, were often the first choice of buyers even though the average size was always smaller than the brown eggs which were selected before my preferred extra large minorca whites. So the question is does this strain lay as well as or almost as well as the better layers and what size to expect, I expect at least large.
Or am I better served by a good strain of ameracauna.

I talked to the guy from whiting farms and he verified that they came from him. He is friends with Dr. Bramwell so it is natural that they would work together.

They are leghorn crossed with araucana. Araucana was used to make ameraucanas--they are not ameraucanas. Dr. Bramewells graduate student selectively bred them to create the blue genetics.

They do not have other breeds in them--there was a lot of speculations in the UofA thread that was not true

 

[gawildlife]

So they are leghorn x araucana a straight production blue gene cross with emphasis of blue feathering. What is the production quality of eggs. I understand they have a good conversion ratio.

 

[ronott1]

So they are leghorn x araucana a straight production blue gene cross with emphasis of blue feathering. What is the production quality of eggs. I understand they have a good conversion ratio.

The egg farmer that I hatched for this year was very impressed with them. They are the highest rate blue egg layers, a bit above Cream Legbars.

These are averages so individual differences can be different.

 

[DCchicken]

The egg farmer that I hatched for this year was very impressed with them. They are the highest rate blue egg layers, a bit above Cream Legbars.

These are averages so individual differences can be different.

I think the line I got mine from are just not good layers. I can't believe that they are such bad layers. Even my cross of Bresse and Cream Legbar lay better. So I guess the lesson is to buy from a breeder that has high production.

 

[bamadude]

I want hatching eggs asap