Blue Andalusian thread!

[Bridebeliever]

Can anyone tell me when Andalusians "usually" begin to lay? I was pleasantly surprised that my 21 week old started laying! Her comb isn't even exceptionally large or red yet! It took forever for their combs to develope compared to the rest of my flock. I have two blues and a splash. Here is a picture of the blue that started laying that I took last week when they were eating yogurt.

Here's a picture of her in the nesting box yesterday.

 

[chicken19]

Can anyone tell me when Andalusians "usually" begin to lay? I was pleasantly surprised that my 21 week old started laying! Her comb isn't even exceptionally large or red yet! It took forever for their combs to develope compared to the rest of my flock. I have two blues and a splash. Here is a picture of the blue that started laying that I took last week when they were eating yogurt.

Here's a picture of her in the nesting box yesterday.

I have two hens that look exactly like the hen in the nesting box. Are they andalusians?

 

[Bridebeliever]

Yes, they are! But there are other "blue" breeds out there.

 

[Pasturedpeeps]

I have read that Mediterranean breeds lay better then any other class. But the number of eggs per hen is 180 on a good day and Rhode Island Reds supposedly lay upwards of 240. What gives?
What would be the best way to start with a production line of Andalusians? Hatchery stock? Breeder?
One last question are Andalusians strong flyers? All of my infrastructure is roofless and I would hate to have birds flying out of my breeding pens. Any advice is welcome. Thanks

 

[Bridebeliever]

I can share my limited experience with Andalusians. We got 3 in September at a day old, one Splash and two Blue. They are now 25 weeks old. I get two to three eggs EVERY DAY from them which really surprised me...I didn't expect them to lay so well from what I have read. The eggs are medium sized but they have only been laying for 4 weeks so I'll see if they get bigger or not.

Strong fliers? Absolutely YES, I can't believe how well they fly!! And I have one that can't stand to be confined, there is NO keeping her in. She has flown 10 feet up to get where she wants to go! The breed information says they don't bare confinement well. Out of my 3 only the one can't handle confinement, the other two do fine.

I am really happy with them overall but if I had to have say 10 or 20 of just this breed I think they would freak out if they couldn't free range. These are majorly foraging birds that need room to move.

 

[lolli1103]

I have read that Mediterranean breeds lay better then any other class. But the number of eggs per hen is 180 on a good day and Rhode Island Reds supposedly lay upwards of 240. What gives?  
What would be the best way to start with a production line of Andalusians? Hatchery stock? Breeder?
One last question are Andalusians strong flyers? All of my infrastructure is roofless and I would hate to have birds flying out of my breeding pens. Any advice is welcome. Thanks

 

[lolli1103]

 

[lolli1103]

Andalusians fly very well I have two hens and they can easily fly over my six foot block wall. They are very heat tolerant that is why I got them as we live in the desert. As far as egg priduction I am not sure as mine are just starting to lay but they say 180 maybe 200 a year and are supposed to lay well even in winter.

 

[navajas]

Forgive me if this is asked ad naseum, but could someone link me to pictures or a guide or something of what each chick variety will look like in adulthood? I've been trying to digest as much of this huge thread as I can, but I can't seem to match pictures with the terms I keep reading. Are there four "morphs" of chicks, blue, black, white and splash? Or just three? Do the pale ones really grow up to be white?

Anyway, I was hoping / expecting to be able to find something like:

Look, a "white" chick = This Pic
And when she grows up = This Pic

A "splash" chick looks like = This Pic
And when she grows up = This Pic

A black chick = This
Black hen = This

Blue chick
Blue Hen

A third pic showing pullets would be even cooler!!!

Anyway, is something like this readily available? If not, could I take a picture of my five and have folks ID them for me?

Cheers you chicken people!


So excited to have chicks again after two years,

navajas

 

[Bridebeliever]

Forgive me if this is asked ad naseum, but could someone link me to pictures or a guide or something of what each chick variety will look like in adulthood? I've been trying to digest as much of this huge thread as I can, but I can't seem to match pictures with the terms I keep reading. Are there four "morphs" of chicks, blue, black, white and splash? Or just three? Do the pale ones really grow up to be white?

Anyway, I was hoping / expecting to be able to find something like:

Look, a "white" chick = This Pic
And when she grows up = This Pic

A "splash" chick looks like = This Pic
And when she grows up = This Pic

A black chick = This
Black hen = This

Blue chick
Blue Hen

A third pic showing pullets would be even cooler!!!

Anyway, is something like this readily available? If not, could I take a picture of my five and have folks ID them for me?

Cheers you chicken people!


So excited to have chicks again after two years,

navajas

I can share my own thread here to help you out with some pictures. The colors of Andalusians are; Black, Blue and Splash, no solid white
.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1047549/the-andalusian-picture-thread