Colloncas, Huastecs, & Quechuas

[fuzzybutt love]

OK, thanks for the links and info. I've read some, but have much to go. I may be interested in getting some hatching eggs in the future, then.

My ee are mutts, not culls from the am flocks; so their genetics are aaalll kind of ????? I have been selecting mainly for personality, they do better in confinement. Mine are "pastured". They are penned unless i'm there to watch over them. Too many predators here!

 

[beausonge]

There are a group of people who are starting a Facebook group for those interested in breeding clean faced, rumpless chickens. It is called "American Rumpless Chickens". We are seeking recognition from APA but it is a 5 year process. This is the ground floor, grass roots start of finally recognizing the clean faced Araucana and other breeds that fit that criteria.

If interested, please go and join at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecleanfacedaraucana/

 

[beausonge]

I would guess the blue skinned chick is a Colloncas x Huastec cross. I have a number of this same cross myself. The dark skin and beak at hatch is indicative of carrying at least one Fibromelanism (FM) gene. The Colloncas are not Fibromelanotic and so do not carry the FM gene, The FM gene had to come from somewhere. The FM gene is semi-dominant and will show up in first generation crosses. I wouldn't be surprised if that chick and/or some of its siblings turn out crested as well. You can usually tell the crested chicks at several days old if you look carefully. Their down just above the beak tends to be longer, making for a high forehead look and a squarer flat-topped head shape. Some of the Huastec that I received from Yashar were heterozygous for FM and crested or did not have one trait or both. Therefore the second light skinned chick could also be a cross as well. It does look like it may have the high forehead of a crested chick.

I believe I remember Yashar stating that he runs his birds together and then separates them 6 weeks before he starts saving eggs in the spring. I think last year he separated them in February. I would check with Yashar but he may not have had them separated or for that long before he sent the birds to you. There is debate about how much separation time is needed and it varies by breed. I would have thought that 6 weeks was plenty of time, but I have a chick from an egg laid on October 13th that was obviously fathered by a rooster the was sent to freezer camp on July 14th (for being overly aggressive with the hens). That is 12 weeks! That specific chick could only have come from that specific rooster. It was the only SPQ rooster and the only one capable of passing that specific combination of a beard, wide smooth comb (not sure of the name for that type of comb) and non FM. I am glad I took good notes, otherwise I would not have believed it.

As for the rumpless trait. The Collocas x Huastec that I have hatched have ranged from full rumpless to a full range of partial tails. Rumpless is a dominate trait, but there are other genes that can cause partial tails when combined with the rumpless gene. The pure Colloncas should not carry these partial tail genes as these should have been selected out.

I hope this helps explain some of the off-types that some people have experienced, and hopefully help sort out what is a cross or not. You would not want to sell them as pure Colloncas, but they would make excellent free-range birds.

Well, that makes a lot more sense in my case. I hatched 9 "Collonca" eggs and only 5 were rumpless, the others were tailed. I feel more confident in pursuing breeding the rumpless ones now.

 

[urjtobreed]

All of my eggs purchased from Yashar in 2012 had hatched and matured true to each type. I only hatched 3 Colloncas and each was completely rumpless. From my experience, some Colloncas x tailed breedings will result in a mixture of rumpless and tailed and others can result in 100% rumpless. You can end up with birds with just one copy of the rumpless gene that look just like a full blooded Colloncas but will not breed true. The recessive tailed gene can be difficult to breed back out. It is best to only breed birds you know for sure are full Colloncas.

Hopefully there are enough people willing and able to maintain these as distinct landraces and not mix them as I have done. Due to my own constraints and goals, I am trying to develop my own landrace derived solely from these South American breeds. In a way I am still maintaining their unique genetics by not crossing with European breeds or "improved quechua". If I ever sell any, I would not represent them as any of the original landraces, but something different and explained as such.

Breeding EE, Ameraucana, Araucana or other breeds into these rare landraces would risk their extinction as distinct landraces. On the other hand adding these landrace genetics to South American derived breeds (Araucana etc.) can potentially enhance those breeds as has been suggested by others.

I also believe it is important that these landraces are free ranged for at least part of the year to maintain their positive traits such as their excellent foraging, predator wariness,and cold hardiness. If they are completely penned raised generation after generation, then you could inadvertantly end up with birds more suited to pens and less able to fend for themselves. This would be a shame. Self-sufficiency is what initially drew me to these landraces. It can be difficult though. I lost about half of my originals in their first year to predators. The remaining birds passed on their good genetics and I have only lost 2 since. I have seen my Colloncas hen and BQO roo fly at least 150+ feet (a little downhill) and onto a bush to get away from a fox.

 

[Grannychick55]

You make a good point about free ranging I will start letting each group out after breeding season. I now have Colloncas and Huastec and BQO that are seperated. I only have a few Colloncas that are old enough to lay. Fertility has been great.

 

[Grannychick55]

You make a good point about free ranging I will start letting each group out after breeding season. I now have Colloncas and Huastec and BQO that are seperated. I only have a few Colloncas that are old enough to lay. Fertility has been great.

Here are some of the Colloncas and Huastecs that I have

 

[ronott1]

Here are some of the Colloncas and Huastecs that I have

they look very nice!

 

[Marthab1953]

Here are some of the Colloncas and Huastecs that I have

Beautiful!

 

[Grannychick55]

This is a Huastec chick I hatched it is all black skin beak and it looks like it is going to have a crest

 

[Penny Hen]

Gorgeous baby!