Lavender Ameraucana Breeders .... UNITE

[TNTFarmsMinis]

Ok, stupid question... What does breeding your lavenders with a black or a split do to improve your flock? I have a nice pair of lavenders that I happened to fall into and I just hatched their first chicks which are adorable. I want to do what I can to improve my flock. Help!

 

[buckabucka]

Ok, stupid question... What does breeding your lavenders with a black or a split do to improve your flock? I have a nice pair of lavenders that I happened to fall into and I just hatched their first chicks which are adorable. I want to do what I can to improve my flock. Help!

I have similar questions, and a partial answer.
Lavenders often have feather quality issues. My rooster has this. You can see photos of this and people's feedback on post #311 (sorry, I would repost but can't from my mobile device).
Breeding back to black is supposed to help eliminate these feather issues.

Here are my questions: I have some Ameraucana hatching eggs in the incubator right now. Let's say I hatch a beautiful black hen. I cross her with my lavender cock.
Lav x black = all splits (correct?).
If I breed the splits back to the lav cock, 1/2 the offspring will be lav and half splits. Is it these resulting lavenders that might have better quality feathers? Or are there more steps?

I have a nice quality split hen that is unrelated to the cock. If I breed her to the lav cock, can I skip all the steps with the black hen? I know eventually I'll need a black if the feather issues crop up in further generations, but I'm wondering for now if I might get a future cock with better feathering by crossing him with the split hen I already have.

Sorry for so many questions!

 

[La Mike]

Ok on the why to breed back to black. Yes feather quality and to better the blue egg color gene which black is perfect for. Mainly breeding back to a real nice black betters the complete overall quality of the offspring in general. There are many issues still in many lav flocks and breeding to the black is the only way to help improve your overall quality of lav birds

lav x black = splits yes

lav x split in general 50% lav 25% split 25% black

The lavs from that mating should have better quality all around yes
But remember when breeding you still need to pick out the best of what you have to use in your breeding program or your results may not be what you are wanting

Hope that helped some

 

[La Mike]

And no question is a dumb question . Not asking is dumb. Thats how we all learn

 

[DMRippy]

Ok on the why to breed back to black. Yes feather quality and to better the blue egg color gene which black is perfect for. Mainly breeding back to a real nice black betters the complete overall quality of the offspring in general. There are many issues still in many lav flocks and breeding to the black is the only way to help improve your overall quality of lav birds

lav x black = splits yes

lav x split in general 50% lav 25% split 25% black

The lavs from that mating should have better quality all around yes
But remember when breeding you still need to pick out the best of what you have to use in your breeding program or your results may not be what you are wanting

Hope that helped some

Lav x Splits = 50% Lavs and 50% split.... the lav will contribute the Lav gene to 100% of the babies.

Also Blacks are FAR better in TYPE than Lavenders are so that is another reason for breeding them to Black. I have not been worried about egg color in the Lavs yet, but once I get a good start in Lavs it will be a point of culling. Just not there yet with my birds.

 

[buckabucka]

Thank you for the responses!
I have not done any breeding with my tiny flock yet, but plan to if they ever start laying again. Meanwhile, I'll be hoping that these shipped eggs hatch, and that I am lucky enough to get a black!

 

[La Mike]

Correction
On the lav x splits Yes only lav and lav splits Thanks Harry for pointing that out to me

 

[rober10169]

Hello, I am new here and would love to get into lavender ameraucanas. Is there anyone in Canada that has them? I did have 2 people lined up this spring but both no longer have their flock of lavenders so I am stuck. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Shaffer]

You can try John Blehm he is on the Ameraucana Breeders Club site, he does ship or did ship to Canada. Most people do not want to deal with the paperwork necessary to ship eggs to Canada.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

You can try John Blehm he is on the Ameraucana Breeders Club site, he does ship or did ship to Canada. Most people do not want to deal with the paperwork necessary to ship eggs to Canada.

Or the expense! Especially with "lavender" because the colour is so tricky to work with. I had hoped to work with lavender Ameraucanas. Purchased 30 eggs. Ended up with 2 small pullets after culling for crooked beak and all the other issues that seem to go along with lavender. Then I waited for a year to get their first eggs. I had them in with a very nice, BIG black cock bird to start improving on size but sheesh, I figure at this rate, it will be 2 years before I might see another lavender bird and they won't be fabulous because my pullets aren't fabulous. So I decided to sell the cock bird to someone that can use him and move the girls to my layer coop. They make fine lawn ornaments. I might try again with better stock from the US but I'm discouraged at this point. My Blues are producing VERY well for me so I'm thinking my pens are better used with them.