meet my very first ameraucanas!! :-) (new pics post 43!)

[onthespot]

That hen is specTACular looking!!! hope she lays you gorgeous eggs!

 

[technodoll]

thanks again... I can't believe how thick and solid she is, and her beard and muff are unbelievably thick and profuse

solaris, the roo, is enormous - almost as big and wide as a brown leghorn roo and he's only 14 months old.

I have no idea how he will be able to mate with hens without hurting them and ripping back feathers out

 

[technodoll]

I couldn't get good pics today as they are quite nervous and scared of me (can't get close), their pen is small so they crowd into the corner and make horrible noises... and there is a brutal storm going on right now, the coop was rattling and shaking like crazy - I hope the roof doesn't blow off

Luna, with Solaris in the back:

I love her lacing and huge beard/muff combo

Solaris wouldn't pose so his head seems to be missing, he kept trying to get away from the big bad lady and her camera LOL!

I love his coloring though, he is a WIDE boy, very thick and solid - I'll get a good pic someday!

 

[alicefelldown]

 

[cap1717]

Whether true Ameracauna's or EE's, they are stunning, beautiful birds! You are lucky to have them!

 

[silkiechick236]

I would get absolutly nothing done if I had that pair at my house! WOW, just WOW!

 

[cottagegarden]

technodoll-they really are lovely..but sorry on the money end..I just wanted to send this along if you havent seen it so you know what to talk to the breeder about https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=269287

We have a few really good breeders(so there are alot of Ameraucanas) in the area so lately one of my friends sold a top placing Blue Wheaten hen to another
breeder for $20.00 and another has a pair of really nice ones from a top breeder for sale for $30.00. I am sure those are on the lower end of
what one would sell for, $50.00 for a pullet that is breeder quality has been done too.

I know you love them, I just hope maybe you can work it out with the money so it isnt a downer. At least you are better prepared for next time-
and youve got some EE egg customers lined up!


eta-my best guess it they both come from mixed color pens. Brown Red looks basically like a Black Copper Marans-that's way too much red on the breast
her skin is yellow the legs green..her beak looks yellow, not horn

 

[technodoll]

Quote:
Do you mean mixed EE color pens?

I know the legs should be slate with white feet bottoms and neither bird has that, so I am resigned that they are just really nice EE's and I am hoping with all hope that they both have the blue egg gene... If Luna does lay a blue egg (still waiting!), I will probably try to incubate as many as possible and then just sell the chicks to EE enthusiasts - I do have 3 people already who are waiting for eggs, LOL!

I'll be chatting with my friend who got them for me to see what went wrong, and what to do about it... I don't mind paying $35 for a gorgeous, healthy adult bird but jeez, at least sell me what I'm supposed to be buying

 

[cottagegarden]

Quote:
Your friend was sweet to think of you, and we can only go on what people tell us...
So I was thinking about the above trying to make sense of what you were told and what you have.
I guess it would be possible to end up with a Roo that was a mix of BR and Wheaten and a hen that was mixed Silver and Wheaten if he had those
varieties and kept then all penned together. But the legs..that's odd. I would think they would be slate if the parents were pure and then you would just have off color plumage. I had a friend ask me for blue eggs this summer and mine werent laying at the time. I got some from someone who runs their colors
of pure Amers. The person they were for didnt care what they looked like, just wanted the blue eggs. I didnt have the best hatch, but the ones that did all looked pure, with the physical characteristics but non standard colors. I only kept them long enough to sex them.

So if it was me I would write down what it should have to have to be how it presented, a SQ Amer
and then see where they are lacking(eye color, leg color, feather color not one of the 8 varieties, etc.)
They do have type, peacombs, and beards and muffs..but they arent "pure" SQ Ameraucanas.
Maybe he could give you another hen? (0:
$75.00 is in line with what you were told you were getting ,they just aren't that-
they are possibly the prettiest EE's ever!

 

[technodoll]

Awe, thank you!

I feel encouraged by all your comments and will get some answers this week as to the parentage of these two.

The gentleman who bred them has been breeding and showing birds for over 50(!) years, he's not a spring chicken anymore - pardon the pun - so I'm a bit shocked that he said they were pure when they obviously (to a knowing eye, that is) have serious faults. Maybe they were just Ooops birds that he kept around for fun? They are about 14 months old... at least I hope there is truth in that, they seem awfully big for such young birds...

Sigh. Live and learn, right?