Sand Hill white Ameraucanas

[punky rooster]

this is a qoute of a thread on sand hills EE
Quote:
I was asked to copy this from another thread.

I'd have to say Sand Hill needs to be given credit for the results of their own breeding program.

We got Black Ameraucanas from them which their catalog stated the original stock were from two show lines. The catalog did not claim the chicks would be show quality.

One of the birds had multi-colored feathering. Another had no facial feathers and a single comb. Another had more correct plumage, but incorrect leg color. I am guessing their original birds were from two show lines, no one has lied, but the current breeding program is not consistently producing show winners. Sand Hill did not claim they were.

Sand Hills EE listing states their EEs do not conform to any show standards and should not be shown.

I know any breeding program is going to throw the off bird from time to time and I probably just got som bad luck. I'm just saying it probably does not take more than a generation or two of bad combination choices to result in poorer quality birds than what you started with. So once you start selecting and breeding your own birds, you need to be judged by your own results, rather than those of a source flock even one generation away.

At this moment, I am not that impressed with Sand Hill's show quality, but they are propagating breeds that might otherwise disappear. The birds were healthy, they lay fine, and the folks were easy to deal with. I'm not going to knock them too hard as a hatchery. Just need to match our expectations to what they can honestly provide. And I thought the listing was honest and not misleading, if read carefully. Many of us occassionally read and hear what we want to (me included). That is not Sand Hill's fault.

punky

 

[Omniskies]

"Pure white in color, bearded. Good layers of greenish blue eggs. Leg color can vary in this breed. Mixing of two show strains has resulted in some interesting variation. We do not recommend showing these as some may not be what the APA Standard requires."

These aren't just random EEs; it's a bizzare mix from the lines. You can always contact them to see what they mean by interesting variation - it could be dark-to-light slate, or it could be an odd slate-green.

And you're right; there's nothing wrong with getting birds from reputable breeders. As much as I believe Sandhill knows what they are doing, it's pretty likely that someone who specializes in less than a hundred breeds would have much better quality birds. But I would still hardly consider their birds EE mutts.​

 

[punky rooster]

look two posts up ^^^^^^

 

[6chicks&aduck]

mine must be an EE she is muffed by the ears but no beard and also my EE cross has no beard or muffs but she lays a blue /green / olive eggs i was told they were ameracaunas .

 

[Goose and Fig]

I would not put Sandhill in the same catagory with other hatcheries, however I think these are EEs as well. I know at one time MPC was offering true ameruacana hatching eggs (from Gabbard Farms), but not chicks. Not sure if they are still doing that though- I don't raise BBS so I haven't looked.

***If you do not know the name of the breeder whom your ameraucanas came from, you can pretty much bet they are EEs****

 

[Pyncheon guy]

If Sandhill is saying that their Whites come from reputable breeders and still have leg color other than blue-slate...I'd question the reputable breeders.... Ameraucanas at a show are supposed to have blue-slate legs....nothing else! Blue legs crossed to blue legs produces blue legs unless the parents carry yellow/willow....obvious EEs in their background.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

We do not do this Ameraucana / EE thing with other breeds.

If I have a Buckeye chick with white legs, I still have a Buckeye chick (that was its parentage) but it has incorrect leg color and will not show well. I should not try to sell it as an excellent example of a Buckeye. But it is a Buckeye.

The EE title is a marketing ploy to attract people who want eggs of lively colors. We can just as accurately (in my opinion

)
describe them as non-SOP Ameraucanas or non-show Ameraucanas or Backyard-quality Ameraucanas. It is not as catchy is all.

I will repeat that I think Sand Hill are very good people trying to do the best they can. I am guessing they are indeed trying for SOP, and where they fall short their catalog descriptions honestly warn the buyer.

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
True but we don't know for sure of anything sand hill says is true right? they don't show us any pictures or anything they take facts about their breeds and thats it nothing about what their birds look like
punky
we would know that your chick is a buckeye because you have seen its parent

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

The people at Sand Hill are full-time farmers who don't put almost anything on their website. I HAVE talked to them, found them extremely friendly and knowledgable, found that they really do know their breeds, and also found them to be completely UN-computer savvy. They are good folk who think it's crazy to have online ordering and who have about six pictures total on a site that gets sort-of updated once a year. They're not "refusing" to put anything in the site; they just have potatoes to dig.

I share the thought that it's kind of crazy that every other breed is allowed to have non-standard colors, project birds, birds with faults, but Ameraucanas are sacred. (And, I might add, there have been listings and auctions for eggs coming from "non-bearded Ameraucanas" that came from a very good breeder, and nobody insisted that she take it down and call them EEs instead.)

Any time you order straight run there are going to be culls. No matter who you order from, there will be some combination of them culling before they pack the box and you culling after the chicks grow. Sand Hill does not cull before he packs the box. Straight run is straight run, as hatched. He says so over and over and over. That's why I don't understand why people get mad that they get unculled chicks. If you agree with his philosophy, you'll be happy. If you want chicks that are pre-culled, go to someone else.

 

[DuckLady]

Thank you BlacksheepCardigans.

With that we will end this thread which went from a genetics discussion to a presumptuous criticism of a reputable breeder.