The Ameraucana Thread: Where everything and anything about the breed can be discussed (APA, Non-Stan

[jerryse]

Another question.

Those of you who have Americaunas that are NOT hatchery stock, how did you acquire your birds?

I am in ND, and as far as I can tell from the research I have done, there is not anyone near me who has any from good lines. I found a gal about 3 hours away, but she just said they are from breeders (no names) but she also has hatchery birds. If I am going to spend some good money on eggs or chicks I want to be sure they are going to be decent.

We are traveling to Iowa at Easter and so I might see if I can find a place out there with some, though I am sure most are probably sold out for the year. :-(

I had a lengthy reply yesterday.Poof then it was gone.Try again.Adult birds are costly to ship.Eggs and chicks are cheaper.Try going to shows with a cliub meet for ameraucana.The club national is in Great Falls Mt.this fall.Ask around someone will know who the exhibitor is.John Blehm,Wayne Meridith,Paul Smith sell chicks.Robert Rennolet is in SD.Eggs are for sale on this site,ebay and others.Some are EE but real ameraucana are in there also.Many breeders have EE and project birds.A breeder can be sure of what he/she is selling.Are you experienced at hatching?

 

[Outrun Acres]

I think I may have found an ABC breeder within driving distance from my house! The breeder has LF blues and blacks. I would really prefer hatching eggs that I can pick up vs. those that have to travel through the postal system. I think I have worked out all the kinks using my LG incubator

, and may be ready to try hatching some bought eggs. Can anyone think of some key questions I should ask the? I am going the email the breeder and ask if they can send me pictures of the parent stock of the eggs I would be purchasing. Are there any known faults that are seen more in those two colors that I should be watching out for?

 

[Loghousemom]

I had a lengthy reply yesterday.Poof then it was gone.Try again.Adult birds are costly to ship.Eggs and chicks are cheaper.Try going to shows with a cliub meet for ameraucana.The club national is in Great Falls Mt.this fall.Ask around someone will know who the exhibitor is.John Blehm,Wayne Meridith,Paul Smith sell chicks.Robert Rennolet is in SD.Eggs are for sale on this site,ebay and others.Some are EE but real ameraucana are in there also.Many breeders have EE and project birds.A breeder can be sure of what he/she is selling.Are you experienced at hatching?

I might have to look into that show in Montana. I have seen all those names on the ABC list, and even Mr. Rennplet from SD. I have his info in my contact list now and am trying to convince my hubs that we need to make a chicken run. I have also been looking into eggs, but no, I am not experienced at hatching, so I was trying to find eggs within driving distance first thinking I might not want to hatch shipped eggs my first time out. (I have read so many stories about them not hatching well).

I don't have an incubator yet either. I have been looking and trying to decide how much I want to spend. I keep hearing wonderful things about a couple brands, and so far have not found any stores locally carrying anything other than that cheap "little giant" one. I thought if I could get one soon I would try out some of my "mutt" eggs in a couple of hatches and then move on to something better or harder like shipped eggs.

the is just so many options! And Jerryse. Thank you again for all of your information and help.

edited to fix an auto correct error.

 

[jerryse]

PICK might have to look into that show in Montana. I have seen all those names on the ABC list, and even Mr. Rennplet from SD. I have his info in my contact list now and am trying to convince my hubs that we need to make a chicken run. I have also been looking into eggs, but no, I am not experienced at hatching, so I was trying to find eggs within driving distance first thinking I might not want to hatch shipped eggs my first time out. (I have read so many stories about them not hatching well).

I don't have an incubator yet either. I have been looking and trying to decide how much I want to spend. I keep hearing wonderful things about a couple brands, and so far have not found any stores locally carrying anything other than that cheap "little giant" one. I thought if I could get one soon I would try out some of my "mutt" eggs in a couple of hatches and then move on to something better or harder like shipped eggs.

the is just so many options! And Jerryse. Thank you again for all of your information and help.

You are welcome.There is a learning curve on small incubators.Most fail the first time.The sportsman model is fairly easy but I do not like the new electronic thermostat.Put one in my old model then went back to the wafer.The sportsman is probably more than you need anyway.

 

[jerryse]

Here are 5 barred project chicks.Hatched 3 last week.Due to barring being sex linked and the cockerel having 1 copy any without the white head spot are pullets.Large head spots are cockerels and small spots pullet.Just like barred rocks.

 

[Loghousemom]

I love the idea of sex linked birds!

I was at the store with my girls the other day looking at the chicks. They were straight run. I couldn't even really tell which breeds they were with the exception of one which looked like my welsummer.

i have soooo much to learn.

 

[lualshannon]

I would go by the shape and size of the egg. Generally the first eggs a hen lays are not good to incubate. Don't incubate any eggs that are odd shapes or have small hairline cracks or fissures. You just really want them to look like traditional eggs. I would also crack open their eggs for a couple weeks to make sure they are fertile.

The Silkies are really fun! We have two of them and they fit in with the rest of the flock well. I was really worried they would get picked on and wouldn't do very well. Seems I worried needlessly. They use the ramp to get into our coop just fine. They also roost at night with the other birds. Go figure.

We are in the same boat right now! I have no idea what we are already going to do with all the eggs we get this summer. What does everyone do with their extra chicken eggs?

I feed the extra eggs to my dogs, chickens, give some to my friends, and of course my husband loves them. I don't eat any; I can not, I am a vegetarian.

 

[lualshannon]

Here are 5 barred project chicks.Hatched 3 last week.Due to barring being sex linked and the cockerel having 1 copy any without the white head spot are pullets.Large head spots are cockerels and small spots pullet.Just like barred rocks.

How sweet! They are adorable.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Can anyone think of some key questions I should ask the? I am going the email the breeder and ask if they can send me pictures of the parent stock of the eggs I would be purchasing. Are there any known faults that are seen more in those two colors that I should be watching out for?

Here are some questions I would ask before I bought eggs from a particular breeder:

1) Where did you get your (breed name) from?
2) How long have you been breeding them?
3) Can you tell me a little bit about your breeding program? For example, what does it consist of? How do you go about it? What, if anything, are your goals and what are you striving for?
4) Have you shown your birds, and if so, how have they done? Do you know if any of your egg customers have ever shown their birds, if so, have they ever won anything?
5) Can you provide a close up picture(s) of the parents and can you provide a close up picture(s) of a representative egg?
6) Have you experienced any problems with Mareks, Lymphoid Leucosis (LL), Newcastle’s, MG (in particular), or any other disease that could be transmitted through the egg or genetics? I got a rooster many years ago that died from LL less than two weeks after I bought him. Evidently there is no prevention nor cure for LL but rather it is something passed down from the mother to the progeny and the best prevention is having bred resistance to the disease. The incubation period for LL is 6-10 months so it would be some time before I would find out if I have a problem. That’s why I ask.
7) Do you offer any kind of guarantee regarding fertility and/or the packaging so eggs arrive intact?
8) Do your hens all lay the (specific color) eggs that are relatively the same in color?
9) When collecting hatching eggs for sale, do you identify each egg from a particular set of parents or just collect as a group?
10) Is there anything else you can tell me that maybe I should know or should’ve asked

 

[Tailfeathers]

Some of those questions I ask because the response will tell me more about the person, their birds, and their breeding than they may realize and I don't want to give away the answers I'm looking for.

God Bless,