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

[jerryse]

What breeds are generally out crossed to b/b/s?

Think color varieties not breeds.Black is the largest color family in the breed.In addition to BBS you have lavender which is black first,white can be based on black.Brown red could work if you use black over brown red hens.Red being sex linked you get clean females to use in breeding blacks with no auto red to leak in the shoulders.In theory buff could work if you use black over buff hens.I have not tried the buff cross.I assume you are trying to restore vigor.On the wheaten family buff has always been the go to color for crossing.At this point in the breed staying in the breed is best.Yes I do outcross for projects to bring in color only.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Here are some pic's of my juvenile birds:






Splash hen or rooster? I'm not 100% sure yet.


Two splash birds.


Both of my clean faced roosters.

Blue hen or rooster, still not sure.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Think color varieties not breeds.Black is the largest color family in the breed.In addition to BBS you have lavender which is black first,white can be based on black.Brown red could work if you use black over brown red hens.Red being sex linked you get clean females to use in breeding blacks with no auto red to leak in the shoulders.In theory buff could work if you use black over buff hens.I have not tried the buff cross.I assume you are trying to restore vigor.On the wheaten family buff has always been the go to color for crossing.At this point in the breed staying in the breed is best.Yes I do outcross for projects to bring in color only.

Oh I see. So your first pick would be to use lavender to improve BBS? If you used lavender would it be best to use a black rooster over lavender hens?

 

[jerryse]

Try finding a poultry show close that has a ameraucana meet in the fall.Lots of excess cockerels in the fall.You may find some for sale that will help with your need for new blood.

 

[Dewsetter]

Hi. Can anybody please tell me what colours I would have to put together to breed
A. Lavender cuckoo
B. Isabel
C. Crele
I am not sure if these are standard colours but I think they are beautiful.
Many thanks.

 

[jerryse]

Oh I see. So your first pick would be to use lavender to improve BBS? If you used lavender would it be best to use a black rooster over lavender hens?

Usually black is used to improve lav but if you are only out to improve vigor try using a split back to black.That would be 3/4 black.Test mate to find a pure black and use him on pure blacks.That generation will be 7/8 your original bloodline and should give you some vigor for a few years.However I could also fix you up next year with some of my eggs or chicks.I have been diversifying my BBS .

 

[jerryse]

Hi. Can anybody please tell me what colours I would have to put together to breed
A. Lavender cuckoo
B. Isabel
C. Crele
I am not sure if these are standard colours but I think they are beautiful.
Many thanks.

Well since you are overseas you will have to start from scratch.Cross any barred breed to introduce barring into lav.I used barred rock.There is a Isabel wheaten project in the USA.Use lav and wheaten.Crele barring and BB red.Wheaten or buff is a poor background for auto sexing.Expect to take 5 generations on projects to start seeing good results.

 

[Dewsetter]

Well since you are overseas you will have to start from scratch.Cross any barred breed to introduce barring into lav.I used barred rock.There is a Isabel wheaten project in the USA.Use lav and wheaten.Crele barring and BB red.Wheaten or buff is a poor background for auto sexing.Expect to take 5 generations on projects to start seeing good results.

Sorry I should have explained myself a bit better. I am actually trying to breed these colours of UK Araucana which is very close as far as I can see to your US Ameraucanas (apart from crest i think) but please correct me if i am wrong, hence posting in this thread. Barred UK Araucanas already exist but the other colours are few and far between so I wanted to start my own project using birds that are easier to get hold of to develop these colours.
Thank you for your reply.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Sorry I should have explained myself a bit better. I am actually trying to breed these colours of UK Araucana which is very close as far as I can see to your US Ameraucanas (apart from crest i think) but please correct me if i am wrong, hence posting in this thread. Barred UK Araucanas already exist but the other colours are few and far between so I wanted to start my own project using birds that are easier to get hold of to develop these colours.
Thank you for your reply.

Wow I have never even heard of some of those colors! Do UK Araucanas have a crest? What colors to they already come in? I would love to see some pictures!

 

[Outrun Acres]

The weather just decided to get warm here. How are everyones Ameraucanas handling the heat? Mine seem to be doing quite well so far. They are free ranging right now and have a lot of access to shade and water. Then again it isn't really hot here yet. This summer has been very mild so far. One thing I did for my birds last year was to freeze chunks of watermelon for them. They really loved it. Does anyone else have some tips on how to beat the summer heat, chicken-wise that is.