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

[salt and pepper]

Has this thread died?? lol Outrun Acres, how are your chicks doing?? My " lavender" chick has now turned into a very pretty dark blue, and my " whites" Have turned into splashes! I guess this works into my favor, since atleast I will know what I'm getting from my hatches! Just went through the process of getting rid of a mite problem, they should be gone for good since I realized it was in my straw pile, but will repeat it all again next week, just to make sure.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Has this thread died?? lol Outrun Acres, how are your chicks doing?? My " lavender" chick has now turned into a very pretty dark blue, and my " whites" Have turned into splashes! I guess this works into my favor, since atleast I will know what I'm getting from my hatches! Just went through the process of getting rid of a mite problem, they should be gone for good since I realized it was in my straw pile, but will repeat it all again next week, just to make sure.

I haven't been on the site in weeks. We finally have had some nice weather. So I have been outside mowing, weed-wacking, brush-hogging, and gardening. We have had a very strange spring this year! My chicks are getting so big. I just moved them out to the coup. They are much more active than any other breeds I have raised. They ventured out into the run on the first day! Most of my chicks have taken at least a week to figure out how to go outside. These birds are crazy! We have a roosting pole in the run and one of the chicks tried to fly up on top of it got squirrelly and fell off. Lol.

Ah yes, mites in the straw. We used to have that problem when we lived in California. When they got into the hay it was nasty. I don't enjoy feeding in long sleeve shirts and gloves in the middle of the summer. We haven't had a problem with them since we moved. They are frustrating little buggers.

I have one splash chick that looks more blue than splash but is came from a splash x splash pen so I know that is impossible. But I think it is going to be a very pretty bird. My blacks are turning out to be quite nice. They seem to have good size to them if anything. The splash and blue chicks are significantly smaller than the blacks. Has anyone else found this with their birds?

 

[Outrun Acres]

just hatched these silvers

What cute little chicks you hatched! Is silver the only color where chicks hatch with the chipmunk coloring? Where did you find your silvers. I hear they are rare and it can be difficult to find a breeder with quality birds.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Hello all! I am new here and to chickens in general. These are a couple of chicken my son picked up from Rural King. They were marked Ameraucana, but I am wondering if they really are Ameraucanas. I was hoping someone here can tell me if they are or what they might be. Thank you so much! And, sorry the pictures aren't very good. We have an old camera.

Hi there and welcome to the thread. Your bird would be referred to as an Easter Egger or EE. Ameraucanas only come in 8 APA approved colors: blue, black, buff, silver, white, wheaten, blue wheaten, and brown-red. They must also have beards and muffs, a pea comb and slate colored legs. Most birds purchased from feed stores are from hatcheries and sold under the title Ameraucana even though they don't meet the standard for the breed. The hatcheries tend to focus on breeding birds together that lay blue eggs and disregard type and color. I have heard that the parents are all purebred but are thrown together in one big breeding house with all of the approved colors mixed together. So there is a chance that you could get a pure ameraucana of a specific color, but you will more likely get a bird that is a unique color and lays a blue green egg but doesn't meet the standard for the breed. The bird you have posted pictures of in a very common color for an EE hen. They are still wonderful birds and great layers and beautiful eggs.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Your splash looks like a paint.Dominate white with black showing.Dominate white is not the norm in ameraucana but they do exist.I will try to add a pic.

I have a lot of dominant white chicks that look like this. We did a test mating to see if our rooster was a dominand or recessive white. I guess now we have the answer!

 

[Outrun Acres]

For the healthy of your flock it is best to always keep any new poultry in isolation for 30 days. I add one sacrificial bird in with the new poultry to observe any type of changes or illness symptoms. It takes a solid 30 days to clear new poultry for any type of contagious disease.

All new birds are sensitive to change. My birds are disruptive if I change there room. They do not like change. Your new birds reaction is quite normal.

My birds don't like change either! Whenever I introduce new birds to the flock, that group that picks on the newbies the most is the group of birds that was introduced previously to the new group. It almost seems to be like a right of passage. All of my older birds leave the new ones alone. They seem to have more important things on their minds like foraging.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Do some research on Ivomec (Ivermectin). I did not have good results with it and I did read something on the internet that said in order to effective the dosage is almost lethal. Permethrins and Pyrethrins were of little help either, Internet says, and so does my personal experience that mites will develop a resistance to both.

I wrote on this fairly extensively on the ABC Forum so I ain't doing it again. Suffice it to say that after 3 years of battling mites, I haven't had a problem in over 7 months now. Not one bug anywhere. Prior to that, I'd get the beat back but never eliminated and within two weeks I'd have birds totally infested again. I actually lost a couple good birds to mites and it get REAL OLD having to treat a couple hundred birds every single weekend!

God Bless,

I agree, Ivermectin can be a scary compound to work with. Certain breeds within a species can be ivermectin sensitive and what would be considered a correct dose for most can kill those that are sensitive to the medication. I try to stay away from it as much as I can when it comes to dogs, cats, and poultry.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Jerry I have hatched 6 silvers so far. however 1 is really struggling but 5 are healthy active little boogers
looking forward to starting my project olive eggers.

Thank you Jason

One of my chicks struggled after hatching too. I gave it some yogurt and put a vit/min. supplement in there water. He seemed to perk up after a couple of days. Now he is the biggest chick of the bunch and of course a rooster!

 

[jerryse]

What cute little chicks you hatched! Is silver the only color where chicks hatch with the chipmunk coloring? Where did you find your silvers. I hear they are rare and it can be difficult to find a breeder with quality birds.

Yes silver is the only ameraucana color that hatches chipmunk colored.He got them from me.I have been trying to increase size as under standard weight is a problem in this variety.

 

[Outrun Acres]

I was just wondering what everyone does with their extra roosters that they don't want for various reasons. Are they worth processing to eat? (The large foul that is).