tufted rumpless araucana feathering question

[spish]

at what age will i be able to see if my chicks will be tufted but rumpless araucanas?
momma hen is an all black rumpless araucana with big 'tufts' , pappa has a tail and no tufts....
i have 14 babies from them and am hoping for at least a few rumpless/tufted ones.

babies are now 5 days old and im starting to see tails sprout on about 5 but nothing on the others....

 

[Stacykins]

Quote:
You can see tufting as soon as the chicks are dry from hatching!

As for rumplessness, you can also tell right away too. The rumpless chicks are missing their coccyx, the 'tailbud' that the tail sprouts from. You can physically see or feel if a chick is rumpless because of this.

 

[spish]

if i put some photos up could you perhaps help?

 

[Illia]

Yep, we can help.

Some tufts are pretty small but most should show up quite well.


Rumplessness should show up as soon as the chick is old enough to feather out at the tail. (1-3 weeks) If nothing happens with the tail, it's a rumpless bird. When they're born you'll notice it too. No little tail bump, just a very apparent rear-end with a pretty exposed vent.

 

[spish]

ok only managed to get a few of the chicks pictures as the battery died but i'll pop the rest up shortly..for now heres a few...2 photos from each chick, side view and rear view

chick 1

chick 2

chick3

chick 4

chick 5 - hard to tell if rumpless due to sore botty

chick 6

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Some of those will have tails and none have tufts. The ones with sore bottoms are usually rumpless but since I have never, ever bred a tailed bird into my Araucanas I can't tell you if the tailed ones get the same thing going on.
For some reason people believe you have to breed tailed birds into your Araucanas but I am on my 6th generation of rumpless birds and am still getting fertile eggs.
There are some Araucanas that have strange feathers that grow out in odd angles from their backside. I culled all these in the first 2 generations. They appear rumpless but have those funky long feathers and it makes them look funny.

 

[spish]

does anybody have a photo of a young tufted chick so i can compare it to the others that i havent photographed yet?

i was told by a breeder i had to have a tailed roo on a rumpless hen(!) i went out and bought an araucana with a tail especially for the breeding

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Most people will tell you that and a lot of breeders do that. I have been breeding them for several years with stock from 3 different breeders and have not introduced tailed birds into my program. A lot of it has to do with selection of the birds for your program but since I do not care to show then I breed what I like and only as many as I want to keep for myself. This year I have not hatched many as I just hate to eat the extras when they are so very gorgeous.

Oh, and don't let anyone tell you the roos are not good eating either. They are just as good as my Cochins, Ameraucanas and Welsummers. I was told they were stringy. Boy, was that funny!

I can't figure out where the infertility problem would come from unless you keep breeding shorter and shorter backs. Since hens need length of back for all their internal organs to have room for plenty of eggs in size and amount throughout life you don't want a short backed bird.

I do not necessarily breed for tufts but often am very happy when I have them hatch out. Again, I breed them because I like them and am no longer producing mass amounts looking for that most excellent bird. I just want to keep my flock going so I can enjoy my kids every day. I love their personalities and pretty bodies. They make me happy when I open their tractor door and they fly up to me for greetings. The girls have such pretty faces, tufted or not.

This seems to be the most misunderstood breed I have ever worked with and I love my flock. I no longer sell mine since people do not understand what they are like and I think locals around here really did not understand how wonderful this bred can be.

I would show you photos but I lost a lot of my stuff with a computer crash last year and I have since taken down my page on my website because so many people kept asking about them. I probably have photos if I dig through the thousands I have on my Drivezilla but really do not have the time. I am sure others will be happy to show off their beautiful babies!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Well, this is not a little chick but I did find some pretty quick. I suppose it is nice to have my folders organized by breed!

You will see these right after they hatch when they are dry if they are big enough. I had a black pullet hatch out and she was a few weeks old before I noticed hers. But being very dark and fuzzy and I am blind without my reading glasses so it was during a snuggle session that I happen to spot them.

 

[syble]

there is a lot of great info and pictures on the araucana thread

The tailed vs non tailed is a breeders prerogative. I don't have room to keep enough birds to justify keeping tailed birds. the caution with non tailed only is that if you are not careful about your selection you can end up with short backed birds (which can look odd, be prone to health issues and have fertility issues). You're like me, no tufts sorry. If you feel up chick #3's bum you should be able to feel the parsons nose (tail bone), it'll give you an idea when you feel the others as to what missing

but like mentioned, just because they lack that bone doesn't mean they might not grow some tail feathers. some times you can get incomplete tails, can be most of a tail hanging down (it lacks the support the tail bone gives it), or it could be as few as 1 feather pointing down hehe.