when do ameraucanas get their beards (if they are going to get one?)

[propagata]

I have a two week old Ameraucana with tufts and she is adorable. Any way to tell what color eggs she will end up laying?

 

[mstricer]

and yes I know there is no such thing as a beardless ameraucana

between her crooked feet and this beard thing, I'm getting despondent. Can someone please weigh in on whether or not she will have muffs and beard? I bought the eggs from a reputable breeder.

The crooked feet are an incubation problem and can be fixed with in the first few days with a homemade boot.

 

[Chris09]

The crooked feet are an incubation problem and can be fixed with in the first few days with a homemade boot.

The crooked toe problem can be from a Management, Nutrition, or Hereditary.
Poor Incubation temperature, Poor brooder temperature, Parents lack proper nutrition (feed lacking in riboflavin) and it can even be passed on from one or both the parents.

Chris

 

[RhodeRunner]

I contacted the breeder and they confirmed she will not have a beard or muffs, there is something recessive going on and they offered to replace the chick.

As, it has been said, she will not have a beard or muffs. However, beards and muffs are incomplete autosomal Dominant inheritance. In short, they are not a completely dominate gene, and therefore beardless birds do occur. The only thing a breeder can do, is cull them. It is nice to hear that they offered a replacement!

 

[wahmommy]

Her crooked feet happened 10 days after hatch, and they were not correctable, I tried a lot of things before I gave up. She seems fine though, its not slowing her down any and she seems to perch just fine on a 2" x 2"

 

[wahmommy]

Quote:
They offered a replacement, but then never followed up on it. Since I really can't have a lot of hens, I did not push her on it since I am at six pullets right now and that's all I'm allowed to have where I live. That said, I would not buy from this person again, which is unfortunate as she seems like a nice person. However the eggs were very expensive and I don't know whether it was genetics or incubation - but from everything I've read, the crooked toe developing after hatch and lack of muffs and beard are genetic problems or nutritional problems, and I did give vitamins immediately after noticing the crooked toes but it did not work. However breeding is not an exact science, so having a bird with issues hatch out is not unusual and I would not cull as I am not breeding anyway. While I would have loved to have a bird with muffs and beard that is not to be. So when she did not follow up on the replacement chick (or even respond to my last email) I gave up and moved on.

 

[wahmommy]

Quote:
My understanding because it did not happen at hatch (10 days later is when it first showed up) is that it was either nutritional or hereditary, as incubation crooked toe usually appears at hatch. I immediately started putting boots on the chick at 10 days as well as giving vitamins but it did not make a difference.

 

[Chris09]

My understanding because it did not happen at hatch (10 days later is when it first showed up) is that it was either nutritional or hereditary, as incubation crooked toe usually appears at hatch. I immediately started putting boots on the chick at 10 days as well as giving vitamins but it did not make a difference.

Even at 10 days after hatch it could have been Nutritional, Hereditary or Management.
The Management part would be do to a cold brooder floor.
Since you said it never got better I will assume that it was Hereditary.

Chris

 

[wahmommy]

Even at 10 days after hatch it could have been Nutritional, Hereditary or Management.
The Management part would be do to a cold brooder floor.
Since you said it never got better I will assume that it was Hereditary.

Chris

Hi Chris - the brooder floor was wood and it wasn't cold, and she wasn't on wire for more than a couple hours after she hatched (when she was still in the incubator).

 

[Chris09]

Hi Chris - the brooder floor was wood and it wasn't cold, and she wasn't on wire for more than a couple hours after she hatched (when she was still in the incubator).

Sounds Hereditary then, one if not both the parents is the culprit.

Chris