Who do you guys reccomend for Ameraucana and Sebastapol Geese breeders

[Cottage Rose]

Banter...absolutely!
Most people don't show anyway.
I don't show (due to disease risk factor) but I always breed for betterment of the breed and according to the breed standard but unlike alot of show people I focus more on temperament, hardiness and production.
I do cull and won't breed something just because its a purebred whatever.

 

[banter]

Thanks! That was a rant but there are a lot of nice birds out there which will never win a prize-Some due to the "preference du'jour" of the prevailing judge. I have yet to show a bird, but I showed dogs. It's all up to the interpretation of the standard at that particular day and time.

 

[Mahonri]

I want some Blue Wheaten Americaunas that look (and lay eggs) like Melissas... There, how's that?

 

[Cottage Rose]

Quote:
SOOO true!!!
I use to show dogs too.

 

[Chicken7777]

Mahonri do you have pictures of those eggs?
Melissas eggs?
I want to be able to see how they look....

Well I have heard of peachicks, jeans, pasofinos, and barbara campbells Ameraucanas, has anyone had good luck with paul smiths? Do you guys know what he breeds for(standard quality, or does he also breed for temperament? and laying capability?)
how about his Ameraucanas' eggs? are they darker in blue?

Also guys, how can you actually tell on when choosing the best breeder possible.....Of course i am looking for show quality for the fact that its supposed to be accorded with standard, but also am looking for laying capability, temperament, and of course that nice darker blue color that some breeders have been able to breed in.

Appreciate your thoughts and help.

Thanks!

 

[Tailfeathers]

Hi Y'all,

It's been way too long since I've been to BYC and am trying to get caught up on what I've missed. Just saw this post and thought I'd comment on Chicken7777's question.

For the record, I raise and breed Wheaten, Blue Wheaten, and hopefully soon Splash Wheaten's. My birds came from Paul Smith. Jean Ribbeck certainly is one Breeder that I'd recommend. She is currently the ABC Western District Director and I know she works hard to raise the best birds to Standard that she can. I'm not sure how many Wheatens she has left. The last I talked with her she was focusing on Lavenders. I do know that she has lines from Barbara Campbell and John Blehm. I'm surprised that no one has even mentioned John. John has done a whole lot for the Ameraucana Breed in general. I don't know how many Wheatens he has now but I think I recall hearing that he may be getting rid of all his Wheatens and Blue Wheatens. I know Paul only has a very limited supply of Wheatens and Blue Wheatens. And, as already mentioned on here, Barbara is not selling any now either.

Right now I only have the Paul Smith Bloodline but I will probably want to introduce some Blehm or Campbell bloodline into my birds at some time in the future.

The eggs from my gals are everything from a blue about the color of the Scroll Bar or lettering on this page to an almost white with a very light blue tint. I am breeding for APA SOP and also egg color by choosing to breed only those birds with the darkest blue egg. I am culling hard and only breeding my best birds.

I would have to take exception to the comment "Its very difficult to find blue Amer. that lay real blue eggs because almost all blues and blacks carry brown egg layer breeds behind them and tend to lay pale green eggs. Even the bluest Amer. eggs are pale powder blue or a pale turquoise blue." If one does some research on the Araucana and the Ameraucana, they will find that the coloration of the egg is totally different than a Brown Egg Layer. The brown eggs are "painted" and the inside of the shell is white. The Ameraucana egg is blue all the way through. Crack a true Ameraucana egg open and look at the inside. It's blue. Having said that, it is true that you aren't going to find an Ameraucana egg that is a real blue. It will be more of a Baby Blue or powder blue. I think the best detailed "History" of the Ameraucana that I've found is actually on the ABC's website ( www.ameraucana.org ). From what I can tell, it's probably impossible to actually trace back the specific beginnings of today's Ameraucanas if you define "beginnings" by going all the way back to the two Chelean breeds. One thing is for sure, breeding any brown egg layer to an Ameraucana results in an Easter Egger. Not a true Ameraucana.

I haven't had the chance yet but one day I hope to sit down with Mike Gilbert and ask him about this very topic. I imagine he would have quite an interesting story to tell.

I have NO doubt there are some great breeders on BYC but I would agree with the comments that one should do their homework well before rushing out to buy eggs, chicks, or birds from anyone. When looking at any specific breed, I would always recommend that a person go to the Breeders Club for all the information they can get before buying. That's just good common-sense. The Wheaten & Blue Wheaten Ameraucana is still in development, if not the early stages still, and I'm finding it's a lot of work to get a good bird. Besides that, the multi-colored birds just don't do well with the judges. Solid colors do much better most of the time. Banter's "two-cents worth" comments are sage advice with regard to deciding what you want the bird for. A lot of folks, myself included when I started out, didn't stop to think about "why" I was getting a particular breed or "what" I wanted from them.

If you're interested in seeing my Ameraucanas, you can go to "My Page" and there is a link to my website there. Just click on the "Ameraucana Album".

God Bless,

 

[Cottage Rose]

"One thing is for sure, breeding any brown egg layer to an Ameraucana results in an Easter Egger. Not a true Ameraucana."

How do you think black and blue Ameraucanas were created?
John Blehm used Black Australorps as an example.
How do you think John is developing Lavender Ameraucanas? He's using Belgian D' Anvers.
How do you think buff Ameraucanas were created?
Buff Orpingtons.
Silvers, Old English Games.
Well it goes on and on so yes there are brown egg laying breeds in the backgrounds of many of the foundation breeders Ameraucanas. Some not that many generations back.
I've had birds from John Blehm (he's in my state and I've been to his place several times), Paul Smith, Micheal Muenks and Jerry DeSmit and the egg color is predominantly pale green with occasional very pale powder blue or pale to medium turquoise blue. My best egg color came from John Blehm's silvers...maybe because they don't have brown egg genetics behind them. Just guessing, I'm no genetics expert. Over the last 9 years I've requested and received egg shell samples from many people who are either major Ameraucana breeders (who I haven't purchased from) or from people who claim to have super blue eggs and so far I really haven't seen anything to get excited about. I've talked with Mike Gilbert many times on the phone or via email and even he admits the breed focus has been type and that egg color needs to be improved. As I recall Mike said Amer. eggs are suppose to be pale, powder blue.

Please understand...I'm trying to be realistic here.
I've searched quite extensively for the best blue eggshell color and found out that they simply aren't that common.

Chicken7777
You really don't need to search any further than the mentioned breeders here. Just pick one and go with them. The differences between each breeders flock won't be that great.
Each strain with have its pro's and con's...no matter who you order from.
Then breed some keepers for yourself.

 

[ninjapoodles]

I've gotten BBS Ameraucana eggs and live bird from Lisa Cree of Cree Farms, and she was amazingly easy to work with. The whole process, for both the eggs and the live shipped bird was 100% quick and painless. Very efficient, very businesslike. I simply contacted her through her website, and got an immediate response.

 

[Chicken7777]

Thank you soo much tailfeather, cottagerose and ninjapoodles with the help there.

On the egg topic; that has been kind of confusing on what to choose with breeders, because sometimes you guess theres always something better......But i think i know who i am going to go with.....

Well to ask cause i am still learning about the Standard Ameraucana; when is it that breeders started aiming for those goals in egg color, standard, etc, has it been decades or just a couple of years? Who were the first breeders that started breeding for those goals?

I do aggree with Banter's "two-cents worth" comments are sage advice with regard to deciding what you want the bird for"
also since of course we have to choose what we want our birds for.

But myself as every Ameraucana Breeder, and Raiser; we started off with Easter Eggers until we saw the light on standard Ameraucanas.......LOL
So YES i want a Standard(if so show quality ) Ameraucana, that has been selectively bred for Standard, quality, egg color, but of course other important things like temperament, laying capability, and hardiness in the birds' genes.
I want an Ameraucana that i in the future can also start breeding to get better achievements in the standard breed, like the other breeders that, also raised Ameraucanas at first and later on decided to start breeding them as well.
And also to have eggs which why we have chickens....

Okay another question and thought on Ameraucanas....
What do you think needs to be improved in the Standard Ameraucana or varieties?(egg color, standard color, laying capability, etc...)
And how long do you think till we get those qualities we are looking for in our birds?(how extensive...?)

I think this thread has been a great discussion on Ameraucanas and choosing breeders carefully, lets keep it up!!

Thank you all for the help!

 

[Solsken Farm]

Quote:
Wow, thanks for this excellent piece of knowledge. This is what I suspected with regards to egg color. Well said!