Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[dstokely]

You won't have to worry about the Easter Egger problem with Paul and Angela's birds! Every one my my Smith birds from last year have gorgeous big fluffy birds and muffs. You'll get the usual roll of the dice cockerel/pullet ratio.

I know, I have been reading for awhile. I rarely go to the ABC board as I am not a member, but I did go to their ads and I was amazed when Paul/Angela still had some available. I almost feel like I won the lottery. It will be April/May before I get them, but I am very excited. I have had my other laying hens for quite a few years with RIRs being my favorite but I have fallen in love with the Ameraucanas. My grandsons love the blue eggs from the EE's. Now to work on my new chicken digs because I don't want them in with the others. Hope I don't have many roos because I am not good at culling, meaning that mine tend to stay with me for life. Sometimes that is not long since we back up to a national forest.

I

 

[wannabeefarm]

I have read somewhere that if the membrane is blue, it's a true blue egg. My EE Cross eggs are green with white membranes.

 

[Hinotori]

The membranes all dry white, they just look blue when wet because they are rather transparent when wet. Even the one picture I posted with the eggs, I'd peeled most of the membrane off so you could see the shell color inside.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I know, I have been reading for awhile. I rarely go to the ABC board as I am not a member, but I did go to their ads and I was amazed when Paul/Angela still had some available. I almost feel like I won the lottery. It will be April/May before I get them, but I am very excited. I have had my other laying hens for quite a few years with RIRs being my favorite but I have fallen in love with the Ameraucanas. My grandsons love the blue eggs from the EE's. Now to work on my new chicken digs because I don't want them in with the others. Hope I don't have many roos because I am not good at culling, meaning that mine tend to stay with me for life. Sometimes that is not long since we back up to a national forest.

I

Mine from Paul and Angela are coming in March, and I'm quite looking forward to them. I've been really happy with my Smith birds. They've been really good foragers, preferring to find their own food (or mooch off me). The cockerels have been very watchful and very smart as far as danger. They pick up on the alerts of my parrots, the peacocks, geese or roosters next door, hustling everyone over to cover. Even as young birds they desperately trying to chase down (and kill) my big macaw who flew low over their heads.

I still haven't culled the two cockerels that NEED to be culled. I've used every excuse in the book. First, I didn't have a scalding pot big enough. Then I didn't have propane for the outdoor kitchen to heat up the scalding water. Then they got fowl pox, a mosquito-borne disease in late November. Now that their pox lesions are all healed, I have the all-time best excuse--I had cervical spine fusion surgery 10 days ago and I don't want to risk getting any gore or blood on my neck brace that I have to wear for another five weeks.

 

[wannabeefarm]

I had 35 to begin with, now with no antibiotics, and culling. Plus hatching I have five. Anybody know organic. I want the best of the best. Who can do that? I will pay for real quality. I know it takes years.

 

[delisha]

I just set up my breeding pens today..I will start gathering eggs in a week or two..I am looking forward to my first chicks of the year..

 

[Reyvaughn]

My new flock after selling off my entire flock last year (I had 4 dozen of their eggs in my incubator)... They are about 9 months old.

The girls are muddy - only one has odd ticking.















The pullet on the right is a splash wheaten. I was told she and the girls like her are not a wheaten bird and are not a pure color (there is a lot of sarcasm in my tone).

I am not happy with the cockerel - he's by my Wayne Meredith rooster I sold. He's the best I hatched with a double beard - of which the girls have begun eating. A few of the girls are toting single beards yet. I am supposed to be getting new cockerels this year when they are ready. At least 3 of the girls are laying and I have a single egg from them in lock down now. The one set for the NYD hatch did not hatch. I am not happy with the egg color. The eggs are no longer that gorgeous robins egg blue. The Wayne Meredith boy is obviously father to many of the girls in the shed (explains the number of double beards) since the eggs are now more green. The WM boy gave me larger eggs, though.

 

[jajeanpierre]

He's the best I hatched with a double beard - of which the girls have begun eating. A few of the girls are toting single beards yet.

Can you please explain what you mean when you talk of "double beards" and "single beards." Thanks.

 

[Reyvaughn]

The pullet beside the cockerel has a single beard gene - see how it isn't as big as the beard/muffs on the pullet beside her to the left?

 

[jajeanpierre]

The pullet beside the cockerel has a single beard gene - see how it isn't as big as the beard/muffs on the pullet beside her to the left?

Thank you.

So, these birds are double beard gene carriers?



How about these pullets? The splash is pictured at 8 months, the wheaten at 6 months.