What's frustrating is that I saw signs of her not being quite right, but I have no clue what might have caused it. Nothing has changed in the way I care for them- no new food, no new anything. I wonder if it wasn't something to do with her bottom. I have posted before about how I have to trim...
Well, my little splash pullet died today. I found her in the coop when I went out to check on them just now. I don't know what happened. Her comb was pale and she seemed a tad subdued, but I honestly didn't know what to do except keep checking on her. I kinda knew what was going to happen when I...
Thanks Illia and Lanae. I have a photo in my gmail of the first egg; it's not at all tan but it is green-tinted blue. The egg we got this morning is less greenish than the first eggs, so that's encouraging.
We have pullet eggs! My husband found them while I was out of town. The color is not terribly awe-inspiring; is that normal? Will their eggs get more blue as they lay more? I sure hope so.
Oh my. I have been busy haying, but I happened to notice my little cockerel mating with one of his hens. That's good, right? Yes, except that there are no eggs yet. I'm puzzled. The birds are 6 months old. Any thoughts? I know the hens are not mature just because he is, but I have looked...
Very interesting discussion of color you've got going on here.
We are going to the NOFA conference today. http://www.nofasummerconference.org/pdfs/2011_Conference_Schedule.pdf I realize this has nothing to do with Aruacana, except that I hope to learn things I need to become a better overall...
Thank you. I might wait and save for the Sportsman. I like to buy the right thing the first time, and people seem to really like that one. Sometimes middle-of-the-line really does = mediocre.
Illia, thanks to you, too. I want the 1588 to be adequate, as there are things I want/need that the...
OK, since I really only care what you Araucana people think;), I would love to know if anyone owns and loves (or owns and dislikes) the 1588 Genesis Hovabator. Descriptions of what you like or don't like would be mightily appreciated.
syble, I love that your roo is sitting quietly on a child's hand. So cute.
As for hi comb, I'm not sure. The first photo shows it as sort of curvy; is that right? The SOP says the comb should be "pea, rather small, set evenly on head." So by those terms, it looks good to me.
Yellow legs - bad
Color - good, although I don't know about the neck-back junction there. Seems smutty.
Comb and wattles - looking good so far, I hope they don't flop or fold
Overall color - The breast could do with absolutely no red, but, I find it a little hard to find duckwings without that...
I felt inspired to take a few photos of Gomez. I appreciate any and all comments. I know he's not perfect, and I need to learn what is "right" with him and what's less desirable.
Untitled by Quickbeam2009, on Flickr
Untitled by Quickbeam2009, on Flickr
Untitled by Quickbeam2009, on Flickr
I am still working on my book.
Is it a book about Araucanas? Someone needs to write a good one.
I confess I'm thrilled to have one of Lanae's better birds. He's really the apple of my eye (livestock-wise, anyway).
Uncle!!!
I am going to look into getting an incubator. You people are terrible enablers;)
Soooo, rather than asking general incubation questions on the main board, I'd love it if you experienced folks would post your ideal incubator set-up for hatching Araucanas. Our birds are odd little...
Sue, color identification is one good reason to have the Standard of Perfection. I'm less than thrilled with it as a resource overall (not a comment on it's quality necessarily), but the illustrations are nice.
Thank you, Illia, for the solid gold breeding advice. I find your way of explaining things very accessible.
Another good source of culling advice comes from the ALBC website:
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-3.pdf
Suzan,
I hope your eggs hatch. I can only imagine the suspense of incubating eggs.
As for cockerel vs. pullet, isn't darkening of color the easiest way to tell on rose comb birds? I have very, very limited experience, but my little cockerel had a much redder comb from about 4 months.