The AMERAUCANA thread

[Auntiejessi3]

This is my favorite part about the wheatens lol. Chicks are 6 weeks old, and already showing sexually dimorphic color- I’m like 90% sure this is a male-female pair. The boys start getting their dark blue/black feathers super quick, I’ve been thinking it to be a male-dominated clutch for a week or two, but this is the first chance I’ve gotten to photograph them, and took notice of the (probably a pullet) wheaten on the right.

The parents of these chicks were all accurately sexed by 6 weeks old as well, the point at which I’d checked in on their development as well, just by the fact the males were already mostly blue. View attachment 3789892

So is it just the dark feathers, or the breast feathers? I have 2 Wheatens, 4 weeks, 1 is very light like yours, the other appears to be getting blue, but both have salmon breast feathers. I meant to touch base with y'all a couple weeks ago, but got busy with chicks, garden, broody, blah blah, lol

 

[NagemTX]

So is it just the dark feathers, or the breast feathers? I have 2 Wheatens, 4 weeks, 1 is very light like yours, the other appears to be getting blue, but both have salmon breast feathers. I meant to touch base with y'all a couple weeks ago, but got busy with chicks, garden, broody, blah blah, lol

It's the brest feathers. The boys start getting in dark feathers there and the girls keep the light ones.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

It's the brest feathers. The boys start getting in dark feathers there and the girls keep the light ones.

Thank you, I thought so. I still have no clue on the Isabel's, but I have been looking at them in the same way as the wheatens, I have 2 that hatched with yellowish down, the other 4 where whiter, they have all started to feather out, but the 2 with yellow (only visible on their heads now) have lavender coming in. I think those 2 are cockerels, but that is pure speculation at this point (3 1/2 weeks old). I will keep ya'll posted.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Another question...I have never had Ameraucanas, I have had quite a few different breeds though, these chicks are so skittish, do they eventually chill out? I spend quite a bit of time with them, and they're a little better, but sometimes you'd think I was trying to kill them, lol

 

[NagemTX]

Another question...I have never had Ameraucanas, I have had quite a few different breeds though, these chicks are so skittish, do they eventually chill out? I spend quite a bit of time with them, and they're a little better, but sometimes you'd think I was trying to kill them, lol

Depends on the line. I had lavender from Cackle and the girls where skittish as chicks. Now thay are adults they like me much better.

The only chicks I had that always came up and where fearless in both males and females were the cochins I got from TSC last year. They still are! I sit down to spend time with them all and they come up and get on the back of the chair and preen my hair!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Depends on the line. I had lavender from Cackle and the girls where skittish as chicks. Now thay are adults they like me much better.

The only chicks I had that always came up and where fearless in both males and females were the cochins I got from TSC last year. They still are! I sit down to spend time with them all and they come up and get on the back of the chair and preen my hair!

I guess I'm just so used to all the orp babies, they are just big balls of love, lmao...I'll keep trying, thank you!

 

[TillyPeeps]

Another question...I have never had Ameraucanas, I have had quite a few different breeds though, these chicks are so skittish, do they eventually chill out? I spend quite a bit of time with them, and they're a little better, but sometimes you'd think I was trying to kill them, lol

They may calm down later, but will never be the friendliest ones. I had a blue ameraucanas from Meyer like that. All my black and lavender ameraucanas form John Blehm line are supper friendly and calm from day one. One of my black ameraucana is just like a puppy dog and is always demanding playing and cuddling time. She even plays fetch! She had no fear as a baby chick.

 

[NagemTX]

They may calm down later, but will never be the friendliest ones. I had a blue ameraucanas from Meyer like that. All my black and lavender ameraucanas form John Blehm line are supper friendly and calm from day one. One of my black ameraucana is just like a puppy dog and is always demanding playing and cuddling time. She even plays fetch! She had no fear as a baby chick.

Oh no wonder my Cackle ones are nice they are the Blehm lines as well, so are the blues from there.

 

[TillyPeeps]

This is Pepsi the puppy-like ameraucana when she was a pullet. You can see her eyes to tell that she's very serious about ready to play. She missed some beard, because one of my olive egger keeps pulling her beard off.

 

[SourRoses]

I guess I'm just so used to all the orp babies, they are just big balls of love, lmao...I'll keep trying, thank you!

It's hard to compare to Orp temperament

I think Ameraucana are rather impressionable, as part of being aware and smart. We raised our first Blacks from John Blehms line with a slightly older E. Orp cockerel who acted like a big sweet daddy to them. They all grew up very calm, whether genetics or his Orpy influence I don't know. That same year, we got some Isabel hens from a nearby breeder and two of them were very friendly, in your business sorts. Susie, who we still have, just follows us around and wants to stand on your shoes. Her daughter Dovey is just the same, crossed with the blacks she came out a really nice lavender (clean feathering). As a chick she just looked up at me and was like "Oh, food bringer! I like you" she made herself a pet despite me and would fly onto my arm. As she got bigger I had to discourage it for the sake of my skin, lol.

So I'm saying, they might tend towards nervous if they see other birds acting nervous. If you have room, perhaps you can raise the next batch with your Orps? That would prove whether it was the line or not anyway.