Wheaten Ameraucana...

[philipu]

Hi, I have a question on wheaten males, I have two that look like they will be blue wheaten, when do the beards on them                     change to the dark color, say the black of the wheaten.
Both of these guys have the cream color, does that change with age or does it remain the cream color, the females are all looing good.
Thanks, phil

[Jean]

Phil, my experience has been that the wheaten and blue wheaten males take the longest to fully mature and get adult plumage; way past the 20 week mark.

This makes them the most expensive to raise.

[John]

Check out this old topic:
http://ameraucana.org/abcforum/index.php?a=topic&t=362

[philipu]

Phil, my experience has been that the wheaten and blue wheaten males take the longest to fully mature and get adult plumage; way past the 20 week mark.

This makes them the most expensive to raise.

Thanks Jean,  the chicks are growing quickly,
I always love the color of the wheaten and blue wheaten females.
I have sent a private email....love the birds hope to see you in
October in Great Falls, phil

[philipu]

Check out this old topic:
http://ameraucana.org/abcforum/index.php?a=topic&t=362

Thanks John, thats what happening with the two cockerels,
juvenile feathers, I appreciate it....
this happened when I first bred the game like asil and shamo,
they have this type of feathering, didn\'t know what was going on with them, was going to cull....but a friend who raises game said leave them alone, it\'s the normal process, and sure enought, when they got their adult sex feathers (saddle), they turned out really nice bbr\'s.
Thanks again....phil

[John]

Phil,
It\'s good to hear from you.  I think one of the early breeders of wheaten cockerels coined the phase \"patience is a virtue\".

[philipu]

Phil,
It\'s good to hear from you.  I think one of the early breeders of wheaten cockerels coined the phase \"patience is a virtue\". [/quote

Yes I\'ve heard that....... ]
I don\'t mind waiting,.......................much.
phil

[Mike Gilbert]

patience:   I want a whole bunch of that - right now!

[philipu]

patience:   I want a whole bunch of that - right now!

Right now....what\'s happening...?
Hope all is well.
phil

[Mike Gilbert]

\"tongue in cheek\" Phil.   Just kidding.

[philipu]

\"tongue in cheek\" Phil.   Just kidding.

I\'m slow somtimes.
I took a couple of pictures this afternoon of the young birds,
they were resting in the bush, so not really great shots,
the one pullet however, the picture is quite nice. Couldn\'t get the
little wheaten cockerel, just his  head.

phil

[Tailfeathers]

Hi Y\'all,  

I don\'t wish to hijack this thread and am hoping this question runs along side the OP\'s original question.

With regard to the beard color, has anyone identified a specific trait to look for that will increase the color in one\'s offspring?  For example I was told that the Ameraucanas store their egg color in their face, comb, and shanks.  Is there anything in particular that I could look for to increase the black beard in the Wheaten or the blue-gray in the BW?

All of my 16 month old roosters have a lot of white still under the beak.  I\'d say they\'re 75-80% proper color and the rest is white.

Thanks in advance.

God Bless,

[Mike Gilbert]

For example I was told that the Ameraucanas store their egg color in their face, comb, and shanks.  

That sounds like something picked up on the Backyard Poultry forum, aka the electronic poultry misinformation highway.    Here is a link to a scientific paper dealing with the synthesis of blue shell pigment: http://ps.fass.org/cgi/reprint/85/3/546.pdf
A quick reading of the abstract indicates the pigment biliverdin is responsible for the blue color, and that it is most likely synthesized in the shell gland and then deposited in the eggshell.   The face, comb, and shanks have nothing to do with it.

With regard to your question about muff color in wheaten and blue wheaten males, I try to select female breeders with good slate undercolor, at least on the back.   I also try to use males that develop good black or blue muffs without brown or beige in them.   Careful selection of breeders over a period of years will help.  But it will probably always take a relatively long time for the male muffs to fully change to the proper color.   This is not a good variety for the impatient.

[Guest]

I have a 2 1/2 year old roo that still has a lot of cream in the \"roots\" of his beard & muffs, too. Dunno if that will ever change. That might be for always with him
This roo has wattles (though pretty small) & not very full muffs & beard. Do you think there is any connection between the lack of fullness & the persistent cream color?
I don\'t mind the cream color too much, but I do hope to have a Wheaten or Blue Wheaten roo some day with more full feathering around his face. This roo that I have does have some other very nice qualities I like though, including nice bright coloring throughout the rest of his body.

[Mike Gilbert]

No connection between lack of muff size and color.    From your description, were he mine, he would have been in the stew pot long ago.   But I guess it all depends on ones goals.