The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Breeding

Breeding and Genetics...oh my!!

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JSDJ Farm:
I have spent way too many hours (according to my husband) reading all the breeding posts...I am totally lost and confused! My gaol is to breed very good quality birds so I keep very small breeding groups in all the breeds on my little farm...My Wheaten Amers are my biggest breeder flock. I have 3 Ramey gals ( 2 blue,1 black) and 1 blue from another breeder along with a gal that is a nice example of standard Blue Wheat but her egg color is bad...really bad...I have her tagged and use her just for egg production. I do believe she is pure as her eggs started with blue splotches and sometimes even half blue like you dyed one end (wish I had took pics) to now they are absent of blue. I keep a Blue Wheaten roo over this flock who I let emotions get the best of me and rescued from a reputable breeder but he was low man and was sooo picked on...he has a limp that has improved dramatically and is amazing to look at...but he is clumsy and "falls off" so fertility is hit and miss...My question is on them should I work on finding more black gals to add while I wait to see if my roo continues to improve? ( I love his colors and he will be a fine boy if he gets past this). And would hatching and raising a roo from my stock be a good replacement for him ? His personality is top notch and he is excellent with how he treats the gals. I want to keep that personality trait! Any advice is greatly appreciated...I know I may need to change roos...I want to stay with a Blue roo but want good coloring from my flock...I am reading that blue over blue gives splash wheatens? but since that is not a recognized color are the really desirable? Thanks in advance...I will have many more things to ponder in the future I am sure!! =)

Beth C:
It would help if you can post some pictures of your birds, but in general, every flock has areas where they shine, and one stubborn fault they are struggling to eliminate (and a big ol' raspberry to anyone who has ONLY one ;)), along with plenty of "passable but not where I want it." The trick is deciding which you can tolerate, at least short term, and which ones really drive you nuts, and they'll be different for everyone. If you ask 10 breeders what they'll work with and what's a deal breaker, you'll get 10 different answers. But here are some of mine, hopefully some others will weigh in with theirs.

Obviously genetic defects go immediately.Temperament is also high on my list - I don't feed what I don't like.  I want a bird with good type/balance/substance, and, in my w/bw/sw, more black in the wings/tails of females and beards on males, and less in the hackles of both. I'll work around sparse beards/muffs to improve something more difficult. While my egg color has been pretty decent in w/bw/sw (buffs- won't go there) I don't get too caught up in it, because there is no standard for egg color. While it is likely the most hotly debated characteristic of the breed, you'll be hard-pressed to find 2 people who agree on what the "correct" egg color is. I'm not saying egg color doesn't mattr, but I'd never cull an otherwise good bird for something so subjective. The exception being white eggs, which I haven't personally dealt with it, but I've heard can be a real headache.

But it doesn't sound like that's what you're seeing. Eggs are bluest early in the season and tend to fade the longer the hen lays. I'm not sure what causes the splotchy color - I had a lavender last year whose eggs looked like Saturn (little alien) - every egg consistently had a band of darker blue (same blue, more pigment) around the middle.

Anyway, not sure if I answered any of your questions, but there is a wonderful book that I purchased at the recommendation of several of our gurus, and I think you'll find it very helpful. I sure did! The book is Start where you are with what you have - A Guide to Poultry Breeding By Ralph Sturgeon and the only place I know of it being available is: http://www.poultrynz.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1297

Good luck! Hope to see you at some shows!

JSDJ Farm:
Thanks Beth...the egg in question is just creamy white now...so she is NOT a breeder even though she is perfectly gorgeous otherwise...I have nice medium blue eggs in my other gals and good structure...My roo is also very nice...maybe not the best but I have recieved compliments on him quite often...but if his gimp doesnt get better he is out...I need fertility...I am being patient because his looks and personality are what I want...I guess my biggest question for now is with 3 blue gals (one is soo close to being splash) and a black under a blue roo do I need to maybe consider adding a black gal or consider changing my roo to a black? I do not want to dilute my blues to much and I love my rich deep blue roo! I have got to figure the pic thing...looks like I have to do a url posting of pics instead of direct upload... :P

JSDJ Farm:
Figured out pics as attachment...not the best pic of my roo because he has grown out more since and beard is getting better...I will take a recent in a bit to post!

Beth C:
I'm not sure what you mean about blue & black - are you crossing wheaten/blue wheaten/splash wheaten with black/blue/splash?

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