The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Breeding
Chick phenotype
dak:
--- Quote from: John on February 26, 2013, 08:28:52 PM ---
--- Quote ---The more you study the better you can evaluate your chicks at a younger age.
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Right on! I've been promoting culling day-old chicks for several years now based on phenotype. Once you figure out which chick phenotype grows into the best show quality birds you will know what to look for and save money by not broodering and feeding the run of the mill chicks. "Chick Uniformity" is a term I picked up somewhere along the line and even use it on my Chick Hatchery site's FAQ page.
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What criteria do use cull for in Black chicks, other than deformities.
John:
Compare with the photos of day-old chicks on ABC site. With blacks watch out for any brown on the forehead. Sometimes things like that aren't noticed unless you take each chick in hand and really study them. Don't just look for black chicks with cream bellies. Consistency or uniformity is what I look for. Even though we are discussing the color and pattern of the chick's down remember to check the color of the pads of their feet, since shanks/legs and feet are affected by feather/down color. You want to see some pink skin on the pads.
HarryS:
Clare,
I also reject any chicks with a red patch, sometimes there is just a fine reddish line before and/or after the eye. There are some also which you need to look at them in the sunshine that has a reddish cast over the head area. And and black chick that has too much white speckled on their heads.
The only other thing which I may be wrong but any chick that is pure black and has no color of yellow under the bellie area also gets culled.
Plus I cull any chick that is not showing good muffs and beards expressed. Plus any chick that is smaller than the average ones. Any with thin heads also I cull. All these chicks are not sold to anyone, I stopped selling my culls at the auctions because they end up as breeders and are seen on Ebay eventually.
I have had few if any birds with red leakage showing up on full grown males in all three black breeds that I do.
Mike Gilbert:
Harry, thin heads??? How does that affect mature birds? That's a new one on me.
HarryS:
Mike,
I prefer birds that have a wide head. So I keep the ones that when I look down on the head I keep them that have more width. I know they are not suppose to be as wide as a good cochin but I don;t like them to have pinched eyes. I may be a little off the SOP but I prefer a certain look.
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