The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Breeding

Is it just me?

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DeWayne Edgin:
My thought is, if you are breeding to show the pullets then the fall is not a good time to breed. But if you are breeding for a project or to improve on traits or just the birds in genneral. The fall is a good time to breed. I like having my pullets in the winter months when the days are shorter and my birds are not laying good. The spring time seems to be the best time for egg production and if you hatch in the fall, they seem to start laying in the spring time sooner. You can take a year off of a three year breeding project also by breeding in the fall.

Don:
I had not traditionally hatched in the fall but have noticed a few folks starting layers in the early fall.  It does seem to work well with layers for spring eggs.  I did have a small group a few years back that hatched in October and they did not grow as large as summer birds.  Not good for LF but I think it's used as a way to limit size by lots of bantam folks.  Btw, I don't think this method is fair to artificially reduce birds size.  The next generation of off spring will return to oversize birds again so they do this just to win not to improve the birds.

But you do touch on a good point, are we more concerned with improving the breed/variety or is it more important prepping for a show.  I know it's both in a perfect world.  But I think our first priority should be improving the birds.  IMO the shows should be a place to compare overall progress first, compare condition a distant second importance.  I think others may have expressed a similar thought at some point.  So if you can make improvements say by three, four generations in two years, and you don't break the bank/ domestic politics, I say go for it.  You may want to keep the fall hatching to a few really important matings.  Lots of folks have different approaches and sounds like a bit of experience both ways. Also a time to rest/reset is important too.

DeWayne Edgin:
I haven`t had any size changes in my birds by breeding them in the fall. I keep their feeders full all of the time and i give them scraps from the fridge. I do only breed a few that i am needing the most. I raise the chicks in my basement and it helps keep my basement and my upstairs floors warm. :)

greeneggsandham:
Birds must molt at different times around the country.  I wouldn't be able to hatch a fall hatch right now even if I wanted to.  The older birds are either molting or have slowed way, way down and the younger ones haven't started to lay yet.  I usually hatch in March, just in time to make a November show with young ones.  Getting good hatches even then is difficult.  Still pretty cold here.  Hatches seem to do much better in late April, May, but birds are usually not old enough for shows then.  I really would like to try raising a late spring hatch though.  I have a hunch that more females may be produced then.

Mike Gilbert:

--- Quote from: greeneggsandham on October 18, 2014, 06:13:51 PM --- Hatches seem to do much better in late April, May, but birds are usually not old enough for shows then.  I really would like to try raising a late spring hatch though.
--- End quote ---

That's where bantams have the advantage.  April chicks can be ready to show by around October 1st.
 And they eat SO much less.

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