Buff Ameraucanas

[Guest]

I am considering breeding ameraucanas (if i can succesfully import from america... still working on this!) and i am quite taken with the buff coloured ameraucanas > but after reading some posts im worried that this variety is not yet well enough developed...

I read that you can get correct egg colour, feathers and leg colour but in diff birds > when chosing between these traits > which is most important to have? eg which is easiest to breed out?

Does anyone know of some reputable (standard size) buff breeders that i could get SQ stock from?

Until i find out about importing i dont know if i want to find fertile eggs or adult birds... until then i would love some help on my other questions!

Thanks
Bridget

ETA - is it best to start with one colour or get a mixture of colours?

[Guest]

Buff is a difficult color to breed from scratch. If you want to breed buff start with buff.

Rooster

[John]

this variety is not yet well enough developed

True.  The black, blue and white varieties of large fowl are most likely to reproduce show quality offspring.  Next are probably the wheaten, blue wheaten and then silver varieties.  The buff and brown reds varieties are rare.
Of course the above opinions are only those of the writer - me.
There are a dozen or more of us working on LF buff and only three, that I know of, working on LF brown red.
I suggest starting with one or two varieties such as black and blue.  or wheaten and blue wheaten.  With either of those combos you can mate them together and get some of each.

[Guest]

Thanks for the replys!

John > from your message i think you are including yourself as one of the people working on buff? If so what is your opinion as to the easiest fault to breed out of the buff? Eg should i look for a chicken with correct legs and feathers but incorrect egg colour or a diff combination? would you be the person to ask about the different breeders of buff that i could contact (down the track when i find out if i am able to get any!)

I will think about the different colours > just interested in a bit more information on the buff!

[Guest]

Ok i have officially determined that i cant bring chooks out of america! And i also found out that araucana in australia are pretty much the same as ameraucana!   accept that we do not have buff!

anyways > im not going to try and breed buff > im not that good! So im just going to pick a new colour.

Thanks for your help!

[John]

araucana in australia

Several years ago there was an Araucana club in Australia and they sent complimentary copies of their newsletters to me as Sec. of the Ameraucana club.
The British Araucana club does the same thing.
Both the British and Australian standards for Araucanas are closer to our Ameraucana standard than our Araucana.
I don\'t think the Australian club is still in existence.

[Guest]

Just to let you all know, the \'Araucana club of Australia\' still exists. It is run by Bruce Pattinson, and you can gain further info by sending a stamped self addressed envelope to \'PO Box 228 North Richmond NSW 2754\'. I beleive they issue a newsletter quaterly.

Bridget, thankyou for posting the questions about buff araucanas, they are questions I have been trying to find answers for myself! I have so far tracked down two buff araucana breeders in Australia, however they breed the same strain... very large chickens laying greenish eggs, however with other excellent features such as beard and a slight crest.

I am also in the process of creating a partridge/wheaten variety, and from my searching I also know that wheaten is very rare in Australia now.

Saying that, would crossing one of these buff araucanas with a smaller white succeed in bringing down the size and improve the egg colour without ruining the feather colour?

Thanks, Lorraine

[John]

the \'Araucana club of Australia\' still exists

Great!  I found an old Spring Newsletter from September 1999 and Bruce was Sec./Treasurer back then.  

would crossing one of these buff araucanas with a smaller white succeed in bringing down the size and improve the egg colour without ruining the feather colour?

Recessive white covers or masks a multitude of colors and different patterns.  Using them may be a bad cross, but it\'s been done by others with Ameraucanas.  
The better cross may be using wheaten, since buff and wheaten have recessive wheaten genes in common at the E-locus.
Either way it will take a few years minimum to get back to good buff color.

[Jean]

On the buff variety, which is harder (in the opinion of seasoned breeders out there) getting ride of white or black in the tail feathers?

Jean

[John]

getting ride of white or black in the tail feathers

I think it is the same, except that black stands out better and then is easier to cull for.
The same goes for breeding for little to no hackle stripping in the wheaten varieties.  The white of a splash wheaten and blue of a blue wheaten blend in better and make it harder to select the best birds.  I prefer to breed from wheaten females for that reason alone.

[Mike Gilbert]

I agree.   The white tends to \"leak\" into the finished buff, especially in the wings.   If starting from scratch I would use wheaten.   If you can find wheaten females with very little black in the tail - not hard in the Ameraucana breed, so much the better.

[bryngyld]

I bought a buff cockerel from Jay (did I remember his name right?) to put over my black gold hens.  He just worked himself out of a job.  I have more than enough offspring to take over the world.  I\'m noting that I got a lot of solid buff chicks, about half without slate legs.  The buff rooster has only a tint of slate to his legs.  If anyone would like him, they can have him for the cost of shipping.  I\'ll try to attach his photo somewhere.  I can attach it to an email if interested.  lyne@bryngyld.com  

Also, interestingly, one of the chicks is light chocolate.  Anyone have something like this.  The legs look chocolate too.  Interesting color.  It might be good in developing the lavenders (maybe).

[bryngyld]

Here is the buff rooster.  It\'s HOT here.  He wasn\'t panting until I looked at him and pointed the camera at him, though.

How \'bout this milk chocolate chick?

[Mike Gilbert]

Looks a lot like a white chick to me.    They are usually smokey in the chick down, but the feathers come in white.
Chances are both the parents were carrying the recessive white gene.

[bantamhill]

Looks like it might be white to me!

Michael