Author Topic: Poultry Press article- September 2020  (Read 2019 times)

Lindsay Helton

  • Administrator
  • Ameraucana Guru II
  • *****
  • Posts: 1463
    • View Profile
Poultry Press article- September 2020
« on: August 01, 2020, 05:14:01 PM »
I wanted to share my PP article for next month on the forum as a thank you to my mentors on the Ameraucana breed.

The Unexpected Friendships We Encounter While Raising Poultry by Lindsay Helton

Several years ago, my husband and I moved to a small farm. While browsing the internet one day, I learned that some chickens lay blue eggs. I was intrigued. Someone listed some “Americanas” for sale and I leaped at the opportunity to own chickens that lay blue eggs. A few weeks into owning my new chickens, I did some additional research and realized the chickens I had purchased did not adhere to the standard for the Ameraucana breed. Many commercial hatcheries and individuals mistakenly sell what they claim to be Ameraucanas, but they are often nonstandard birds that lay colorful eggs and are sold under a variation of the name Ameraucana.

I came across the Ameraucana Breeders Club website. A gentleman by the name of Paul Smith popped out to me. He seemed friendly and had a lot of experience with the breed. I placed an order for chicks and we started emailing back and forth. Paul has always been available to answer breeding questions and is a source of encouragement to all our ABC members. I have always thought of him as the thread that binds us all together. I consider Paul a good friend.

While browsing the Ameraucana Breeders Club website, I noticed a member that posted under the name Pips & Peeps (Jean Ribbeck) seemed to know what she was talking about regarding the Ameraucana breed. I sent her an email. One conversation turned into ten and then twenty conversations. Now the conversations number in the hundreds. Rarely does a day go by that I do not contact Jean to ask her a new Ameraucana related question or to simply say hello. Jean taught me how to select and condition my Ameraucanas and I headed off to my first poultry show. It was a double show. I brought home two Reserve Champion large fowl trophies. I was officially hooked on raising standard bred Ameraucanas. I consider Jean a good friend.

I noticed another ABC member by the name of Susan Mouw was frequently creating educational posts about the Ameraucana breed. Susan served as our club secretary for several years. A quick survey of the ABC website reflects 1732 forum posts written and hundreds of meet reports and membership applications entered among many other tasks completed during her tenure. We are thankful for the time she volunteered to the club. Susan and I connected at a poultry show in 2016 and we began showing our Ameraucanas together throughout the southeast. In 2017, Susan gifted me her flock of show quality large fowl wheaten and blue wheaten Ameraucanas. I consider Susan a good friend.

I never would have thought that my search for chickens that lay blue eggs would eventually lead me to lifelong friendships. Earning poultry ribbons and trophies is nice, but the friendships we encounter while raising poultry are priceless treasures. Are you interested in raising Ameraucanas? Visit http://www.ameraucanabreedersclub.org/membership.html and join our nearly three hundred active members as we work together to promote the continued improvement of bantam and large fowl Ameraucanas. You may find a few unexpected friendships as well. Thank you Paul, Jean and Susan for being my mentors on the Ameraucana breed.

The ABC would like to invite all breeders of Ameraucanas, especially ABC members and those who raise large fowl splash Ameraucanas to attend our national meet at the Canadian Valley Mega Show in Norman, OK on 11/7/20. This will be the first prequalifying meet for the splash variety in large fowl. We will need four head in each class (C, H, K, P) for this meet to be successful. For more information on the large fowl splash Ameraucana approval effort, contact Paul Smith at psmith@ntin.net or Lindsay Helton at abcsecretaryhelton@gmail.com.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2021, 05:31:19 PM by Lindsay Helton »
Joshua 24:15