The Ameraucana head by Lindsay Helton
Head points are a factor to consider when selecting breeding stock. To be able to distinguish a good breeding male or female from a poor one requires patience and experience. Some techniques include observations on skull width, comb, feathering, eye color, muff and beard expression, and overall balance of the head.
It is advantageous for the skull width to carry forward to the nostril rather than stopping in front of the eye. Some breeders find a connection between this and the quality of the Ameraucana and persistence of production for females.
One should select for balance of the head. This refers to the depth of head vs its length. Select for the same distance from the bottom of the comb to the area by the wattles and from the front of the earlobe to the tip of the beak. Speaking of the earlobes, be sure they are fully formed. Have you taken a look at the color requirement of them for Ameraucana?
A good balanced head usually has a relatively short, strong beak.The beak will naturally have some curve to it, particularly by the lower mandible. Be sure to avoid a crow head. This head involves a long skull and beak, a shallow face, and a sunken eye.
The quality of the comb and how it adheres to the standard should be considered at sexual maturity. Both male and female Ameraucana should have a pea comb. It should be a low comb with three lengthwise ridges for both male and female. The center ridge is slightly higher than the other two ridges. Each of the ridges also has small, round serrations. The pea comb on a male should lay closely to the head at the front and rear and be slightly higher at the center. Also, the Ameraucana male comb should be slightly larger than that of a female. You are probably familiar with the bright red comb of a hen that is presently laying and the pale appearance of it when the female is out of production. Comb color is useful for determining present production as well as the general health of the bird.
Remember that the feathering for an Ameraucana head should be neither soft/loose feathered nor hard/tight feathered. It is advantageous for the head to have enough width for the comb, but not be so wide as to overhang the eyes.
One should select for prominent, bright eyes in their Ameraucana. When the head is viewed from the front or rear, the eyes should stand out from the face and not be sunken in. In good specimen the eye usually sets forward under the front half of the comb while bad specimen have the eye sitting under the rear half of the comb or even behind it.
The standard calls for the eye color of an Ameraucana to be reddish bay. Bay is an intermingling of red and yellow in the iris. This gives you insight into correctly identifying reddish bay eye color in your Ameraucana flock.
The face should be nearly hidden by muffs and beard, but one should be able to see the expressive eyes while observing the head. The muffs and beard should have three separate lobes.
Hopefully this post gives you some insight into assessing the heads in your Ameraucana flock.
Always remember:
Like begets like.
