Determining Sex

[Jean]

I think most everyone on the board is trying to breed show quality or close to it birds.  Some are working on new colors, but the end goal will be to get as close to the Standard of Perfection as possible.

When I looked at your bird, the comb was not the first thing that stood out, it was the shape of the head.  Then the comb and then the color of his eyes.

I have only been at this for three years, so I am by no means an expert.  The pictures of the birds on the referenced links really help to get an idea of what you are looking for.

Jean

[Guest]

I did read the standard before, but many of the terms are too vague for me, as a beginner, to know what to look for. Many traits are described with adjectives like \"moderate\", \"medium\", \"expressive\", \"small\", \"full\", etc. These leave an awful large amount of interpretation, especially for someone with little experience.

I have also seen the National meet photos before, but to the untrained eye, it is not easy to see why one is good compared to another.

Mine have no yellow on the legs. They do have white skin. That stuff is easy to see. However, whether it\'s neck is properly arched or if the eyes are expressive, is beyond me at this point.  Jean mentions that the color of it\'s eyes is not right, but I can\'t even find that in the standard. I would also guess that it\'s difficult to evaluate a 12 week old bird to the standard, which I\'m guessing is for adults. Very confusing right now...

[John]

but I can\'t even find that in the standard

Steve,
FYI, the \"Standard\" on the ABC website is only a description of the breeds and not the varieties, so colors aren\'t mentioned.  Even the description we have is not complete for the breeds, since the Standards are copyrighted by the APA.  We were able to work with them to include on our site what we have and encourage those that want complete breed and variety descriptions to buy a \"Standard\" from the APA.
I know from your website that you don\'t live anywhere close to Montana, but going to an ABC National meet with a camera is a great way to learn.  I know you have a \"fishy\" background when it comes to breeding and think you could be real asset to the poultry fancy.  If possible drive over to the Fowl Fest in Frankenmuth, MI this October.   http://FowlFest.org  

[Guest]

Thanks for the info John. I\'ll have to wait until there is a National show closer before I can go. In the meantime, if I get more serious in breeding for show, I\'ll purchase the Standard you referred to.

I initially obtained the Ameraucanas because I wanted the eggs and they were reputed to be a very cold hardy variety. I\'ve worked most of my life with improving animals and will probably find it difficult to not work with these.

[bantamhill]

Steve,

Very cool website! I love guppies and angelfish! That being said, John covered most of which I was going to yesterday, but didn\'t. You might watch our meet list and try to attend a meet closer to home.

http://www.ameraucana.org/ABC%20Meets.html

Comb type is fairly easy to correct. I was relieved that you had white skin. You are looking to hit a reddish bay color for the eyes. I would not doubt that your birds came from show stock. One of the common misconceptions is that a bird that shows well is a good breeding bird. I have taken birds that showed well put them together and ended up with offspring that were much less than the parent birds. This is normal in nature . . . characteristics tend to move toward a \"normal\" curve . . . so the exceptional really is exceptional and one must breed the entire group toward the exceptional over time in order to improve the entire group . . . but you know this! I tend to now try to buy stock in family units and I tend to personally use flock mating methods in order to bring the entire group along instead of only segments.

I would suggest that your birds are too young to truly assess and I would suggest letting them grow awhile before making any decisions. In the meantime you might look around for more stock.

A couple of pictures that I have used in the bulletin that Mike Gilbert sent to me. These pictures are large enough for you to get an idea of the type you are looking for.

White Large Fowl


Blue Large Fowl