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Large fowl wheaten/blue wheaten

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Guest:
Hi, I\'m relitively new to ameraucana\'s, but I just picked up some bantams from mike. I also bought some large fowl ameraucana eggs from various people. The lines I am starting with are from larry garner, jean ribbeck, and wayne meridth. I like to play with the odd varities, like standard partridge wyandottes and such and enjoy improving the strains (I now have a strain of Partridge Wyandottes that has never failed to take best of breed in over 15 shows, including the 2006 national at Indy). Anyway just wondering what you more experienced breeders thought the strong and weak points of the Wheaten large fowl are, and what you think needs the most attention in improving?

Jean:
Jordan,

I wish you would have told me you had LF partridge wyandottes as I would have traded the eggs with you.

I got some chicks from a breeder and they are looking pretty ratty and are slow to feather.

On the wheatens the striping in the lower hackles is a problem and leg color on some but not all are the most pressing issues I will be working on.  Also some of the females have poor color in the outer webs of tail and wings.

Others may have have a different view.

Jean

Mike Gilbert:
Hi Jordan,
I don\'t raise large fowl wheatens and blue wheatens any more, but I did have some of Wayne\'s stock at one time.  Actually, they all go back to Wayne, because he bred up the large fowl wheatens and blue wheatens from his original easter egger stock and some of my wheaten bantams.   Most of the ones I see at shows are a little too slight of body - they need more substance, width, weight, and fuller breasts in the males.  I\'m sure there might be some out there that are great, but if so I have not seen them recently.   Wayne had some really nice sized ones at one time, but I have not been down there to see his birds for several years now.   Then there are the color issues that Jean mentioned.   Watch the ear lobes, Barb was starting to get some with white in the lobes.   They are really a nice variety to work with.   Good luck with the bantams also, and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.   There should be a few decent pullets and cockerels to share at our 2008 National Meet at Hutchinson in October.

Paul:
Wheaten large fowl are a work in progress.  Thanks Jordan for your willingness to help.  I hope you will like Ameraucanas better than Wyndottes.
  Some wheatens have a problem with feather shanks and stubs.  Shank color of some don\'t change to be the required slate.  Some red is beginning to show up in the male\'s breast, but the black stripping in the hackles is decreasing.  Make sure the females have adequate black in their tail and the black on the underside of the neck on the males isn\'t broken by the red/orange.  I\'ve been told these two things lead to the problem of red in their breast.  Some may develop crooked toes or a lazy tail (they hold it to one side like a wry tail, then flip it over to the other side.  Some male\'s tail is too long which may be part of the cause of the lazy tail.  The egg color of wheatens usually fades to white too quickly (much sooner than blacks or blues).  Occassionally a chick will be cleaned faced (no muffs or beard).  Some wheatens are beginning to have problems with white in their earlobes.  Some females are too dark caused by the wild-e-gene (Mike wil have to explain).  Some occassionaly will be too small.  The wheaten LF were bred up from bantams, so there are still some small genes holding on to some of them.
  Wheatens are a real challenge to produce one capable of winning the show.  Last year we had the best blue wheaten pullet that has ever been raised on our place.  Her picture is on the North Central Dist. Meet,  National Meet-Great Falls, Montana and the South-Central District Meet all are on page six topics, at this time.
  I hope I didn\'t disencourage anyone who has a desire to breed show quality wheaten Ameraucanas from trying.  They are an experience like no other variety to raise.  The chicks of wheaten, blue wheaten and splash wheaten are all the same color at hatching.  They can be identified by variety within two weeks of age.  The wheaten chicks will have black, the blue wheaten will have blue and the splash wheaten will have white on their wing primaries.  Wheatens are sex-linked, so with time (about 4 weeks) the females will develop the creamy wheaten color (if they are correct and don\'t have the wild-e-gene) and the males will develop their color for their variety.  Their color changes several times from a chick to an adult ready to show.  The chicks start out with an off white shank and turn slate at about 3 months of age-so one has to be patient when breeding the Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas.  Several breeders agreed a few years ago to breed splash wheatens to get them a recognized variety.  It takes 5 breeders, 5 years of breeding, show 50 head at a designated show, have a recommendation from the judge, a lot of paper work, and a yes vote by the APA to get a variety recognized.

Schroeder:
Wow Paul.  This is an awesome overview of the variety.  Since 5 years have passed, would you mind updating any changes you've observed since then?

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