16
Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: Shawnee meet
« on: December 28, 2015, 09:25:07 PM »
Congrats to all the winners! By the way, I predicted who would win BB a month before the show (right Susan) 
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17
Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: Arkansas State Meet Fayetteville, Arkansas Nov. 7 & 8
« on: December 28, 2015, 09:17:56 PM »
Congrats to all the winners and thanks to Paul, Angela, and Mathew for their hard work!
18
Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: Another new Master Exhibitor!
« on: December 28, 2015, 09:14:23 PM »
Thanks to all for the kind words but couldn't have done it alone. I finally have the time time to reply so thanks to everyone who has helped me do well with this great breed!
19
Ameraucana Marketplace / Large fowl blue and black trio
« on: November 30, 2015, 03:52:54 PM »
I have a trio each of blue and black Ameraucana I can deliver to Shawnee.
20
Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: National Meet - Nov 7-8, 2015
« on: November 10, 2015, 03:47:32 PM »
Congrats to all the winners! I had a great time visiting with everyone. Looking forward to next year.
An extra special thanks to Paul, Angela, and Matthew for their hard work making this a great show. They went above and beyond with all those beautiful hand made plaques!
An extra special thanks to Paul, Angela, and Matthew for their hard work making this a great show. They went above and beyond with all those beautiful hand made plaques!
21
Breeding / Re: Another rookie question
« on: October 16, 2015, 02:14:19 PM »
From my experience, the eggs will be darkest when they first start laying. As time goes on they will begin to lighten up. When they stop laying for the winter or a molt, it gives their bodies time to recover and replenish. Then, when they start laying again, the eggs will be darker again and gradually lighten up the longer they lay. It's a repeating cycle.
22
Breeding / Re: Skittles my special splash chick!
« on: May 30, 2015, 10:11:08 PM »Max out of my Andalusian / Ameraucan cross I gotten several splash pullets but no splash cockerels, what about you?
Clif, I haven't kept any of the splash or blacks long enough to tell as I am just working with the blues for now.
23
Breeding / Re: Skittles my special splash chick!
« on: May 26, 2015, 08:50:57 PM »
No problem Hannah... He is a pure Ameraucana. I still think he's pretty cool. The splash pattern on him looks awesome! 
24
Breeding / Re: Skittles my special splash chick!
« on: May 24, 2015, 09:49:52 AM »
Skittles is one of my project birds. He/she (I'm thinking he) is half Ameraucana and half Andalusian. Judging from the pictures I would say he is carrying the pattern gene required for true lacing. If you bred him to a black female from a blue mating it would be interesting to see how the chicks turned out.
25
Breeding / Re: To cull or not to cull that is the question
« on: May 24, 2015, 09:38:52 AM »
Hi John,
White feathers are very common in young blacks. When they molt their juvenile feathers they should all grow back as black adult feathers.
White feathers are very common in young blacks. When they molt their juvenile feathers they should all grow back as black adult feathers.
26
Breeding / Re: Skittles my special splash chick!
« on: May 21, 2015, 07:56:15 PM »
Hi Hannah,
I'm pretty sure it's a splash. Is this one of the chicks I sent to you? If so, can you tell me what number the toe punches are? Are they a hole or have they been split open?
I'm pretty sure it's a splash. Is this one of the chicks I sent to you? If so, can you tell me what number the toe punches are? Are they a hole or have they been split open?
27
Housing, Health & Hatching / Re: Over 2 decades of experience
« on: May 21, 2015, 03:35:31 PM »
Thanks Paul & Angela, That was a great read!
Your mentorship has served me very well. I have hatched more chicks than I know what to do with. My brooders are overflowing.
Something that you might consider in the future is printing your shipping labels at home. It's faster and cheaper than doing it at the post office. To save the expense of sticky back shipping labels, I print them on regular printer paper and use a glue stick to glue them to the box. When I deliver them to the post office, I am in and out in just a few minutes.
Your mentorship has served me very well. I have hatched more chicks than I know what to do with. My brooders are overflowing.
Something that you might consider in the future is printing your shipping labels at home. It's faster and cheaper than doing it at the post office. To save the expense of sticky back shipping labels, I print them on regular printer paper and use a glue stick to glue them to the box. When I deliver them to the post office, I am in and out in just a few minutes.
28
Breeding / Re: Comb Question
« on: May 21, 2015, 03:06:05 PM »
Hi Brandy, Welcome to the ABC!
If he is all you have then you should use him for breeding. He probably wouldn't do well at a show. Combs are relatively easy to improve. Be sure to breed him to a female with a nice proper comb. You should get a male with a good comb which you could then breed back to his mother.
BTW, how are the chicks doing that I sent to you?
If he is all you have then you should use him for breeding. He probably wouldn't do well at a show. Combs are relatively easy to improve. Be sure to breed him to a female with a nice proper comb. You should get a male with a good comb which you could then breed back to his mother.
BTW, how are the chicks doing that I sent to you?
29
Housing, Health & Hatching / Temp and humidity control
« on: May 07, 2015, 11:16:45 PM »
I would like to share my thoughts on temp and humidity. First, incubation techniques will vary depending on the climate where you live and the type of incubator you are using. Altitude, average humidity, etc. will have an effect on your particular setup. This is based on my local climate here in Texas using a GQF cabinet incubator.
Humidity control - I try to average 45% humidity for the first 18 days. If it drops below 40% or rises above 50% during that time I will make an adjustment. Once they are moved to the hatcher the humidity is raised to 60%. As the chicks begin to hatch, the humidity will rise to 65-70% on its own due to the wet hatching chicks. I have had great success with this method. Very few if any chicks that get stuck in the shell.
I use a digital hygrometer but only after it has been calibrated. To calibrate, pour about 1/4 cup of table salt in a cup and add just enough water to make it like wet sand. Put it in a gallon zip-lock bag along with the hygrometer and seal it up for a couple of hours. The humidity should read 75%. If it doesn't then just add or subtract the difference and write it on the unit. (Ex. If it reads 67% then write +8 on the unit)
Temp control - The most accurate thermometer I have found is a digital thermometer for humans. It can be purchased in the pharmacy at wal-mart. I drilled a small hole in the side of the cabinet about half way up and insert and just leave it there all the time. I only turn it on long enough to check/adjust temp and then turn it off. I try to keep the temp between 99.4 and 99.9 degrees. This thermometer is so sensitive you can adjust by .1 degrees.
Cabinet incubators are not a closed environment. They have air vents that constantly circulate and exchange the air inside the unit. The incubator temp and humidity will change with the room temp and humidity. For every 10 degrees of room temp change the incubator temp will change by 1 degree. The more stable you can keep your room the more stable the incubator will be.
I hope this helps. Feel free to share your opinions and experiences…
Humidity control - I try to average 45% humidity for the first 18 days. If it drops below 40% or rises above 50% during that time I will make an adjustment. Once they are moved to the hatcher the humidity is raised to 60%. As the chicks begin to hatch, the humidity will rise to 65-70% on its own due to the wet hatching chicks. I have had great success with this method. Very few if any chicks that get stuck in the shell.
I use a digital hygrometer but only after it has been calibrated. To calibrate, pour about 1/4 cup of table salt in a cup and add just enough water to make it like wet sand. Put it in a gallon zip-lock bag along with the hygrometer and seal it up for a couple of hours. The humidity should read 75%. If it doesn't then just add or subtract the difference and write it on the unit. (Ex. If it reads 67% then write +8 on the unit)
Temp control - The most accurate thermometer I have found is a digital thermometer for humans. It can be purchased in the pharmacy at wal-mart. I drilled a small hole in the side of the cabinet about half way up and insert and just leave it there all the time. I only turn it on long enough to check/adjust temp and then turn it off. I try to keep the temp between 99.4 and 99.9 degrees. This thermometer is so sensitive you can adjust by .1 degrees.
Cabinet incubators are not a closed environment. They have air vents that constantly circulate and exchange the air inside the unit. The incubator temp and humidity will change with the room temp and humidity. For every 10 degrees of room temp change the incubator temp will change by 1 degree. The more stable you can keep your room the more stable the incubator will be.
I hope this helps. Feel free to share your opinions and experiences…
30
Breeding / Re: Breeding black to splash
« on: May 07, 2015, 10:00:15 PM »
I'm sure there is some genetic explanation that is still out of my reach. Different lines may produce better birds from chicks with the white chick down. I would keep all the darkest blue chicks regardless. I got my start from Paul by the way... Some of my Blue Andalusian chicks are so dark it's hard to tell them apart from the blacks until they are about a week old. And they have the white chick down on their chest and bellies.
I think it is a matter of learning what your own lines produce. Keep good records and take pictures along the way. In a few years you will have a pretty good idea how they will grow out when they hatch.
I think it is a matter of learning what your own lines produce. Keep good records and take pictures along the way. In a few years you will have a pretty good idea how they will grow out when they hatch.