Messages

646

News and Information / 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.

647

News and Information / Fraudulent email requesting monies for a fundraising campaign

« on: July 15, 2020, 01:32:35 AM »

A fraudulent account impersonating the ABC has sent an email to a few of our members soliciting monies for a fundraising campaign.

The account does not belong to the ABC and it has been reported.

If any of our members receive the email, disregard it and/or mark it as spam.

Thanks.

648

Breeding / Re: Using a blue Ameraucana in a self blue Ameraucana pen

« on: July 14, 2020, 02:35:51 PM »

Yes, they can carry the Lavender gene depending on the genetic make up of the bird. The Blue (Bl) gene and the Lavender gene (Lav) are two different genes. Two copies of the Lav gene (one from each parent) are required for the self blue (lavender) plumage color to be expressed.

649

Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: Northwoods Poultry Fanciers Club Show

« on: July 13, 2020, 10:57:48 PM »

The website and database has been updated to reflect the change in venue and address.

650

Upcoming Meets / Re: Northwoods Poultry Fanciers Club Show, 9/12/2020, Wausau, WI

« on: July 13, 2020, 10:54:01 PM »

This meet has been updated to reflect the change in venue and address.

651

Breeding / Cross beak in poultry

« on: July 13, 2020, 09:59:12 PM »

I have come across several posts recently asking questions about cross beak and its origin. Numerous scientific studies have been completed on the subject. I reviewed several of the scientific studies that are available on cross beak and summarized the results below.

W. Landauer reported that the frequency of eye abnormalities with cross beak present is greatly influenced by incubation temperatures (Landauer, 1937). Landauer carried out several test matings of affected stock and found it impossible to produce a true-breeding cross billed fowl, despite considerable inbreeding (Landauer, 1938). In 1941, Landauer identified a lethal mutation in fowl that produces a shortening of the upper beak and of the long bones of the extremities. He reported the mutation to be recessive, autosomal and semi-lethal. In the experiments he completed, most homozygous embryos died near the end of the incubation period, but about 13% of all homozygotes hatched. The degree of shortening of the upper beak and of the long bones was variable. In roughly 50% of “short upper beak” chicks the beak became normal during growth. In the remaining 50%, a cross beak developed. (Landauer, 1941).

Hutt (1949) and Pflugfelder (1961) reported that there are non-hereditary deformed beaks associated with unilateral microphthalmia or anophthalmia in chick embryos. Hutt noted in his research findings that most cross beak cases that occur because of these conditions are never seen because the chicks die during the later stages of incubation. Hutt reported this abnormality most likely results from an accident in development, sometimes induced by an unfavorable environment. (Hutt, 1949).

Pflugfelder set up matings of 12 hens and 5 cocks affected with unilateral microphthalmia or anophthalmia to determine if the deformed beak that occurs with these conditions is hereditary. All the offspring obtained from his experiment were normal and he concluded that this type of cross beak was not genetic. (Pflugfelder, 1961).

Moriyuki Watanabe completed a small-scale study to explore non-hereditary causes of cross beak. He found that variations in incubator temperature due to interruptions in electrical current were causal of the condition. (Watanabe, 1966).

A breeding trial performed on Appenzeller Barthuhn chickens, a breed believed to have a genetic predisposition to cross beak, showed significantly higher prevalence of offspring with deformed beaks from the mating of parent stock with cross beak present compared to the mating of non-affected parents. The mating of parent stock with cross beak resulted in 67 (80.7%) offspring with normal beaks and 13 (15.7%) with cross beak. The mating of parent stock with normal beaks resulted in 95 (93.1%) offspring having normal beaks and 3 (2.9%) having cross beak. The findings elude to a possible hereditary cause of cross beak, but variations in the phenotype and inconclusive molecular genetic results indicates the need for additional research. (Joller et al., 2018).

A scientific study completed in 2019 on Huiyang bearded chickens found that expression levels of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (MBP4) in the craniofacial bones was associated with the occurrence of cross beak. The expression of MBP4 was highest in chicks that had severe cross beak followed in succession by those with moderate and minimal cross beak. This study provided insight into the potential role of BMP4 in the development of this congenital abnormality. (Hong et al., 2019).

A scientific study was completed on congenital anomalies by A. Azizpour in 2019. A total of 1,796,863 broiler chicks were examined during this study. 1,740,832 chicks were labeled as normal at hatch and 56,031 chicks were identified as having a congenital anomaly. Cross beak was identified in 27.43% of the chicks that had a congenital anomaly present. Azizpour reported that genetics and management factors were causal of cross beak. (Azizpour, 2019).

In summary, a few of the factors that have been found to be associated with and/or causal of cross beak are incubation temperatures and fluctuations, hereditary factors, accidents in development, bone morphogenetic protein 4 and management factors.

References:

Azizpour, Aidin. (2019). A Study on Congenital Anomalies in Hatched Broiler Chickens at the End of the Incubation Period. 10.22092/vj.2018.123598.1505.

Hong, Y.; Pang, Y.; Zhao, H.; Chen, S.; Tan, S.; Xiang, H.; Yu, H.; Li, H. The Morphology of Cross-Beaks and BMP4 Gene Expression in Huiyang Bearded Chickens. Animals 2019, 9, 1143.

Hutt, F.B. 1949. Genetics of the Fowl. 1st ed. pp. 43-44. McGraw-Hill Book Comp. INC.

Joller, Sara & Bertschinger, Flurina & Kump, Erwin & Spiri, Astrid & Rotz, Alois & Schweizer-Gorgas, Daniela & Drögemüller, Cord & Flury, Christine. (2018). Crossed Beaks in a Local Swiss Chicken Breed. BMC Veterinary Research. 14. 10.1186/s12917-018-1398-z.

Landauer W. A Semi-lethal Mutation in Fowl Affecting Length of the Upper Beak and of the Long Bones. Genetics. 1941;26(4):426-439.

Landauer, W. Notes on Cross-beak in Fowl. Journ. of Genetics 37, 51–68 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982143

PFLUGFELDER, 0. 1961. Nichterblich Kreuzschnabelbildungen beim Haushuhn. Roux' Arch. Entw. 152: 655-661.

Watanabe, Moriyuki. 1966. Non-hereditary Crooked Beaks in Poultry. Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Hiroshima University. 6: 339-34.

652

Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: Bird prep and what not

« on: July 11, 2020, 12:09:38 AM »

We are getting ready for our County Fair here in a couple weeks. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for getting the best look and/or shine out of your birds for shows?  Thanks!

The folks in charge of the APA Education and Training website are working on gathering show prep articles. Sharing this link to have on hand for the future as it will gradually fill with more articles. Feel free to send me a PM with any specific questions you have regarding conditioning or show prep.

http://apaeducationandtraining.org/

653

Breeding / Re: Breeding splash Ameraucanas

« on: July 10, 2020, 01:47:48 AM »

I think Jean is referring to the written standard and pointing out that calling for edging or lacing in the splash variety is not acceptable. Naturally, our “goals” when breeding blues and splashes will be different. One standard calls for lacing and the other does not.

654

Breeding / Tailsets in young and old birds

« on: July 06, 2020, 04:23:58 PM »

ABC member Susan Mouw recently created the following educational post. Sharing it here for our members.

Ok, folks..just thought I'd jump in here and share some of my experience, especially pertaining to tailsets in the young vs that tailset in a mature bird.

So, I've gathered a few pics of birds that were bred and raised here, to show you the difference. In the attached pics, each row is of the same bird and that bird's wing band is captioned below that pair of pictures. Each of these photos were taken 3-4 months apart, as you can see by the date taken in the captions.

This is just one of the reasons it is important not to cull too early, especially for too low a tailset. If I had culled these birds when those first pics were taken because of low tailsets, I would have lost at least one District Champion, and a couple of class CH winners. This applies to pullets (third row) and cockerels.

Edited to add: This rule of thumb has also applied across all varieties I have had here: white, black, blue, splash, wheaten, blue wheaten, and splash wheaten. I would daresay, it should apply to all varieties of Ameraucana, as the Standard, except for color, does not, and should not, change from variety to variety.

655

News and Information / Re: Silver Ameraucana Color Variety Plumage Description

« on: July 02, 2020, 04:34:56 PM »

Silver Leghorn male:

Hackle- Silvery white with a narrow dull black stripe extending down middle of each lower hackle feather, tapering to a point near its lower extremity.

Saddle- Silvery white.

Silver Ameraucana male (and also Silver Dutch male):

Hackle- Silvery white, a dull black stripe, free from shafting, extending down middle of each lower hackle feather, tapering to a point just short of lower extremity, the black stripe increasing in intensity and brilliance to a lustrous greenish black at the lower extremity.

Saddle- Same as hackle, but with less striping than hackle.

The current plumage description for the hackle and saddle is clearly reflected in the portraits of the Silver Ameraucana male and the Silver Dutch male in the APA SOP book.

In the ABA SOP book, the plumage description for the hackle and saddle also makes mention of the black stripe increasing in intensity and brilliance to a lustrous greenish black, therefore our ABA and APA plumage descriptions would no longer match regarding the hackle and saddle.

656

News and Information / Silver Ameraucana Color Variety Plumage Description

« on: July 01, 2020, 08:27:37 PM »

The APA Standard Committee has contacted us to ask about the language for the Silver Ameraucana color variety. They are currently working on the next edition of the Standard of Perfection book. The Silver Ameraucana color variety currently refers to the Silver Dutch for the plumage description. They have asked for our thoughts on referring to the Silver Leghorn for the plumage description instead. They are trying to condense the references used in the SOP in order to make the SOP easier to read. They would like to list the color descriptions in the front of the SOP.

If any of our members have thoughts regarding this, please contact us via email at abcsecretaryhelton@gmail.com.

657

News and Information / Re: APA Education and Training website

« on: July 01, 2020, 12:14:35 AM »

Thanks Gordon! I hope your computer gets fixed quickly.

658

News and Information / APA Education and Training website

« on: June 30, 2020, 07:08:21 PM »

The American Poultry Association has created an education and training website. Very exciting!

I created an advertisement for the Ameraucana breed and the club using the information from our current club flyer and Poultry Press advertisement as well as photos of bantam and large fowl Ameraucanas.

The advertisement can be viewed here:

https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.155.175/p12.3df.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ABCFlyer2020-1.pdf

659

Breeding / Re: Keep or Cull?

« on: June 25, 2020, 08:03:10 PM »

Nice article Lindsay. I enjoyed reading and looking at the photos. Hopefully this will be a learning tool for myself and others interested in promoting and furthering the rise of the Ameraucana Breed. Thank you!

Thanks Gordon!

660

Breeding / Keep or Cull?

« on: June 25, 2020, 11:57:34 AM »

Keep or cull?

An important task when breeding towards the standard is to narrow down your birds each season. Breeders that have a good line of birds and breed towards the standard hope for roughly 50% of chicks that are produced to be breeding quality and 10-25% to be show quality. Many breeders will only keep the show quality birds to put in their breeding pens the following year.

I have attached a picture of “keepers and culls” from a reputable breeding program to signify the importance of narrowing down your birds each season if you want to breed towards the standard. Remember to select for quality over quantity when selecting breeding stock and setting up your breeding pens.

A breeder has taken the time to share their comments on each bird below. A special thank you to that breeder. 

Keep in mind that a bird that is considered a cull in one breeding program may be considered a keeper in another breeding program depending on the state of that breeding program.

A - Splash pullet - definitely a keeper. While the color standard is yet to be accepted for Splash, the type on this bird, overall, is very nice. Although we can't really see her breast outline very well, because of the other bird's tail, the beginning (top) of that breast looks like there is a nice curve there. Full muffs and beard, good skin color (look at the beak). Hard to tell from this pic, but her tail might be a bit pinched, but I would need to see it from the back to know for sure.

B - Blue Wheaten cockerel - definitely a cull. Let's start with the overall body type. First, that tail set is too high, he has some significant black striping in his hackles, his beard and muff look to be single-gened. I can't tell much about his comb, but I like a nice tight pea comb and his looks to be a bit high - especially for a bird this young - his full tail feathers aren't even in yet.

C - Black pullet - absolutely a keeper! Even from this angle, you can see the roundness of the breast, the overall substance in the body, and the balance. A beautiful length of back with a very nice transition into that perfect 40 degree tail set (Remember - 40 deg. for hens, 45 for cockbirds). There might be a bit of excessive fluff back there, but I wouldn't toss this bird for that, when everything else is so nicely tied together.

D - Black pullet - I actually could go either way on this bird, depending on where I was in my breeding program. I'd like to see a bit more breast, a bit shorter back, and nicer transition from neck to back. Of course, if I had to choose between this pullet and Pullet C - it would be Pullet C, hands down.

E - Blue pullet - definitely a keeper. I can't fault this bird for type - that tail will come up and she probably matured very nicely. The transition from neck into back is already there, the balance is there, substance is there. The blue color looks a bit splotchy in places, but that could molt out and nothing to be overly concerned with at this age. Very nice lacing overall, too. Nicely defined lobes in those muffs and beard, too. Overall, a nice pullet.

F - Blue pullet - definitely a cull. Poor balance, lack of substance, lack of breast, and that tail set is already too high. Add to that the color issue with lack of lacing, and this bird is out of here!

G - Blue cockerel - nice! He's apparently young, as that tail hasn't come up all the way yet, but I would bet that he ended up with a very nice tail set. Good substance overall, good balance, and look at the fullness in that breast! That comb is a bit high for my tastes, but I would just make sure he is bred to hens with nice tight combs. Full muffs and beard, though not as well defined as F above, but he's young yet. On color - very nice! You can just see the beginning of the breast and the lacing there above his hocks, but this bird is a keeper.

H - Blue pullet - another one I could go either way on, depending on where I was in my breeding program. Overall type is actually decent with good substance, proper tail set, good transition from neck to back to tail. Can't tell anything about her muffs and beard in this pick, except for that one area on the cheeks, but it looks fairly full. Tail might be pinched - again, hard to tell from this angle. The biggest issue I would have with this bird is the almost complete lack of lacing - but, again, if I needed to set that type in my breeding program, I wouldn't throw her out just for the lacing issue - especially if I had a male like G to breed her to.

I - Black cockerel - definitely a keeper, but out of condition. That tail isn't fully in yet, but I like the transition from neck to back to tail. Decent breast and substance. Nicely balanced. Again with the comb - I like a nice, tight comb, but I could work with that.

J - Black cockerel -Completely lacking in substance overall, back too long - this is just not a good example of type for an Ameraucana. He'd have to go.