Ameraucana Breeders Club
The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club => Breeding => Topic started by: Dan Pitts on February 03, 2016, 04:07:25 PM
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Thanks to Susan Mouw, I now can resize my images for posting. picresize.com/
I am working with my first flocks of black/blue/splash Ameraucanas, and I will need the advice of the experts as I move forward. I have a black rooster over three blue hens and a splash, and a splash rooster over three blacks and a very dark blue. I will post pics here to get feedback, but by no means is it thread jacking if someone else wants to post pictures of their birds. I'm a little chatty, I love taking pictures of my birds, and I love looking at other's birds, so I'll start it off
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I am working with my first flocks of black/blue/splash Ameraucanas, and I will need the advice of the experts as I move forward. I have a black rooster over three blue hens and a splash, and a splash rooster over three blacks and a very dark blue. I will post pics here to get feedback, but by no means is it thread jacking if someone else wants to post pictures of their birds. I'm a little chatty, I love taking pictures of my birds, and I love looking at other's birds, so I'll start it off
What is your goal with your breeding?
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My short term goal is to just maintain the quality I have and learn what the different pairings produce. My longer term goals are to improve my flocks and to sell chicks and eggs. I may eventually show, but that is not in the foreseeable future right now. I am in the process of transitioning from a flock of older backyard pets, ranging from hybrid layers to pet quality d'uccle and silkies, to more of a breeder setup of only AMs and BCM. The chickens have always been a fun hobby for me, but after getting some of Paul's birds, I am fascinated with the difference in well bred birds. I want to learn to be a real breeder myself, and I want to pare down to two breeds and really learn about them instead of raising and hatching just backyard birds
Edit: If you mean what is the immediate goal with my current flocks, I am purposely mating for more blues this year in hopes of darkening their color. I only have one that is really dark, so I am crossing the splash rooster with the blacks and a very dark blue, and the black rooster with lighter blues and a splash. I hope to get a good blue rooster to put into a third pen with some black and blue hens so that I can get some blue by blue splash offspring
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Dan, I like the Black male, he has a nice front, better than most I've seen recently. I think he maybe could use a bit more tail. But it could be just that he is so strong in the breast. Some of the picture almost shows some blue on the top of his tail, but this is probably just the light. Are his tail and wing feathers nice and wide? The Splash hen with him looks nice and I hope will be able to give you some good prospects for this year. I like the Black male's type better than the Splash male. Some of this could be in the two poses. But you should be able to get a good blue male to work with next season. Toward the end of the breeding season you might cross the two splashes, hatch a few chicks and see how they color out too. It would be great to see some of these at shows for sure.
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Dan, that black needs to be shown!
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Dan, I like the Black male, he has a nice front, better than most I've seen recently. I think he maybe could use a bit more tail. But it could be just that he is so strong in the breast. Some of the picture almost shows some blue on the top of his tail, but this is probably just the light. Are his tail and wing feathers nice and wide? The Splash hen with him looks nice and I hope will be able to give you some good prospects for this year. I like the Black male's type better than the Splash male. Some of this could be in the two poses. But you should be able to get a good blue male to work with next season. Toward the end of the breeding season you might cross the two splashes, hatch a few chicks and see how they color out too. It would be great to see some of these at shows for sure.
Susan has loved the black ever since seeing him for the first time. He is still a little young in that picture, his tail has grown out a little more, but not as flashy as the splash rooster's. The splash tail set is high, and that picture of him is pretty accurate as to how he carries himself. I will see if I can find or take a better picture of him.
I candled my second set of eggs from these pens a couple of days ago, and again I have a lot of clears from the black pen. Before I split them to the breeder pens, I grew them out from straight run, culling down to 3 roosters from the original 8. The black was low man in the order, and submissive. I hope he's just taking a little time to assert himself with his own ladies. I've seen him mate, and he spends a lot of time "lining up". I'm really hoping he improves in the next month or so.
My first set from the splash pen was 90% fertile, and both pens have 4 females.
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Dan, that black needs to be shown!
You keep saying that, and I want to so bad, but I just don't have the time to work with him right now. I don't think plucking him off the roost at 4AM and throwing him in a cage the day of show would make for a good showing ;)
Good luck this weekend!!!
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Hi Dan
Yes, I sure do like that black male! but you already knew that. :)
I wouldn't be too stressed about fertility just yet. I know my black pens were slower to start than my wheaten pens, but I'm getting decent fertility of them now.
This is my first year with breeding blacks, so it might be a seasonal thing? I don't know, but just give it some time.
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Dan, that black needs to be shown!
You keep saying that, and I want to so bad, but I just don't have the time to work with him right now. I don't think plucking him off the roost at 4AM and throwing him in a cage the day of show would make for a good showing ;)
Good luck this weekend!!!
Ok, Ok, I'll quit nagging you...for now. ;)
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Dan, that black needs to be shown!
You keep saying that, and I want to so bad, but I just don't have the time to work with him right now. I don't think plucking him off the roost at 4AM and throwing him in a cage the day of show would make for a good showing ;)
Good luck this weekend!!!
Ok, Ok, I'll quit nagging you...for now. ;)
Here are a few better shots of him
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Dan, what size are those pictures when you post them? When I click on them to view full size - because these old eyes can't see those small thumbnail prints so well - they are huge and heavily pixelated.
What are the dimensions showing after you resize? They need to be around 400-600 pixels by 400-600 pixels max.
N/M - I see the size - can you reduce those down some more...quite a bit more? lol They are still huge files.
Go back to the original - reduce it by percentage instead of reducing the file size to a max - I think you're losing resolution, but not losing dimensions and what you want to reduce is dimension without losing resolution.
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Dan, what size are those pictures when you post them? When I click on them to view full size - because these old eyes can't see those small thumbnail prints so well - they are huge and heavily pixelated.
What are the dimensions showing after you resize? They need to be around 400-600 pixels by 400-600 pixels max.
N/M - I see the size - can you reduce those down some more...quite a bit more? lol They are still huge files.
Go back to the original - reduce it by percentage instead of reducing the file size to a max - I think you're losing resolution, but not losing dimensions and what you want to reduce is dimension without losing resolution.
I noticed the same thing after posting. Let me try again
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Trying again
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Ok, I've got it now, thanks. Let me redo the others
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Now I'm getting better results clicking "fit to 800 resolution"
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And here's the splash. Susan also told me his type isn't as good as the black, but I love his coloring. Very nice cape for a splash
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Perfect, Dan!!
I really like him. (the black)
I know some will love the splash, but I'd use that black any day of the week.
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Customers that are looking for blue eggs and yard candy are dying over the splash. I'm so glad that I joined a forum where the experts can teach me what to look for in the birds. The black isn't as eye catching as the splash, but you and others have taught me what makes the black better. I really am enjoying this first year of quality birds. I saw the Breeding for Blue thread, and there is some wonderful information in there.
Like I said, I'm chatty, and love posting pictures, so you guys will get sick of hearing me ask for opinions on my birds. As soon as I get some chicks to keep for myself, I will start posting pictures as they grow to learn what the real breeders look for.
Paul sent me a toe punch chart, and told me how to begin marking them. My punch came last week, so I'm ready to go
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Like I said, I'm chatty, and love posting pictures, so you guys will get sick of hearing me ask for opinions on my birds. As soon as I get some chicks to keep for myself, I will start posting pictures as they grow to learn what the real breeders look for.
Bring on your results and pictures when you get them. We're here ready and waiting for them!
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Like I said, I'm chatty, and love posting pictures, so you guys will get sick of hearing me ask for opinions on my birds. As soon as I get some chicks to keep for myself, I will start posting pictures as they grow to learn what the real breeders look for.
Bring on your results and pictures when you get them. We're here ready and waiting for them!
Ok, well, here's the weekend results. I had horrible fertility, and only 7 eggs made lockdown, but all 7 hatched. My next batch has 14 viable eggs, and goes into lockdown tonight, so I think the black rooster is picking up the pace. I set incubator 1 again this morning, and there are a dozen eggs from the black rooster in this set, so hopefully I will get better results this time.
All of the chicks in these pictures are a result of my splash rooster over the 3 black and one very dark blue hen. I had another blue from the black pen and a splash hatch last night. I've read that you can predict blue color by the color of the down. If that's true, I'm very happy with the dark color of these chicks:
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Dan - your chicks are beautiful!
Quick question - are you using cedar chips in the brooder? I noticed the red color and thought it might be cedar. If you are, you might experience some respiratory issues with those chicks. Cedar oil can cause respiratory problems in chickens.
Just straight pine shavings are best, if you're going to use shavings. :)
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Dan - your chicks are beautiful!
Quick question - are you using cedar chips in the brooder? I noticed the red color and thought it might be cedar. If you are, you might experience some respiratory issues with those chicks. Cedar oil can cause respiratory problems in chickens.
Just straight pine shavings are best, if you're going to use shavings. :)
I swear, I thought I had read about issues with cedar, but couldn't remember what. It was all I had on hand this weekend. I will pick up some pine on the way home. Thanks, Susan.
Aren't yours hatching in the next day or 2? How many made lockdown?
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Yes, I'm really excited to see what I get! Only 19 eggs, out of 28, are going into lockdown, with most of the non-starters coming from the black pens. I have another hatch going into lockdown Friday, and am hoping those odds are better with the blacks.
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Yes, I'm really excited to see what I get! Only 19 eggs, out of 28, are going into lockdown, with most of the non-starters coming from the black pens. I have another hatch going into lockdown Friday, and am hoping those odds are better with the blacks.
What kind of incubator do you use? I have 2 Octagon 20 Advances. My first batch I ran at about 42% for the first 18 days and had a 75% hatch rate on lockdown eggs. The air cells looked a little small, so this time I dropped to 35%. Only 7 made lockdown, but all fertile eggs hatched, so I'm running this next set at 35%, too
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I have a pair of Dickey's incubator and hatcher. The incubator is a three tray with auto-turners and a bottom tray for hatching (which I don't use) and the hatcher is a five tray. This is my first year with the separate hatcher, so I'll let you know how that works.
When I just had the small styrofoam incubators, I used two - one for setting and one for hatching - and that worked well - all things considered. Then when I first got the cabinet style incubator, I thought I could use the styrofoam for hatching and it just didn't work well at all. So now I have a cabinet style hatcher, too. :)
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I have a pair of Dickey's incubator and hatcher. The incubator is a three tray with auto-turners and a bottom tray for hatching (which I don't use) and the hatcher is a five tray. This is my first year with the separate hatcher, so I'll let you know how that works.
When I just had the small styrofoam incubators, I used two - one for setting and one for hatching - and that worked well - all things considered. Then when I first got the cabinet style incubator, I thought I could use the styrofoam for hatching and it just didn't work well at all. So now I have a cabinet style hatcher, too. :)
I had to buy the second Brinsea this year to keep up. I'll see how my breeding and sales go this year and maybe move up to a cabinet next year. 20 chicks every week or so is perfect for me, but if I get my NPIP cert. I will look into shipping next season.
The Brinseas are so simple to clean that I incubate and hatch in the same machine. I pulled the last chick out this morning, washed the incubator, and set again. My next batch should hatch Thursday and Friday, and I will set it again this weekend
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Ok, well, here's the weekend results. I had horrible fertility, and only 7 eggs made lockdown, but all 7 hatched. My next batch has 14 viable eggs, and goes into lockdown tonight, so I think the black rooster is picking up the pace. I set incubator 1 again this morning, and there are a dozen eggs from the black rooster in this set, so hopefully I will get better results this time.
Dan, I wouldn't give up the ship yet. You are probably a month ahead of our weather here in Nebraska. If I set in early March I would probably get the same fertility results as you, maybe even 0% fertility. I usually start setting here around 2-3 week of March. I feel great if my fertility is in the 25-30% range. By the 2nd week in April settings the fertility continues to climb until late April it is where it should be. Our weather here has been crazy (but normal). About 2-1/2 weeks never getting above freezing, sometimes lows below 0. Yesterday actually made 40. The weatherman is forecasting 60 degrees Thursday and Friday and then start dropping down again. 60 degree weather, wow, it has probably been early December since that has been here. Our daylight hours here are still in the 10-1/2 hr range finally, which should start helping since I don't use artificial lighting. No wonder the birds are confused with the temps all over the place.
You have a start on the 2016 hatching season with some good looking chicks. In my opinion nothing is as cute as day old Blue chicks! Ok other variety lovers, I've taken cover, now you can start throwing the stones!
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Ok, well, here's the weekend results. I had horrible fertility, and only 7 eggs made lockdown, but all 7 hatched. My next batch has 14 viable eggs, and goes into lockdown tonight, so I think the black rooster is picking up the pace. I set incubator 1 again this morning, and there are a dozen eggs from the black rooster in this set, so hopefully I will get better results this time.
Dan, I wouldn't give up the ship yet. You are probably a month ahead of our weather here in Nebraska. If I set in early March I would probably get the same fertility results as you, maybe even 0% fertility. I usually start setting here around 2-3 week of March. I feel great if my fertility is in the 25-30% range. By the 2nd week in April settings the fertility continues to climb until late April it is where it should be. Our weather here has been crazy (but normal). About 2-1/2 weeks never getting above freezing, sometimes lows below 0. Yesterday actually made 40. The weatherman is forecasting 60 degrees Thursday and Friday and then start dropping down again. 60 degree weather, wow, it has probably been early December since that has been here. Our daylight hours here are still in the 10-1/2 hr range finally, which should start helping since I don't use artificial lighting. No wonder the birds are confused with the temps all over the place.
You have a start on the 2016 hatching season with some good looking chicks. In my opinion nothing is as cute as day old Blue chicks! Ok other variety lovers, I've taken cover, now you can start throwing the stones!
These are the only color I have dealt with, but there is no doubt the AMs are the cutest chicks I have ever had.
I usually start hatching in January with pretty good results, and my splash rooster has been about 85%. I think the big deal with the black is he was third in line of 3 roosters before I split them down from my original group. It took him a while to start acting like the leader of that flock. A little splash hen had assumed that role (I know how the poor guy feels).
In the last 3 weeks, he has been the first to the scratch, calling the girls when he finds treats, and just generally being more rooster-like. He seems to be getting more...proficient...with his fertilization, so I expect this next batch to be better. That splash/black combo is throwing some pretty colored blues, but I really want to get a blue rooster from that black rooster. I need a good blue
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You have a start on the 2016 hatching season with some good looking chicks. In my opinion nothing is as cute as day old Blue chicks! Ok other variety lovers, I've taken cover, now you can start throwing the stones!
Awww...now I really want some blue chicks!! I'm getting some from Sharon Yorks this spring...now I really can't wait.
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Awww...now I really want some blue chicks!! I'm getting some from Sharon Yorks this spring...now I really can't wait.
Susan, it will be worth the wait! Trust me!
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Awww...now I really want some blue chicks!! I'm getting some from Sharon Yorks this spring...now I really can't wait.
Susan, it will be worth the wait! Trust me!
Yeah Yeah yeah....My husband tells me I must have a lot of patience....stored up, cuz I never use any of it.
I know those chicks are going to be adorable - I've seen pics of Sharon's birds!