Messages

856

News and Information / Re: 2017 APA Yearbook ads

« on: April 30, 2017, 12:29:48 PM »

Thanks for your hard work Susan! They look great!

857

News and Information / APA Yearbook Ad

« on: March 31, 2017, 02:28:36 AM »

The deadline to place an ad in the APA yearbook has been moved to May 1st! It is a great way to showcase your farm as well as your accomplishments. If you would like to place an ad in the upcoming yearbook, please contact me at 22wareagle22@gmail.com. Payment for your ad can be submitted via paypal to sales@Ameraucanabreedersclub.org. Club pages are 4.325" x 7.625"

Black & White:
Full page: $120
1/2 page - $60
1/4 page - $40
1/6 page - $20

Color:
Full page: $220
1/2 page: $110
1/4 page: $55
1/6 page: $37

858

Breeding / Re: When/What to cull

« on: March 26, 2017, 02:29:54 AM »

I have a blue wheatens roo, 2 wheatens, and 1 blue wheatens hens.  My first batch of chicks hatched on the 5th/6th.  I have banded my chicks in 3 groups.  The first group are those that had a lot of blacks splotches on their backs, 2-3 having what almost appeared to be a ladder on their back.  The second group had no splotches on their backs, but had a black dot on the back of their head.  The third group had no visible markings at all.  Now they are all feathering out, and doing so very differently.  Some are very lightly colored feathers and some very dark.  A few have dark spots developing on their beaks. 

Mrs. Susan told me to watch for dark spots developing on the hackles of those chicks that had a lot of splotches/ladder/chipmunk pattern on their backs, but also that it may or may not be present when they are fully feathered. 

I plan to have about 100 chicks by end of May and only plan to keep the 2-3 best cockerels and 4-5 of the best pullets by the end of the fall. 

Is there anything that will be visible now that I can go ahead and cull for?  Whatever gets culled will be sold as Easter eggers and I already have several friends and neighbors wanting them because they know they lay blue eggs.  If there is anything I can cull for now, I'd like to reduce the size of the flock as I will only have one 10x10 grow out pen. 

Suggestions?  Thanks!

Hi John,

Do you have any pictures of the chicks?

I raise the wheaten, blue wheaten, splash wheaten Ameraucanas as well. Beyond culling for obvious faults like Don mentioned, it is good to hold on to them for as long as you can. The wheaten, blue wheaten, splash wheaten can be slow to develop. I keep most cockerels until they are 8-10 months old, and sometimes even later, before making a final decision. Purchasing the APA Standard of Perfection book is a great way to familiarize yourself with the breed standard. It is expensive, but is a worthwhile investment in my opinion. Over the next few months, you'll want to pay attention to type first, and then go from there. Type refers to things like their tail angle, how they hold their wings, the length of their back, transition from back to tail, etc. You'll also want to watch eye color, ear lobe color, prominence of muff/beard, shank color, ticking in the hackles (black specks in the neck area -a little is okay, but too much should be culled for in my opinion), etc. Just try to look at the bird as a whole and don't get tunnel vision. Best of luck with your birds!!!

859

Breeding / Re: Genetics of egg color

« on: February 28, 2017, 10:56:05 PM »

  Egg color is influenced by many modifier genes-the Punnett square is useless with egg color!  If egg color was only dominate and recessive-the good blue egg would be the only eggs laid by now-with as many generations as there has been since their creation.

  Our original start of wheaten/blue wheaten came from Wayne Meredith, on September 25, 1999.  Every breeder added was also a descendant of Wayne's.  Wayne is credited for the creation of the large fowl wheatens.  He used an oversize bantam cockerel from Mike Gilbert, on his large fowl EEL flock that mostly resembled the wheatens.  Most of the good wheatens in the US can trace their roots to Wayne's flock.

  We raised the wheatens for several years before a pink egg was ever laid!  Occasionally one will surface from a pullet.  She is sold as a layer for eggs to be eaten ASAP.  We have never set a pink egg and don't recommend setting any of them.

  I recommend departing with the pink egg layer pullet, and keeping all the other birds as breeders that are in the breeding program.

 

Thank you for your response Paul! I appreciate it. That puts my mind at ease.

I didn't want to cull the cock from that pen, because he has produced a blue wheaten pullet that received reserve champion LF at a show, Champion AOSB at another show, and he also produced a blue wheaten hen that received reserve of breed at the Dixie Classic against a fairly good size class of Ameraucanas. I kept a lot more hens this year and am setting enough eggs now that I can start focusing in more on egg color. I continue to look at type first and foremost. A special thank you to all of those that lend an ear when I have breeding questions.

860

Breeding / Re: Genetics of egg color

« on: February 09, 2017, 06:37:41 PM »

Hi Don,

Thanks for your response. I'm guessing that apparently only one of the hens was carrying the recessive trait that led to the pinkish egg, or there would be more of them. I tried to attach a photo of the egg color that I'm seeing from the other pullets, but it said the file size is too large. When I'm on a computer instead of my phone, I'll reduce the file size and submit it. I need to buy one of those handy egg color charts so that I can just say the number. I'll do that this week.  They range from faint sky blue to baby blue in color, with fairly good saturation of color overall. I agree with you, I think the pinkish color relates to the brown egg gene. I have heard of some self blues laying pinkish colored eggs.

Thanks for the help. Several people have encouraged me to keep the cock since he has good type. I think I'll keep him around and see what he produces this year. The hens that were in his pen last season were culled, and he has a new set of hens this year. I'll probably reduce the size of his breeding pen and mark all the chicks that hatch from his pen to monitor them closely for egg color. I have two other pens that I can work with during the mean time.

861

Breeding / Re: Genetics of egg color

« on: February 09, 2017, 01:48:04 PM »

Thank you for the feedback! Maybe before its all said and done, I'll have this genetics thing understood. Lol! Would you guys cull the cock from that pen, regardless of his type? I am breeding for show first and foremost, but I do want to keep egg color in mind along the way.

862

Breeding / Re: Genetics of egg color

« on: February 09, 2017, 12:16:14 AM »

Thank you Susan!!!

I am trying to be sure I understand completely. I used B to denote egg color.

I gathered from the article that egg color is simple dominant.

Since one of the pullets grew up to lay pink eggs, the cock would have to be carrying a recessive allele for non blue eggs (I'll name him Bb), as well as one of the hens in that pen (I'll name her Bb as well) thus creating the pink egg layer, right? I do not know definitively regarding what color egg the cock was hatched from, since he wasn't hatched here, although I'm sure it was from a blue egg because I know the breeder well.

The hens that were in that particular pen have been culled (due to age). But regardless, that would still mean that the cock is not completely dominant for blue eggs right? So he would be Bb instead of BB?

So how does an off colored egg layer happen from a pullet that hatched from a blue egg?

Is it because the offspring only receive one allele from each parent? So in the case of a Bb cock mating with a Bb hen (a hen that lays blue eggs but carries the recessive allele), there would be a 25% chance that the chicks inherit the recessive trait for non blue eggs (bb)?

Sorry if I am making this more difficult than it is. I am not well versed in genetics. Lol

863

Breeding / Genetics of egg color

« on: February 08, 2017, 04:18:39 PM »

Can someone explain the genetics behind egg color to me? I have been focusing on type the last three seasons, while of course only setting blue eggs, but this year I would like to focus in on egg color more closely. I have marked the eggs that are the deepest shade of blue, and plan to mark those chicks for identification later on.

Is egg color influenced by the cock, hen, or both? I read somewhere online that it is influenced by around 13 genes...I don't know if that is true or not. If anyone has any reading material that they can recommend, I would be appreciative.

Each year I hatch and keep several hundred chicks. Unfortunately, this season a wheaten pullet that hatched from a blue egg grew up to lay a pink egg. My bloodline originated from one of the directors, and they are definitely true Ameraucanas. The other pullets that I kept from that pen lay blue eggs. Do I need to consider culling the cock from that pen?  I raise for show and he has great type, so I would prefer not to. However, I do want to be sure that I keep egg color in mind. It is definitely a balancing act. Most of my pens are set up with one cock over five hens, so I can't say for certain what hen she came from. I would like to get my pen sizes smaller, say one cock to three hens, but that will involve building more pens, and I am trying to give my husband a little break from coop and pen building. LOL!

864

Breeding / Re: Blacks based on silver

« on: September 24, 2016, 08:16:20 PM »

Lindsay,  I don't have blacks but they are probably the most popular color so you should be able to find some close by.  I am not sure if most people will know for certain if they have complete silver based line.  Most breeding blacks prefer Gold based lines.  Though some blue lines are supposedly based silver because it offers advantages for better blue color.  So those breeders might use a black bird from their Blue/Blue crosses to reinforce their matings.  But it still allows them to stay inside a silver based line.    I am curious, what would you be using this bird to accomplish?

Hi Don,

Thank you so much for your response. I am looking for blacks based on silver to use in my self blue/lavender pens. I have been doing a lot of research on the lavender color and the genetics behind it, particularly in regard to leakage and the k gene. After speaking with a few breeders that have been working with the lavender color for several years, I have been encouraged to find blacks based on silver to use in those pens, as it is suspected that the straw colored (red) leakage that occurs in self blues/lavenders may be from using gold based black birds. Some breeders also feel that the slow feathering K gene may attach to gold based birds more easily, although it is not cut in stone. Anyway, most of my research is hypothetical at this point, and based on the experience of others, but I'd like to put the hypothesis to work, and test it.

You can use gold based blacks. Just use females. If you have a Self Blue rooster that you know is silver base, just breed him to the gold base black females. And ONLY use the daughters cause the daughters will only inherit the silver gene. You would have to cull the males.

Thanks Cesar! That is great to know.

865

Breeding / Re: Blacks based on silver

« on: September 22, 2016, 01:48:35 PM »

I expect you've already talked with Harry Shaffer about the Self Blues and gotten his suggestions.  It seems like he mentioned that he would rather use Blue to reinforce the Self Blue.  I think most folks are afraid that they will bring in Lacing or edging into the Self Blue.  But if I recall correctly, Harry felt that the Self Blue should be Silver and Er based (birchen) for best results.  So when crossing to improve the color he felt that the Blue was the best option.  I don't know if he sees increased leakage when he crosses lines at first.   I think I remember that Sharon York was keeping a line of blues with Silver based separate from her Black line.  You might contact her to see what she has or might offer in hatching season.  She might offer her black chicks from her blue line.  And I think Susan got some Blue eggs to hatch, but I am not sure what she might have at this time.  Maybe a few others will jump in if they have something to offer in this vein.  Self Blue breed true but in my opinion are not the easiest to breed either. But they really are beautiful when they are right too.  Good luck and enjoy!

Hi Don,

Thank you for the advice. I will get in touch with Sharon. I admire the work that she has done with the breed. Yes, I have spoken with Harry. He has been very helpful. I agree about the perception of self blues. It seems that from what I gather, they can be frustrating at times, but I reckon anything worth doing, is worth doing right. Lol I enjoy a good challenge, and working with chickens brings me 100% joy. Thanks again.

866

Breeding / Re: Blacks based on silver

« on: September 22, 2016, 12:20:27 PM »

  If I remember correctly silver based blacks will have slate shanks and gold based blacks will have black shanks.

Thank you for your response Paul! You are always so helpful.

867

Breeding / Re: Blacks based on silver

« on: September 22, 2016, 12:18:59 PM »

Lindsay,  I don't have blacks but they are probably the most popular color so you should be able to find some close by.  I am not sure if most people will know for certain if they have complete silver based line.  Most breeding blacks prefer Gold based lines.  Though some blue lines are supposedly based silver because it offers advantages for better blue color.  So those breeders might use a black bird from their Blue/Blue crosses to reinforce their matings.  But it still allows them to stay inside a silver based line.    I am curious, what would you be using this bird to accomplish?

Hi Don,

Thank you so much for your response. I am looking for blacks based on silver to use in my self blue/lavender pens. I have been doing a lot of research on the lavender color and the genetics behind it, particularly in regard to leakage. After speaking with a few breeders that have been working with the lavender color for several years, I have been encouraged to find blacks based on silver to use in those pens, as it is suspected that the straw colored (red) leakage that occurs in self blues/lavenders may be from using gold based black birds. Anyway, most of my research is hypothetical at this point, and based on the experience of others, but I'd like to put the hypothesis to work, and test it.

868

Breeding / Blacks based on silver

« on: September 22, 2016, 12:45:52 AM »

Hi everyone,

I am in search of blacks that are based on silver. Can anyone help me? Thanks for your time.