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Topics - Lindsay Helton

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421
The 2019 ABC National Meet was a big success. Thank you to the folks that took the trip to the Dixie Classic in Knoxville, TN to attend the meet. It was exciting to host the National Meet in the South East District. Honorary Vice-President Jerry DeSmidt had his birds tested and drove a considerable distance to be there. Thank you for bringing so many birds Jerry and for being such a good advocate for the breed and club. Jerry donated a pair of bantams for the silent auction which were excitedly won by a junior member. Spencer Crouse and his family were able to attend the meet. It was a pleasure to meet their young son and to have fellowship with them throughout the weekend.

I am known for being a night owl and surprised myself by being the first person to arrive at the show hall on Saturday morning. I waited patiently until they unlocked the show hall doors and then began setting up the ABC table. Don Cash arrived with extra coffee which provided a much-needed caffeine boost and the ABC members quickly immersed themselves in setting out ABC material, trophies and items for the ABC table and silent auction. James Treadway’s table was set up right beside the ABC table. James was kind enough to make the show boxes that were used in the silent auction. Don and Gordon Gilliam bought three show boxes for the silent auction. Don also came equipped with several nice trophies and awards for the exhibitors. Don was a really good salesman and talked several folks into buying raffle tickets to support the ABC. Jeff and Sherry Vance were at the National meet from start to finish and they were both extremely helpful. Sherry helped to sell numerous raffle tickets and Jeff helped to set up and organize the eggs for the egg contest among other things.

We added two new junior members at the National Meet! Welcome to the Ameraucana Breeders Club Abigail Lewis and Claire O'Neill! I judged my first egg contest while at the show. It drew a lot of attention to the ABC table. I am a bit of a perfectionist and commented a few times that I took my judging job a little “too seriously.” There were four categories in the egg contest, and the first place winners for each category were as follows: large fowl hen= Jeff Vance, large fowl pullet= Jerry DeSmidt, bantam pullet= Jerry DeSmidt, and bantam hen: Don Cash. Don was pulled to the side following the egg contest and was commended for his excellent set of silver eggs. A wide array of folks made their way to the ABC table throughout the morning and afternoon at the National Meet. The raffle drew a lot of people to the auction table. Folks had “three ways to win” and could buy one ticket for $5 or 3 tickets for $10. There was a $100 Tractor Supply gift-card, a new American Poultry Association standard of perfection book, and an older model American Poultry Association standard of perfection book used in the raffle. The older model standard of perfection book was rumored to be worth more than the new model!

Dan Castle, who judged the Ameraucanas, was very pleased with the excellent type in the large fowl and bantam Ameraucanas. He also remarked that the birds shown were in extremely good condition. He was particularly complimentary of the white bantams. He said that he would like to see more beard/muff expression overall in the bantam Ameraucanas. Jerry DeSmidt won Champion Ameraucana with a bantam white hen and Reserve Champion Ameraucana with a large fowl black pullet. Congratulations to all of the winners at the show and a special thank you to each and every individual that made this National Meet a success.

Pictures to follow.

422
Congratulations to the following folks for having the winning bids for the hatching egg and chick donations that were a part of the 2019 ABC National silent auction. All winners have been notified and they have PIF. It is great to be a part of the ABC!

10 large fowl black Ameraucana chicks by Susan Mouw shipping included- Sherry White

10 large fowl wheaten, blue wheaten and splash wheaten Ameraucana chicks by Lindsay Helton shipping included- Sherry White

One dozen bantam self blue hatching eggs by Lindsay Helton shipping included- Yeng Xiong

10 large fowl blue, black and splash Ameraucana chicks by Susan Mouw shipping included- Brad Henson

10 large fowl self blue Ameraucana chicks by Paul Smith shipping included- Alexia Willis

One dozen large fowl Ameraucana hatching eggs plus extras by Jeff Vance shipping included- Jordan Simons

One dozen bantam white Ameraucana hatching eggs by Jean Ribbeck shipping included- Jeff Vance

4 Sebastopol hatching eggs by Jean Ribbeck shipping included- Annette Rountree

One dozen bantam wheaten Ameraucana hatching eggs plus extras by Jeff Vance shipping included- Gordon Gilliam

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I wanted to share the total funds raised for next year’s ABC National! Our ABC members were very generous when approached for auction donations, and the folks that bid on the on-site and off-site items were equally generous.

A special thank you to Susan Mouw, Paul Smith, Jean Ribbeck, and Jeff & Sherry Vance who were willing to donate hatching eggs and chicks for the silent auction. I threw in some hatching eggs and chicks too. Thank you to Jerry DeSmidt for supplying a bantam pair for the silent auction.

Thank you Don Cash and Gordon Gilliam for donating three show carry boxes. Thanks to Don Cash for donating a current APA SOP book and an older model APA SOP book.

Thank you to Tractor Supply who awarded the ABC with a $100 gift card which was used in the on-site raffle.

Thank you to James Treadway who built the show boxes for the National.

Thank you to the Vances, who were there from start to finish and helped sell raffle tickets, helped organize the eggs for the egg contest, and did several other miscellaneous things.

If I have missed anyone while giving thanks I will come back and edit the post. :)

The totals for this year were as follows:

$977 Off-site bidding
$392 On-site bidding and raffle
$300 donated by the host club

$1669 in total funds
-$100 for cash prizes
= $1569 in total monies raised for our 2020 National!!! 

The funds for the off-site and on-site winning bidders have been requested.

424
News and Information / ABC New Member Drawing
« on: December 09, 2019, 02:44:43 PM »
Congratulations to Sydney White!!! She is the lucky winner of our new member drawing and will be the recipient of a $100 Visa gift card! Wow! Congratulations Sydney! Your Visa gift card will be mailed this week! 

425
It's the Nationals / The 2019 ABC National is one week from today!
« on: November 30, 2019, 11:15:11 AM »
The Ameraucana Breeders Club 2019 National Meet is one week from today! For show hall hours, directions to the venue and hotel information visit the following link:

http://tvpoultryclub.com/pdf/2019_Dixie_Classic_Catalog.pdf

427
Mail-in entries for the Dixie Classic poultry show in Knoxville, TN must be postmarked by one week from today!

Online entries will close on 11/24.

This is the location of our 2019 Ameraucana Breeders Club National meet!!!

To view the show catalog, visit the following link:
 http://tvpoultryclub.com/pdf/2019_Dixie_Classic_Catalog.pdf

If you have any questions, contact Don Cash at drccash@yahoo.com or Lindsay Helton at showameraucanas@gmail.com

428
The Reserve of Variety awards for the 2019 ABC National have been anonymously donated! A special thank you to the individuals that offered to sponsor these! It is great to be a part of the ABC!

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Breeding / Muffs and Beard (Mb)
« on: October 28, 2019, 11:49:49 PM »
The American Poultry Association standard of perfection for an Ameraucana states that the face should be "nearly hidden by muffs" and that muffs and beard should be "full, well-rounded, medium length, forming three separate lobes." The absence of muffs and beard is a disqualification.

Muffs and beard (Mb) is known as an autosomal incomplete dominant trait. It is an observable physical characteristic involving elongated feathers that form on the side of the face and below the beak.

First, let’s break things down and explore the meaning of an autosomal incomplete dominant trait.

Chickens have 39 pairs of chromosomes. They have two categories of chromosomes known as sex chromosomes and autosomes. An autosome is simply defined as a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. Genes are contained within these chromosomes. Each parent contributes one allele to form a particular gene in a diploid organism. Incomplete dominance means that one allele is not completely expressed over the allele that it is paired with. This results in a phenotype that is a combination of the phenotypes of both alleles.
 
There are three genotypes for the Mb locus regulating the Mb trait:
 
1) Mb/Mb homozygous (carrying two copies of the gene and exhibiting a full muff/beard)
 
2) Mb/mb heterozygous (carrying one copy of the gene and exhibiting a partial muff and beard)
 
3) mb/mb wild-type homozygous (not carrying any copies of the gene and what many refer to as clean-faced)

So how does the muffs and beard (Mb) trait affect our Ameraucana breeding programs? Using a punnett square, we can predict the genotypes of a particular cross. 

If you mate two homozygous Mb/Mb birds together, all resulting offspring will have two copies of the Mb gene and full muffs and beard.

If you mate two Mb/mb heterozygous birds together, 25% of the offspring will be homozygous Mb/Mb and have full muffs and beard, 50% will be heterozygous Mb/mb and have partial muffs and beard, and 25% will be homozygous wild-type mb/mb and not have muffs or a beard.

If you mate a Mb/Mb homozygous bird with a Mb/mb heterozygous bird, 50% of the offspring will have full muffs and beard and 50% will have partial muffs and beard.

Mb birds are born with muffs and beard, and the remarkable differences of Mb/Mb, Mb/mb, and mb/mb birds can be witnessed during embryonic development.  I have attached a photo from a study that shows HOXB8 expression is increased considerably in the facial skin of developing Mb/Mb embryos and postnatal chicks (Guo et al., 2016).

This study also found that the Mb allele that causes the Mb phenotype is “a derived allele where a complex structural variation (SV) on GGA27 leads to an altered expression of the gene HOXB8. It is a structural mutation resulting from the duplication of three regions on chicken chromosome 27 (GGA27). The three duplication regions are located around 1.70 Mb (CNV1), 3.58 Mb (CNV2), and 4.47 Mb (CNV3) on GGA27, respectively (Guo et al., 2016).”

lt is important to note that several studies have identified that wattles are absent or small when Mb is present (RG, S 1990). The American Poultry Association standard of perfection for an Ameraucana states that wattles should be “very small and preferably absent.” Many researchers speculate that the Mb trait is highly associated with the Wattles locus and that there are underlying complex interactions between Mb and Wattles.

Hopefully this post will help you as you are assessing your Ameraucana chicks and breeding age birds for the Mb phenotype and setting up breeding pens. Good luck with your flock!

A special thank you to the APA for granting me permission to use portions of the standard when answering breeding questions and creating educational posts.

To purchase an American Poultry Association standard of perfection book, visit the following link:

http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm

Guo Y, Gu X, Sheng Z, Wang Y, Luo C, Liu R, et al. (2016) A Complex Structural Variation on Chromosome 27 Leads to the Ectopic Expression of HOXB8 and the Muffs and Beard Phenotype in Chickens. PLoS Genet 12(6): e1006071.

RG S (1990) Mutations and major variants of plumage and skin in chickens. In: Crawford RD, editor Poultry Breeding and Genetics Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier: 169–208.

430
It’s that time of year! It’s time to begin the Ameraucana Breeders Club silent auction to raise money for the ABC National!

SILENT AUCTION BIDS FOR OFFSITE BIDDERS ARE OFFICIALLY OPEN.

A special thank you to everyone that has contributed items thus far for the auction. If you would like to donate an item, there is still time left to do so! Send an email to your showameraucanas@gmail.com with “Silent Auction Donation” as the subject and include what you would like to donate. I will add it to the list!

To place an offsite bid on an item, send an email to showameraucanas@gmail.com with “Silent Auction” as the subject. Include what item you would like to bid on, your bid amount, and your name, mailing address and phone number for the shipping label. You can bid as many times as you would like!

Offsite bidding will close on Friday, December 6th at 5 PM CST.

To place an onsite bid at the show, visit the ABC table and fill out the form. Onsite bidding will close on December 7th when the judging is complete for the ABC National.

All onsite winning bids must be paid in full before removing the items that are won.

All proceeds from this silent auction are used for next years National Meet.

Ameraucana Breeders Club Silent Auction List:

Jean Ribbeck- 1 dozen bantam white hatching eggs including US shipping. 

Jean Ribbeck- 4 Sebastopol hatching eggs including US shipping.

Jeff and Sherry Vance- 1 dozen hatching eggs including US shipping (if bid is over $50 will include 6 extra eggs). LF choice of black or buff.

Jeff and Sherry Vance- 1 dozen hatching eggs including US shipping (if bid over $50 will include 6 extra eggs). Bantam choice of black, wheaten or white.

Lindsay Helton- 1 dozen bantam self blue hatching eggs including US shipping.

Lindsay Helton- 10 large fowl wheaten, blue wheaten, splash wheaten chicks including priority shipping, US buyers only.

Paul Smith- 10 large fowl self blue chicks with priority shipping included. US buyers only.

Susan Mouw- 10 large fowl black Ameraucana chicks with shipping included. US buyers only.

Susan Mouw- 10 large fowl blue, black and splash Ameraucana chicks with shipping included. US buyers only.

LF Show Box (to be picked up at the ABC National, which will be held at the Dixie Classic in Knoxville, TN on 12/7)

Bantam Show Box (to be picked up at the ABC National, which will be held at the Dixie Classic in Knoxville, TN on 12/7)

$100 Tractor Supply Giftcard

Current Version of the APA SOP Book

Older version of the APA SOP Book

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It's the Nationals / 2019 ABC National Host Hotels at the Dixie Classic
« on: October 16, 2019, 05:30:36 PM »
The host hotel for the 2019 Dixie Classic is:

Best Western Plus
7260 Saddlerack Street
Knoxville, Tn 37914
865-544-7737
$79.99/night

Additional hotels that are located within 7 miles of the showroom are:

LaQuinta Inn and Suites
865-633-5100
$84/night

Baymont Inn and Suites
865-689-6600
2 beds $84/night
1 bed $79/night

Days Inn
865-637-3511
2 beds $84/night
1 bed $79/night

Comfort Suites
865-246-2426
$79/night

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WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2019 DIXIE CLASSIC? :)

The 2019 Dixie Classic will be held Saturday, December 7 - Sunday, December 8th in the Jacobs Building at Chilhowee Park in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Address -
Jacob’s Building at Chilhowee Park
3301 E. Magnolia Avenue
Knoxville, TN. 37914

If you would like a catalog to be mailed to you, please request one at tvpcdixieclassic@gmail.com. You can also send an email to this email address if you have any online entry questions.

Online entries will open on October 20th and can be entered at the following link:
http://www.poultrysites.com/app/lcloes/tnvpc.php

To download a form to mail in your entries, click the following link:
http://tvpoultryclub.com/pdf/2019_Dixie_Classic_Catalog.pdf

Mail-in entries should be mailed (with payment) to:
Patti Brashears
4505 Kingston Highway
Lenoir City, TN 37771

*Mail-in entries must be postmarked by November 22nd and must include payment. Online entries close on November 24th. 

433
It's the Nationals / 2019 ABC National Egg Contest
« on: October 13, 2019, 11:13:49 AM »
Don't forget about the 2019 ABC National Egg Contest! It is FREE to enter and prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

There are four classes for the egg contest:

1. Bantam pullet eggs
2. Bantam hen eggs
3. Large Fowl pullet eggs
4. Large Fowl hen eggs

Bring a minimum of 6 eggs for each entry in a suitable container of your choice. Sign up at the ABC table at the show to enter the contest. Egg entries will be judged after judging is complete for the National meet. Our illustrious judges are TBA.

Exhibitors may enter the same class more than once only if each entry represents a different Ameraucana variety. Egg entries that consist of multiple varieties shall be limited to one per class, and shall be designated “Various” on the entry form.

No unsolicited remarks by any exhibitor may be made within hearing distance of the judge during the judging process.

All egg entries become the property of the Ameraucana Breeders Club at the time of entry.

Two out of each entry of six eggs will be opened by the judge or the clerk to facilitate the judging of interior qualities and coloring.

Each class will be judged to third place. Ribbons will be offered to the 2nd and 3rd place winners in each class.

The Judging Scale will be as follows:
   
1. Shell Texture 10   
2. Shell Quality 10   
3. Shell Shape 10
4. Size 10   
5. Cleanliness 10   
6. Shell Color 30
7. Freshness 10   
8. Interior Qualities 10

Total Points Possible:    100   

Disqualifications:
1. Evidence of faking including   artificial coloring
2. Eggs having been boiled or otherwise preserved
3. No evidence of blue shell pigmentation
4. Eggs that are not from Ameraucanas

434
Breeding / Wheaten Ameraucana cockerel / cockbird tail
« on: October 03, 2019, 05:36:21 PM »
When studying the American Poultry Association standard of perfection for a Wheaten Ameraucana cockerel/cockbird, we find the following:

1. The saddle should be “lustrous, light orange, free from dark feathers.” The saddle feathers are found “at the rear of the back extending to the juncture of back and tail of a male fowl, covered with long pointed fingers known as saddle feathers.”

2. The main tail should be “black with lustrous greenish gloss.” The main tail feathers are “the straight, stiff long feathers of the tail located under and between the coverts and sickles of the male.”

3. Lesser sickles should be “lustrous, greenish black with reddish cast in shafting.” The lesser sickles are “the long curved feathers of the male chicken tail, exclusive of the top two longest main-sickles, which hang to the side of and cover most if not all of the main tail.” Shafting is “a color characteristic where the shaft of a feather is either lighter or darker than the color of the web.” So in this case, we want to look for a reddish cast on the shaft of the lesser sickle feathers.

*Here are some notes on cutting for defects:

1. Regarding the main tail feathers,
foreign color results in a 1/2 pt deduction per feather that it is present.

2. Regarding the sickle feathers, foreign color results in a 1 pt deduction per feather that it is present.

These are a few points to keep in mind when assessing your wheaten cockerels and cockbirds.

A special thank you to the APA for granting me permission to use portions of the standard when answering breeding questions and creating educational posts.

To review the full standard, you can purchase an American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection book at the following link:

http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm

435
Breeding / Surface plumage of a black Ameraucana
« on: September 21, 2019, 11:56:29 PM »
The American Poultry Association standard of perfection calls for the surface plumage of a black Ameraucana to be “lustrous greenish black.”

Luster is defined as “a brilliant, glossy, luminous appearance of the feather due to the reflection of the light rays; more evident when the fowl is in perfect physical condition.”

A lack of luster and/or purple barring on a black Ameraucana is considered a defect. A defect is defined as “anything short of perfection.” There is a list of common defects listed under “Cutting for Defects” in the American Poultry Association SOP book.

Barring in this particular instance is defined as “defective coloration represented by transverse purple markings in blade feathers.”

For all breeds where luster or sheen is required, a lack of luster equates to a 1/4 to 1 point deduction per section that luster is absent.

Purple barring results in a 1/2 to 2 point deduction per section.

When sorting through your black Ameraucanas, be sure to select for surface plumage that is lustrous greenish black. :)

A special thank you to the APA for granting me permission to use portions of the standard when answering breeding questions and creating educational posts.

*Photo credit Susan Mouw

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