# My 1st Ameraucana! So excited!!!



## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Here she is. Got her at a nearby fur & feather swap this morning. She was handled a lot as a chick so she's very sweet & tame. Content to be held so that's all it took and I was in love.  She's about 5 months old I was told. Introduced her to my Australorp Lilah (my lonely one I'm always yapping about that is badly pecked on by the other hens). Lilah pushed her chest around a bit and left. Have my new little one in the coop tractor by herself for now. Letting the older girls slowly get acquainted with her being around and her a chance to settle in too. I'm so very excited. I've wanted one of these kinds of chickens for a long while.


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

Very cute congrats


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## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

I miss our fur & feather swap ... To many rules and regs, they closed up shop.

Nice looking little lady, congrats!


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

What a shame to have that end. Today was the first time my mom has gone and its only minutes from her house. She got there just as I was debating on this little one. They had pot belly baby pigs there today, lots of chickens, ducks, bunnies, goats, and kittens. Fun to be able to go and pick out what you're looking for. Nice too you can see what you're getting! This little one I brought home today is so nice and healthy! She'll be the final addition to my family now. She was exactly what we were missing.


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## aymelli (Jun 24, 2012)

I see the pics! Finally found them. She looks great!


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## hollyosborn (Jul 8, 2012)

aweee shes sweet!!!!!! OHHH i want a pot bellied pig!


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## new2coop (Jul 28, 2012)

hollyosborn said:


> aweee shes sweet!!!!!! OHHH i want a pot bellied pig!


How about a miniature goat lol.


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## rob (Jun 20, 2012)

great looking bird. its hard around here (cardiff) to find anywhere to buy chickens.


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## RachaelJ (Jul 29, 2012)

*Nice girl!*

What a nice girl you got! Hope all will get along.
It will be fun to see what colour egg she lays.

You gave me an idea to build a chicken tractor.
How do you get them in and out, and how large is yours?

Someone told me at the feed store that they can predict the colour egg the Americana will lay by feather colouring on the pullet.
True???

RachaelJ


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## Greenfamilyfarms (Jul 15, 2012)

Interesting read about the difference between an Ameraucana, Araucana, and Easter Eggers from the Ameraucana Breeders Club


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## MariaElena (Jul 13, 2012)

Pretty girl!


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

Love the chicken...gonna get chicks here in bout 2weeks. I can't wait


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Gosh, I forgot all about this thread. I loved her too. Unfortunately she had health issues when I got her. I didn't get them all figured out until it was too late. I tried absolutely everything to pull her through. She was a sweetheart. Her whole name was Holley Madison. (Holley for Holley carborators. Ya a motor freak. I was tickled to finally have a Holley carb on my little 95 Sonoma to go with her new heart - a 350 motor.)  Anyway, my little Holley only made it to early part of September. She was a smart little bugger! Learned things very quick! After the loss of her, I got asked about being a mod on here which totally made my day, to getting asked if I could take my little cousin's lone sebright banty hen the same day, then 4 days later an ameraucana from a friend of my hubby's that he needed to rehome. So, in my saddness, I gained 3 things that make me happy. Being on here, and 2 sweet chickens - the sebright extremely sassy but sweet, and my little Josie aka JoJo who is just a doll. Guess in the short time Holley was here, at least she had a good loving home. She sure was pretty though with those soft white feathers!


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

7chicks said:


> Gosh, I forgot all about this thread. I loved her too. Unfortunately she had health issues when I got her. I didn't get them all figured out until it was too late. I tried absolutely everything to pull her through. She was a sweetheart. Her whole name was Holley Madison. (Holley for Holley carborators. Ya a motor freak. I was tickled to finally have a Holley carb on my little 95 Sonoma to go with her new heart - a 350 motor.)  Anyway, my little Holley only made it to early part of September. She was a smart little bugger! Learned things very quick! After the loss of her, I got asked about being a mod on here which totally made my day, to getting asked if I could take my little cousin's lone sebright banty hen the same day, then 4 days later an ameraucana from a friend of my hubby's that he needed to rehome. So, in my saddness, I gained 3 things that make me happy. Being on here, and 2 sweet chickens - the sebright extremely sassy but sweet, and my little Josie aka JoJo who is just a doll. Guess in the short time Holley was here, at least she had a good loving home. She sure was pretty though with those soft white feathers!


Sorry for the loss of Holley she sounds real pretty


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

7chicks said:


> Gosh, I forgot all about this thread. I loved her too. Unfortunately she had health issues when I got her. I didn't get them all figured out until it was too late. I tried absolutely everything to pull her through. She was a sweetheart. Her whole name was Holley Madison. (Holley for Holley carborators. Ya a motor freak. I was tickled to finally have a Holley carb on my little 95 Sonoma to go with her new heart - a 350 motor.)  Anyway, my little Holley only made it to early part of September. She was a smart little bugger! Learned things very quick! After the loss of her, I got asked about being a mod on here which totally made my day, to getting asked if I could take my little cousin's lone sebright banty hen the same day, then 4 days later an ameraucana from a friend of my hubby's that he needed to rehome. So, in my saddness, I gained 3 things that make me happy. Being on here, and 2 sweet chickens - the sebright extremely sassy but sweet, and my little Josie aka JoJo who is just a doll. Guess in the short time Holley was here, at least she had a good loving home. She sure was pretty though with those soft white feathers!


Sorry that poor holley died...she sounded like a pretty girl


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

She was. Had quite the personality and was a perfect buddy for my lonesome forever pecked on australorp Lilah. The hardships of having chickens. Its hard to pinpoint problems sometimes and chickens like most animals can be great at hiding symptoms of illness. Things seem to go wrong overnight at times. We do the best we can though and share our experiences here in hopes it will help others good or bad. The joys of this forum, sharing with terrific people and working through chicken troubles & triumphs.


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

Yeah agreed these forums r nice because u can share stuff that just happened or stuff that happened a year ago AND newbies like me can ask their questions


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Not so judgemental here like a lot of other forums. Admin does a great job of making sure the forum stays friendly and clean.


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

Ya this is a great forum because there is not a lot of bad language and these nice people don't judge us


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Good thing or I might have been admitted to the looney bin months ago!


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

Lol!!!!


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks:

Just noticed this thread about your Ameraucana experience. So sorry about your losing a sweet Ameraucana as they are probably one of the gentlest large fowl pullets. 

We ordered two 9-10 week old juvenile sisters shipped to us from a reputable breeder. In the almost 3 weeks we had the Ameraucana pullets, one sweet sister never grew as fast as the other and one day she huddled alone listless - within an hour of holding her in a warm towel, she gasped and went to sleep forever. It had to be something genetic and not contagious since her energetic sister grew by leaps and bounds - literally! The most skittish, alert, sweetest pullet we ever had. 

Immediately we bought a Dominique chick from a feed store to nurture our loss of a pullet and would you believe 9 days later the chick suffered a sudden mortal seizure right in our arms before bedtime! 2 chicks lost in 2 weeks! Glad we took a lot of pictures to remember them.

I lived on a farm and know this kind of thing happens. Every chick is not hatched perfect and any number of hidden problems can terminate them in their juvenile stage. I now have a great vet but neither of our chick losses were preventable. Just knowing they had a good home before passing is the only consolation one has. Sad experience, but its Nature's culling for the sake of the hardiness of a breed.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Those chickens of ours sure do know how to capture the heart don't they. Such individual personalities. I'm hoping to be able to add another pullet or two to my crew this coming late Spring. Not sure if I will go through the fur & feather swap again. I can order from day old chicks (already sexed) up to 6 month olds through a nearby feed mill where I know what I'm getting will be healthy and already vaccinated for marek's too. Thinking that may be the way to go. They have quite a few breeds to choose from too. Loving having a banty in the flock. So compact and full of sass.  I only have the one banty out of my 9 chickens.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks:

Yes, those bantams are great once you get thru the experience of handling their broodiness as that's what bantams do best LOL! They are such sweet gentle creatures. We never gave much thought about mixing bantams with large fowl until we went through an eventful couple years.

Bantams is all I wanted and started w/ 2 Partridge Silkie juveniles. Unfortunately the one w/ the cutest personality was a cockerel so back he went. Now we were left w/ a lone Silkie so took in an available White Leghorn pullet. A month later took in a re-homed Marans pullet. Well, that left the Partridge as the only bantam and we added a Black Silkie for balance.

The huge 7-lb Marans attacked the new 2-lb Black Silkie on her first day of lay. We promptly re-homed the big bully who was a lazy forager IMO & didn't have good feed-to-egg ratio anyway. Back to 3 hens w/ only the White Leghorn laying & not getting much eggs from the often-broody Silkies. So we added a 2nd Leghorn pullet in Buff & an APA Ameraucana. 

Our usually gentle White Leghorn went into her 3rd year moult & came out of it w/ an attitude toward her 4 flockmates. We gave her a chance to settle down but eventually re-homed her w/ a friend who also has our Marans. If there were not bantams we wouldn't interfere with the flock politics but the Silkies are too small to defend themselves. 

Because of having Silkies it really changed our thinking. That crested soft-spot skull of theirs is very vulnerable to pecking attacks. We decided that gentle breeds 5-lb or under is best to keep w/ our Silkies. That means no Barred Rocks, Rhode Islands, New Hampshires, Orps, Javas, Marans, 'Lorps, or any well-known egg-laying breeds since their potential aggressiveness would tempt them to harm smaller fowl. The choices left for decent egg-layers in the under 5-lb class is narrowed considerably to Leghorns, Dominiques, Ameraucanas, & Easter Eggers. Even though Ameraucanas & EEs get at the top of 5-lbs, they're not known aggressors. Other smaller LF that were decent layers seemed wilder in temperament.

After all the drama we now have a balance w/ 2 gentle Silkies & 2 gentle egg-laying large fowl pullets under 5-lbs (Buff Leghorn & Ameraucana). The Buff Leghorn has a mellower temperament than the White Leghorn did. With all the bullies gone, the Partridge Silkie is alpha and keeps the 2 large pullets in line. Since she is small, as acting "roo" she can't really harm anyone. The Black Silkie doesn't take abuse from her in an even competition. The Ameraucana & Buff Leghorn either become submissive or just run and jump over her if she chases them. It's actually quite funny to watch. It's much safer to have the bantam in charge than a larger fowl. She is a seasoned 3-yr-old & has earned her station! She no longer is laying. It would surprise us greatly if she did since last year she layed for only 3 months. But we will keep her around since she is a great alpha.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Silkies are soooo pretty. Here I'm afraid they would not do so well with my mix. I do have 2 RIR's, 3 Barred Rocks, 1 Ameraucana (took in for a friend because she was getting badly pecked on by the flock she was raised with), 1 White Rock/Australorp mix (who is very gentle and sounds like a goose when she clucks so we often call her gray goose rather than Alyviah - and she is gray), 1 Sebright Banty (took in from my cousin who lost the rest of her flock to a fox), and my beloved very sweet Australorp Lilah. Lilah was my hard to mix in girl. Very submissive. I love them all.  Not looking forward to the day that I start to lose them to old age. My BR's and RIR's were my first chickens ever and I got them as day old. They will be 4 this year.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks:

Funny about your goose-voiced hen. We had one sounded like a Trumpeter Swan & named him "Trumpet." Ever notice that mixed breeds & hybrids appear calmer/gentler than their heritage parent stock? There are exceptions but noticed owners say those are their sweetest hens as well as the bantam breeds. Now roos can range from sweet to terrors no matter what breed.

On the farm Mom raised 1/2 dozen LF like BRs & RIRs for eggs before she made them into soup. Later it was ducks, geese, & White Legs for eggs & ultimately a slaughter day for food. Killing animals was so traumatic later slaughters were done in my absence. My knowledge about animals was from observing as folks didn't share about breeds or how/why things were done. Thank goodness for blogs like this where info/experience is passed along.

Years later I was given an adult RIR or New Hamp with the black-tipped tail & unknown age. She tamed easily w/ treats, foraged in the garden bed & layed brown eggs under a bush by our back door. Had a really bad summer & believe heat stroke w/ old age may have been her demise - poor baby.

30 years later we started a flock intending Silkies only. Not knowing problems w/ flock mixes we went thru a couple years of hit-&-miss before settling on a Buff Leghorn & APA Ameraucana w/ the 2 gentle Silkies. Having Silkies was based on Awww factor before realizing the joys/pitfalls of having silkie-feathered, crested, vaulted-skulled, feather-footed, black-skinned, blue-lobed, 5-toed, often-broody bantams. But the little buggers surprised us w/ their climate hardiness and big eggs - 1.25 oz! They love sitting in front of fans! At the County Fair we got video of White Silkies piled in front of a box fan. Don't care for white in free-range as the feathers get stained permanently so we got a Partridge & a Black Silkie. Noisy fans or hairdryers don't seem to bother ANY of our breeds!

Silkies are unique other than their appearance. We kept all our breeds out of inclement weather - until speaking w/ breeders who said rain was good for all chicken breeds and one said she had a Silkie that headed straight for the puddles after a rain. I didn't want caked mud in my Silkies' fur but one clever little lass sneaked out into the wet yard. When we found her she looked like a drowned rat happily foraging with the big girls! 

The other Silkie didn't come out until the rain stopped so only feet were muddy. By end of day the two were 1/2 dry, no heavy caked feet, & looked fluffy by next morning after a toasty nestbox cuddle. That's when my opinion changed - very hardy bantams. They don't stupidly sit in a downpour or snowfall. Chickens won't tread snow until a path is cleared to walk on solid ground. Most of this we learned from East Coast breeders. Our Silkies did well during heatwaves or frosts whereas the White Leg's comb tips discolored. During heatwaves a yard mister is turned on. The cage is open wire & covered w/ tarp yet there's plenty of circulation. The girls roost inside 3 round-holed nestbox cubbies - 1 hen per box which means 2 hens have to buddy-up. In a cold snap all 4 hens might be in 1 cubby! During heatwaves the egg door is propped open but locked at night.

We adore the Mediterraneans, but will not add them in future (Minorca, Andalusian, Ancona, Leghorn, etc) because of comb frost damage. Our current breeds have walnut, pea, or very short combs. Our Buff Leg has a much smaller comb than a White Leg because of her Phoenix, Orp, & Rock breed history (Danne Honour USA line). She has a calmer temperament & lays better than Lt/Dk Brown, Red, Exchequer, or Black Legs. Tho her pink eggs aren't as large as Production White, she lays prolifically. She went thru our last frost w/ no comb damage. There are many RC Leg varieties but hard to find USA breeders. Found only one Buff breeder. Finding the prolific bantam Legs is a challenge too as bantam fanciers are turning to the broodier exotic breeds. 

Unable to locate bantam Legs we went w/ Silkies and haven't been disappointed either in egg size, temperament, or hardiness. Not a surprise they are the #1 bantam bred today. Bantam Legs are limited in White but Silkies give you a rainbow to choose from and being larger bantams they give larger eggs. Broodiness cuts into their production so mixing better egg layers into the Silkie flock was a challenge. 

We felt L-XL eggs like BRs or RIRs wasn't as important as having good-tempered smaller sized hens in the mix w/ small or pea combs. Amazingly Ameraucanas & EEs have the best record for gentleness, large colored eggs, w/ no penchant for bullying. Buff Leg, Breda, & Dominique are also excellent w/ bantams. Since smaller LF like EE, Breda, Dom etc are calm and gentle, I would not even mix them w/ bigger LF like Orps, 'Lorps, Marans, BRs, RIRs, New Hamps, Javas, W'dottes, Dork's, Jerseys, etc, as any heavy LF that's normally nice can become aggressive given the opportunity to bully smaller defenseless fowl. Common sense says there's potential trouble mixing 6-9 lb hens with 2-5 lb girls.

Good luck w/your flock - and I wouldn't worry about old age - Black Hen Farms say they have the potential to live to 25! Of course, genetics, illness, or predation has to factor in. Seems like in the animal world, the smaller is the longer life expectancy. When there's no other bantam, one will buddy w/ one of the bigger girls. Who did Lilah & the Sebright choose to buddy with? Our sweet Ameraucana has finally mixed well into our flock - she tends to hang out most w/ the Buff Leg similar in size, color & independence. Both our LF submit to the Silkies. Much preferred that bantams rule the flock than LF - LOL!


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Oh how I enjoyed reading your comment Sylvester!  My Lilah, I had to get her a buddy before she made her way into the big girl coop. Spoiled brat was my house pet for little over 6 months! I really missed her when she was ready to leave the house nest. She'd chase my little rat terrier out of her dog bed so she could lay her egg there when she first started laying. It was so funny. Izzabelle was never overly amused however to be disrupted from her nap. The buddy I got for Lilah is a white rock/australorp mix named Alyviah. Took about 1 1/2 weeks with the two of them together for Lilah to feel confident enough to try the coop at night. The sebright, well she just made her own way. She's little miss independent not really buddying up to any one specifically. She just hangs out with whoever and somehow managed to fit it right away. Course she did clean the clock of my one sassy RIR the first day she went to the coop by her choice. I wasn't ready for her to make her way there because she was new and so small but she was ready. Guess Abbie wasn't ready for her though.  Nobody tried bothering her much after that.

Got home from work today to find what? I left with 9 chickens and came home to an addition! Not one I expected. A small cow bird made its way into my coop. Poor little bugger looks like it has a broken wing. Did manage to catch it. Have it in a small pet cage right now to rest. Covered with a little baby blanket for coziness. Its here in the house with me but in a quiet room. Will try and see what I can do tomorrow. I have some nutri-drench and save-a-chick stuff here to help build her/him up a bit health wise. Not sure what to do about that wing though. New territory for me.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

Go on backyardchickens.com and search around. They have a lot of DIY remedies. Also, check youtube.com for broken bird wings - chickens, parakeets, ducks, geese, etc. These two websites have a lot of info on diseases, injuries, remedies, etc. Something should come up that you can use. I believe there is a way to tape a broken wing to heal it. Personally, I'm squeamish and would go to my vet but it's $40 just for the visit!


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

My little feathered friend passed away during the night last night. =( Probably had more wrong with it than the obvious. I tried ...


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

Oh no! Must have been in shock maybe getting injured in the process of trying to get away from the flock. Shock kills faster than actual injury - poor baby :-( 

Our current Ameraucana when she was housed for the first time in the coop went nuts flapping trying to get out to the point we thought she'd get injured. Her whole purpose in life for the first 3 months around the flock was to get as far away as possible. I thought Leghorns were independent but she's 10x more hyper and aloof - extremely sweet and gentle-natured but spooks a lot. A good thing I guess in a free-range hen. With the fire in the mountain behind us today the water-dropping fire plane few over the house several times and she went hyper running if it was really low during one of its many fly-bys! The other 3 hens including the Leghorn were unaffected!


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Ha,ha,ha. I can just picture her!  My Josie is very easily spooked as well (ameraucana). She's friendly but whether she visits you is on her terms. She's definitely the most flighty of the various breeds I have. If you pick her up and take her away from the flock, she'll coo and coo at you. Guess she doesn't want them to see her softer side. 

Must be quite the site to see the planes for the fire. We had that here a few years ago when there was a huge out of control fire a little over 2 hours East of where I live. Fire took 21,069 acres; 136 structures gone.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks: 

Fire got under control but apparently lost 5 homes and many damaged. 3 men were arrested for starting a runaway campfire in the Nat'l forest. I've lived in 3 different view areas and went thru 3 major fires up to a block from home and don't wish to do that anymore. We live in a more urban neighborhood and the view of the mountain from a distance of 5 miles is just fine with us and the chickens now LOL! On top of fire we had an earthquake jolt a couple eves ago!

Yes, Ameraucanas are a wierd wary lot but very endearing. They do spook but are very sweet when petted or held and "coo" or talk to you. My friend says that about her vocal chatty EEs and 1 Ameraucana. We absolutely love them! QUESTION: Do you know what the weight of your Ameraucana eggs are? I was expecting medium eggs but have been getting large (over 2 oz) from a young pullet?


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

I'm not sure right off what the weight of her eggs are. Little snot has not laid a single egg since she went broody on me end of last summer.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks: It's interesting your Ameraucana got broody. I didn't know they were known to do so but there's always an exception. About 2% of White Legs are known to occasionally go broody which is a funny thought to me since I've never had a broody Leghorn. 

I think Ameraucanas are slow to mature in everything - personalities, first egg-laying, resuming egg-laying, etc. My pullet was over 7 mo old before her 1st egg. After brooding or moulting it takes my Silkies up to 3+ mo to start again sometimes. W/ this crazy heatwave, one Silkie started to brood thinking it was Spring already!

When your Ameraucana starts her egg-laying again, I'd be interested in the weight if you can post it?


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Oh my goodness, my Josie is TERRIBLE for going broody! Between her and my australorp! Then I had the two of them at the same time this past August!  They were both just miserable. Haul those two out of the nest boxes so the other girls could use them appropriately and they'd sit there on the lawn like two fluffed up basketballs and not move! When they both finally got over that, they went into their molt. Josie/ameraucana goes broody on me at least twice a year and it usually lasts her a few weeks to well over a month. My RIR's and BR's have never been broody. Not even my australorp/rock mix hen. Josie also didn't start laying until she was over 7 months old. Gave me her first egg on Thanksgiving day 2012. Apparently she wanted to make a real celebration of her first egg.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks:

Now that's funny! Two fluffy basketballs. My two Silkies are more like puffed kindergarten soccerballs! Usually they take turns being broody but last summer the both of them were cranky tushes together - ugh! No eggs from them for weeks. We take them out of the nests at least 6x a day to make sure they exercise, scratch, dust bathe, eat, and drink. They are in such a broody stupor it takes them a few minutes to snap out of it to take care of business before going right back into their imaginary nest. Yesterday we took a broody Silkie out of the nest and a plastic egg was stuck in her breast feathers and dropped out as my DH was carrying her out to the dust bath. He thought she laid an egg on him!

Post Josie's egg-weight progress when Her Majesty graces you again with eggs - Smiles


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Lol.  At this rate, I don't think Josie is going to give my anything until Spring. Only time she climbs in the nest box now is when she wants to sleep and a break from the other girls.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks - that's ok if she's taking a break. Just post when she starts up as I'm curious to find out from others what their Ameraucanas and/or EEs are giving in egg weights. My girl doesn't seem to want to stop laying daily but then our weather is in the 80-90 degrees currently and my hens don't realize it's still "winter" !


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

My Ameraucana lay from 65 to 78 g and my EE lay from 70 to 82 g. Hope this helps.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Thanks LittleWings!


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

Thanks Little Wings!!!

Do your Ameraucana eggs color less greenish than your EE? I went APA Ameraucana because I wanted the bluer egg. So far my girl is giving sort of blue-aqua.


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

My Ams and EEs lay about the same color blue with no greenish tint. The EEs just lay bigger. I do have a show winning AM that lays an egg with a very slight green to it when she is in the first part of her laying cycle. It is hard to find EEs that lay a pure blue egg. I have an AM / White Leghorn cross that just started laying a very nice blue egg and has laid 4 eggs in 4 days. They are referred to as Super Blue Egg Layers, but are basically EEs. 
Guess you can tell I like blue eggs too.


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

7chicks - The Am/Leghorn crosses I have look a lot like the pullet you had. I'm sorry you lost her.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Thanks LittleWings. Didn't get to have her long but I sure adored her none the less. Funny how I ended up with a pure breed Ameraucana shortly after I did lose her. A friend of my old man's didn't know about Hollie. Just happened to stop by here and was enchanted with how my chickens interacted with me. That's when he told me about needing to find a home for my now Josie. (He had gotten a mix of 15 day old chicks and for some reason they pecked Josie almost to death. He had her all healthy again but didn't know what to do with her until he stopped by here that day.) At the time I got Hollie, I didn't know much about EE's and Ameraucana's. Sure have learned a lot since then. Maybe one day I will have another EE. One that will be healthy from the start!


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

This is Josie.


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

Josie is beautiful, but she is an EE. She is a common EE pattern and is not one of the Ameraucana colors. Has she laid for you yet?


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks: I agree w/ Little Wings that Josie is an EE. I paid good bucks through a show breeder for 2 APA Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas and there are only certain colors that qualify as true "Ameraucana" and many other qualifications to meet SOP. 

However, I agree w/ Little Wings that EEs are gorgeous like Josie. If she were available to me I would've taken her in a heartbeat. It was unfortunate that she was put in a mix to ultimately be abused by other chicks. Just goes to show you how sweet and non-aggressive these girls are! I am so glad you have Josie and that she has a good home. I would never mix these lovely girls with heavier hens as these girls are not interested in flock politics and tend to be too submissive as pullets. My Ameraucana pullet was intimidated by a Silkie hen half her size and it was only her quickness to sprint out of the way that kept her from any pecks. It's a good thing my alpha hen is a little Silkie because a larger alpha could've hurt our submissive Ameraucana.

I believe EEs are slightly larger hens as well. My friend has 1 Ameraucana and 3 EEs and her EEs are larger w/ slightly larger and minty/ sage/ or pink shelled eggs.

The show breeder told me her Ameraucanas layed lighter blue eggs but she was happy to hear I was not only getting the bluer eggs but large as well. She was pleased to get my feedback to help w/ her breeder program. I matched our Ameraucana egg w/ an Ameraucana egg color chart plus held it up to my friend's EEs eggs and concluded our Ameraucana was definitely blue and not blue-green. There are so MANY hues and shades of blue that APA Ameraucanas can lay. I personally would love to see someone's lilac eggs which I think are attributed occasionally to EEs as well as another breed of chicken I can't recall at the moment.

I desperately want more girls but am forcing myself to stay w/ the happy 4 I have now. It will be a couple years before I'll need to add pullets as my 4 are still fairly young - 3 years and under.

AMs and EEs are the sweetest hens on the planet. They have the cutest vocalizations too. Even sweeter than my elfish Silkies! It'll be a rare sunny day in a blizzard before I ever read or hear a complaint about Ameraucanas or EEs other than they have a kooky, slow-to-mature nature. Everyone seems to love them once adjusted to their sweet quirky temperament!


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

The first EEs I had were sold to me as Ameraucanas and I didn't figure out the difference for 3 months. IMO It is the hatcheries that are responsible for the misinformation because they sell EEs as Ameraucanas and people don't know the difference until they do research. Purebred Ameraucana are fairly hard to find. You can not get them at feed stores. They are a new breed as breeds go (accepted in 1984) and most of the accepted colors are still being worked on. The Lavenders that I have are still not accepted by the APA. 
7chicks I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, I certainly didn't intend to if I did. I am just an old coot that is not very good at putting down the words the way I am thinking.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

And so that's what I get for listening to previous owner. He had gotten his batch from a reputable hatchery and he had ordered ameraucana along with a few other breeds.


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

Thats what I'm saying. He was misled by the hatchery and it went to you from there. You are going to have to either get some hatching eggs or find a breeder that has Ameraucanas. John Blehm is one of the top breeders of Ameraucana in the country and lives in Michigan. http://www.ameraucana.org/John.html I have one hen from him and she lays the largest and bluest egg of my Ameraucanas.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

To 7 Chicks & Little Wings:

Some of the better bigger hatcheries and some of the brokers Like MPC are beginning to explain that their Ameraucanas are actually EEs. It took a few years but they're starting to realize they'll lose credibility if they don't explain the Ameraucana/Araucana/EE difference. Growing up my Pop was a stickler about getting pure breeds in poultry, livestock, and dogs so I have that inherited mindset to get pure breeds when I get animals. 

Still, the EEs are a fun lot if you just want sweet birds and eggs and not to show. Our local feed stores in So CA sell out of them very quickly because people love the sweet temperaments, fluffy cheeks, colorful feathering, and colored eggs. My friend has an APA Ameraucana for the blue eggs but 3 EEs for the minty sage eggs. The feed store I frequent is always sold out of EEs fast. But you'll never find actual APA Ameraucanas or Araucanas in a feed store or hatchery. Brokers like MyPetChicken.com and CaliforniaHatchery.com advertise APA Ameraucanas or Ameraucana hatching eggs but they always show "unavailable" or "out of stock" because only private breeders have the birds available.

Yes, I've heard of John Blehm's good reputation. For myself, I will use my MO breeder because they're the only breeder I found w/ Ameraucanas and Buff Leghorns that shipped juveniles. My breeder of APA Ameraucanas, actual tail-less/tufted Araucanas, and Buff Leghorns (Danne Honour line) has been my source of purebred birds and they shipped 2 juveniles at a time to me (2 APA Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas and 2 Buff Leghorns). The breeder used to be in VT but recently moved to MO for a milder climate. 

It is very expensive to ship juvenile birds which is why hatcheries don't deal with anything but lightweight chicks. I spent 3x more in USPS shipping the juvenile birds than the birds actually cost me! But that's what you gotta do if you want purebred pullets and not bulk hatchery chicks stepping all over each other in a shipping box - poor babies! Although the breeder will ship chicks, they are of the opinion it is safer to ship juvenile or adult birds. Mine always arrived overnight from East Coast to West Coast but I and the breeder kept track of USPS to deliver straight to me and not carry the birds around in a mail truck all day! I hate having any live animals shipped but there's not much else one can do to get purebred rare poultry that is NEVER found at a feed store or hatchery. Besides, who wants to order a minimum 15 chicks from a hatchery when all you need is two pullets in your back yard?

My DH and I have discussed that in the distant future we will have no problem going to the feed store to get our Dominique chicks to add to the back yard when the time comes as we know where the Dom stock originates. We got to pick and choose one of our Silkie pullets 2 months old from a private breeder through our feed store contact. She is a hardy fluffy bird that easily is show quality as she is beautiful compared to the Silkie we inherited from a friend who ordered hatchery stock. Our inherited hatchery Silkie is a sweetie and the alpha of the backyard flock, but she's never been a 100% beauty like our show Silkie. It pays to know where your poultry comes from. I love all chickens no matter their origin but like my Pop, my preference is for show or pure breeds if I can only keep a few and at present 4 hens is a handful for us! I envy and bless all you owners that have the room to keep a bigger and more varied flock mix - Smiles


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

7chicks said:


> Ha,ha,ha. I can just picture her!  My Josie is very easily spooked as well (ameraucana). She's friendly but whether she visits you is on her terms. She's definitely the most flighty of the various breeds I have. If you pick her up and take her away from the flock, she'll coo and coo at you. Guess she doesn't want them to see her softer side.
> 
> Must be quite the site to see the planes for the fire. We had that here a few years ago when there was a huge out of control fire a little over 2 hours East of where I live. Fire took 21,069 acres; 136 structures gone.


Hi 7 chicks - didn't know who or how to find out about the January photo contest. Are there results? and if so where? as the January photo is a closed forum now. Are there other photo months too? Can't seem to get much info on Chicken Forum because of the countless input of forums and subject matter. Thanx - smiles


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

Sylvester017 said:


> Hi 7 chicks - didn't know who or how to find out about the January photo contest. Are there results? and if so where? as the January photo is a closed forum now. Are there other photo months too? Can't seem to get much info on Chicken Forum because of the countless input of forums and subject matter. Thanx - smiles


I was wondering about that too. I don't think a winner was chosen for Jan or Feb.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

I haven't seen anything either. Usually Austin lists who won at the end of the thread after it has been closed to further entrants.


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## Sylvester017 (Nov 2, 2013)

*Photo contests*



LittleWings said:


> I was wondering about that too. I don't think a winner was chosen for Jan or Feb.


I didn't even know there was a Feb Photo posting either. OK it's not just me wondering then.


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

This is the Feb link.

http://www.chickenforum.com/showthread.php?t=7554


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