January chicks

[Mike Gilbert]

Took a small batch of Ameraucana bantam chicks out of the incubator today.  Not what I was hoping for, but I'll take it.  Mostly Silvers with a few Wheaten/Blue Wheaten and Brown Reds mixed in.  There is a larger batch at Jim Laatch's that I have not picked up yet.   There is one outlier in the photo.   Can anyone find it and tell me what kind it is?

[Russ Blair]

Is it the partridge chick towards the middle and left?

[Mike Gilbert]

Is it the partridge chick towards the middle and left?

Good eye Russ!  One Partridge Chantecler chick.

[Max Strawn]

How are you getting eggs in January... in Wisconsin... in sub-zero temps??  I haven't seen an Ameraucana egg since last September.

[Mike Gilbert]

How are you getting eggs in January... in Wisconsin... in sub-zero temps??  I haven't seen an Ameraucana egg since last September.

Years of selective breeding.  I have always maintained that Ameraucanas need to be productive, not just show birds.  Or maybe I'm just lucky?   I do have the lights on a timer, so they are getting about 14 hours of light each day. 

[Max Strawn]

I will say that my bantams lay better than the LF. I have gotten a few eggs from them in the last month. I just started giving them extra light about a week ago. I'll be setting up my breeding pens this weekend. 

[Russ Blair]

Max that's because your bantams came from good old northern stock lol. I actually have LF Blue eggs I am about to set in the setter today 

[Mike Gilbert]

I picked up 37 healthy chicks from Jim Laatsch this morning, including 14 more bantam Silvers, 10 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten, and 1 Brown Red.  That gives me a good start to the season, and Bob Walchak will be getting a dozen or so to show at our national meet in Portage.   I set 71 more eggs yesterday in my little Hovabator. 

[Max Strawn]

I picked up 37 healthy chicks from Jim Laatsch this morning, including 14 more bantam Silvers, 10 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten, and 1 Brown Red.  That gives me a good start to the season, and Bob Walchak will be getting a dozen or so to show at our national meet in Portage.   I set 71 more eggs yesterday in my little Hovabator.

Nice! I'm hoping to have enough eggs for my first setting by February 1st.

Are you still working on that bantam black project?

[Mike Gilbert]

I picked up 37 healthy chicks from Jim Laatsch this morning, including 14 more bantam Silvers, 10 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten, and 1 Brown Red.  That gives me a good start to the season, and Bob Walchak will be getting a dozen or so to show at our national meet in Portage.   I set 71 more eggs yesterday in my little Hovabator.

Nice! I'm hoping to have enough eggs for my first setting by February 1st.

Are you still working on that bantam black project?

Yes, but my main priority right now is improving the bantam Silvers.   I have one Black male and three females, but so far only one of the females is laying and no chicks hatched yet.   All four are homo/hemizygous for the sex linked gold gene.