First Hatch of the year 😃

[Russ Blair]

I have my first hatch coming off as I type. As of now I have 2 Wheaten Bantams and 2 more pipped. I was hoping for more but a lot of the eggs were 10 days or older. Not to mention it was in a little Hovabator. With our wood burner it seems to be hard to keep humidity up. So anybody else hatching already? Last weekend I treated all my breeders for internal and external parasites. Set up breeding pens and mating's, also turned lights on. I am hoping to disinfect the Dickey and get it up and running this weekend. Hopefully I will get some Large Fowl eggs to set in 2 weeks. I am excited to hopefully get some Large Fowl on the ground in time for Nationals.

[Stan Alder]

I'm a little behind you...I just set my pens this past week end and will turn on the lights tomorrow or Saturday...hoping for large fowl silver and buff with some Lavenders to set in a couple weeks...most will be pullet eggs..those silver for the most part have been slow to get started...anyone have any advice for special treatment for hatching from pullet eggs???...seems like I read a post from John where he said he hatches from pullets every year?

[John W Blehm]

...anyone have any advice for special treatment for hatching from pullet eggs???...seems like I read a post from John where he said he hatches from pullets every year?

Nothing special.  I keep very few hens, so most of the eggs I set each year are from pullets.

[Beth Curran]

I have my second hatch chirping behind me, with round 3 in the incubator. W/bw & silver bantam & LF lavender, small in numbers, but I've learned the hard way to set all hatch-worthy eggs as soon as I get them, since they will quit laying without warning - and sure enough, they have. Hopefully I can get LF buff & blue pens set up this weekend. I was also able to obtain a couple of buff bantam cockerels, I'm told they were chicks ordered from John last year, no females so I have them over some wheaten & white pullets but no eggs yet. I've been pleased with my LF buff x black cross but Jerry swears white is the way to go, and these are his breeding, so anxious to see where this little project leads!

[Mike Gilbert]

Beth, it really depends what the recessive white is hiding.  It might work well with white and might not, but what I don't like about using recessive white is that is another gene you have to get rid of in future generations.   If you don't, you will end up getting whites out of your buff or wheaten matings, and you really don't want whites with the sex linked gold gene.   It would contribute to brassiness.   Whites need to be based on sex linked silver, and if they also carry the Bl (gene for blue) so much the better.   In other breeds the sex linked barring gene is desirable too to create a "whiter white."   But the barring gene does not work for Ameraucanas because it normally prevents dermal melanin.  So you end up with light or white shanks and toes.

[John W Blehm]

Beth, it really depends what the recessive white is hiding.  It might work well with white and might not, but what I don't like about using recessive white is that is another gene you have to get rid of in future generations.   If you don't, you will end up getting whites out of your buff or wheaten matings, and you really don't want whites with the sex linked gold gene.   It would contribute to brassiness.   Whites need to be based on sex linked silver, and if they also carry the Bl (gene for blue) so much the better.   In other breeds the sex linked barring gene is desirable too to create a "whiter white."   But the barring gene does not work for Ameraucanas because it normally prevents dermal melanin.  So you end up with light or white shanks and toes.

If she is only crossing bantam buff cockerels over white females the sex linked gold is passed to all the pullets.  So, if she only uses those pullets to produce buffs she should be safe in that area. 
All the possible hidden genes that may be hidden under the white can haunt you for years.   

[Mike Gilbert]

Beth, it really depends what the recessive white is hiding.  It might work well with white and might not, but what I don't like about using recessive white is that is another gene you have to get rid of in future generations.   If you don't, you will end up getting whites out of your buff or wheaten matings, and you really don't want whites with the sex linked gold gene.   It would contribute to brassiness.   Whites need to be based on sex linked silver, and if they also carry the Bl (gene for blue) so much the better.   In other breeds the sex linked barring gene is desirable too to create a "whiter white."   But the barring gene does not work for Ameraucanas because it normally prevents dermal melanin.  So you end up with light or white shanks and toes.

If she is only crossing bantam buff cockerels over white females the sex linked gold is passed to all the pullets.  So, if she only uses those pullets to produce buffs she should be safe in that area. 
All the possible hidden genes that may be hidden under the white can haunt you for years.   

I probably read the post wrong.   I somehow had the impression she wanted to make more whites.

[John W Blehm]

If she is only crossing bantam buff cockerels over white females the sex linked gold is passed to all the pullets.  So, if she only uses those pullets to produce buffs she should be safe in that area. 
All the possible hidden genes that may be hidden under the white can haunt you for years.   

I probably read the post wrong.   I somehow had the impression she wanted to make more whites.

She may.  I don't know.  I just wanted to go over the silver/gold thing again, since it could save a year or more of mistakes.  I wish I knew about it back in 85 when I started working on bantam buffs.

[Beth Curran]

I'm known for starting a statement halfway through a thought.  Yes, I'm trying to produce buffs. I traded some LF buffs for a couple of buff bantam cockerels, but they didn't have any females so I am using white & wheaten pullets. Since the cross isn't to improve the buff, and there really isn't anything I'm trying to retain from the white or wheaten birds, I was planning to breed F1 females of each mating back to the other buff male. Not planning to keep any males from the cross.

If she is only crossing bantam buff cockerels over white females the sex linked gold is passed to all the pullets.  So, if she only uses those pullets to produce buffs she should be safe in that area. 

That's good to know. While we're on the subject, my buff x black project is entering it's 3rd year. Two years ago I bred a buff hen to a black cock (because I didn't keep enough buff males and lost every one of them that winter) and got a single F1 pullet (an odd calico color). However, she was prolific and I hatched quite a few F2s last year from her and a buff cock. Of the pullets, one was colored like the mother and one black & gold mixed, all of the others had nice buff color and are hard to distinguish from pure buffs, except for some dark streaks in their beaks. But ALL of the males were a very pale cream color, not pure white, but you had to look twice. Because of this, I only kept the females and will be breeding back to buff again this season. Just curious to hear your thoughts on how I got what I got, whether the F3s will produce normal colored males, and what surprises might be lurking down the road after I think they're breeding true.

[John W Blehm]

...Yes, I'm trying to produce buffs. I traded some LF buffs for a couple of buff bantam cockerels, but they didn't have any females.......
....I bred a buff hen to a black cock...But ALL of the males were a very pale cream color, not pure white, but you had to look twice. Because of this, I only kept the females and will be breeding back to buff again this season. Just curious to hear your thoughts on how I got what I got, whether the F3s will produce normal colored males, and what surprises might be lurking down the road after I think they're breeding true.

Yes I had heard the ratio of cockerels to pullets in that order of bantam buffs was high.
With your LF project I believe the black cock was carrying silver (S) and that caused the "calico" color in the pullets and "pale cream" in the cockerels.  Using a pure buff male over the F2 pullets should get you back on track with pure gold (s+) as it should be with buffs.
A buff male over a black female should produce F1 pullets that look pretty much like the one below.  I grew three of them and sold this one and one that was just about identical.  I kept one that shows more buff on the head and hackle. 

[Beth Curran]

Interesting. She resembles on of my F2s - or should I say, Walker's. He claimed the 2 other-than-buff F2 pullets and made pets of them - Maratoni and Tickles. Maratoni hatched solid black and developed the gold as she matured. Tickles has the calico pattern. I'll see if I can find some pictures of the F2s.

It wasn't just your bantams buffs - 2015 seemed to be the year of the (bantam) cockerel. I have 3 silver females and 9 males, whites were only slightly better. Fingers crossed for a pullet year!

[Russ Blair]

John that pulley looks almost like a black gold doesn't she. Oh my first hatch was pretty much a flop. I have 1 Wheaten chick I will keep. I had to cull 2 for feet issues, and 2 chicks pipped but got stuck. Which I blame humidity and eggs being older than a week.  Today I am starting to give vitamin supplements in water and have gathered some more bantam eggs to set on Sunday.

[Gina Neta]

Well I have about 20 chicks in the brooder.  The anticipation of a hatch never dulls.  It is still exciting and amazing to me.  I plan on setting more eggs in about a week.  All I use is a Hovabator and, with a few tricks up my sleeve, generally have pretty good results.  When winter seems long and dull and boring, the chicks peeping and chirping are a welcome ray of sunshine.  Here's hoping we all have good hatches and healthy chicks!!

[Schroeder]

Over the weekend I hatched 10 LF blacks, out of 11 eggs from one mating pair. However, I had to help out 3 of them which had zipped, but couldn't make it out on their own.  I've never had much luck with those that needed help and I am pretty sure at least 1 is spraddle legged.  Filled a larger incubator with LF wheaten eggs from 2 cockerels over 9 hens/pullets.  The older of the 2 K's has been very enthusiastic about his duties but I am apprehensive about fertility.  I'll know after I candle in a few more days.  Thinking spring!
Duane
 

[Rebecca G Howie]

I have hatched some LF EEs but none of my Bantam Ameraucana eggs have made it to pip.