Tag: ameraucana

Updating the Chicken Coop

Chicks in the Brooder are Three Weeks Old

The March 18th chicks are growing fast and there’s work to be done before they leave the brooder and move into the coop.  As long as I’m stuck at home, seemed like a great time to update the chicken coop. There’s always something I’m not satisfied with, and this year I’m going to do something about it.
My biggest pain in the butt is wild birds eating all my chicken feed. They squeeze through the tiniest hole in the chicken pen, and then can’t get out. They fly around inside bouncing off the walls, causing chaos among the flock.
You probably think this is no big deal, but chicken feed is expensive, and wild birds can easily eat 5 lbs. or more every single day. Taking that into consideration, it would be a lot cheaper to just buy eggs.
The coop is a 10×10 covered chain link pen, inside an open-air barn or shedrow at the back of our property. I had it completely covered with aviary netting, which was somewhat suitable, however, birds and lizards would get caught in it. That’s another problem I  want to avoid so I took all of it off. One problem was solved, but another was created.   I was now committed to finding a favorable solution.
The Solution
I bought 3 50ft rolls of 1/2 inch hardware cloth and have almost finished covering the entire coop. Talk about time-consuming, OMG. My fingers are a mess, my nails are broken, and my arms look like I’ve been in a battle zone.  But, there will be no birds getting in my coop this year!

The Girls at Three Weeks Old

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New Chicks Arrived at TBN Ranch

This year we are raising Ameraucana (Easter Egger hybrids) and Silver Laced Wyandottes. The Easter Egger will lay blue-green medium-size eggs and the Wyandottes lay brown medium-large eggs. Both breeds are docile and friendly, however, the Easter Eggers’ personality is best described as aloof.

This flock will begin to lay these beautiful colored eggs in about 5-6 months.

What the Chicks Will Look Like When Mature…

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Ameraucana or Easter Egger?

The Blue Egg Layer

It is not clear where the Ameraucana was developed, but it is thought to be the United States. Ameraucana large fowl are in the APA “All Other Standard Breeds” (AOSB) class of chickens. Eight colors are officially recognized for poultry shows by the American Poultry Association: Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten and White. There are several project colors, including Lavender.
The Ameraucana is defined as an Easter Egg chicken, or Easter Egger, as any chicken that possesses the blue egg gene, but doesn’t fully meet any breed description as defined in the APA standards. Further, even if a bird (that possesses the blue egg gene) meets an APA standard breed description, but doesn’t meet a variety description or breed true at least 50% of the time it is considered an Easter Egg chicken.
The American Poultry Association’s (APA) American Standard of Perfection contains breed and variety descriptions of all recognized standard breed poultry in North America. This means if your bird does not meet a color requirement, it is in Easter Egger. However, it is highly unlikely to see an Easter Egger which meets all APA standards yet doesn’t have the correct color. They are almost always mutt birds.

While many hatcheries claim to sell Ameraucanas or Araucanas, nearly none of them do. Most sell mutt Easter Eggers. Ameraucanas come in both a large and bantam variety.
Standard Weight for Bantams
Cock: 30 oz.
Cockerel: 26 oz.
Hen: 26 oz.
Pullet: 24 oz.
Standard Weight for Large Fowl
Cock: 6 1/2 lbs.
Cockerel: 5 1/2 lbs.
Hen: 5 1/2 lbs.
Pullet: 4 1/2 lbs.

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