Black Copper Marans & Chocolate Ameraucana

LaurieLovesLearning
LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

My eggs have arrived from the breeder! I was so nervous that they might have to sit in the post office for the long weekend as I fretted about them from home. But they are here!

I had 2 broken & 2 cracked. I have 14 BCM (dark eggs) and 21 CA (Blue & green eggs). The green is due to a crossing 7 generations ago in order to bring the chocolate gene in. I was given some exhibition black am. × choc. am eggs as well for gene diversity. These are considered split to black. So, out of those few, I will have black cockerels & chocolate pullets at hatch. I have a lot to learn about how to effectively use splits in a breeding program. "Easy" they say. But I am just beginning with doing this type of thing. 😬

The pictures don't do it justice, due to the artificial lighting, but will give you an idea. The blue is quite blue. The breeder apologized twice for the "lightness" of the dark eggs and that they are off her 2-3 yr. old hens (but that's perfect for best chick strength). She reassured me (not necessary, lol) that the resulting BCM pullets will lay much darker. Considering, I am very excited & hoping for a great hatch!

They get set at noon tomorrow. In 21 days, I will meet my new babies!


Comments

  • karenjanicki
    karenjanicki Posts: 996 ✭✭✭✭

    Awesome! That's exciting :).

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Very exciting! If you don't mind me asking, how much did these eggs cost? I haven't had anything to do with purchasing eggs for incubation for many, many years and I'm sure it will come as sticker shock for me.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited May 2021

    @torey If you buy specialty heritage breed hatching eggs, they are expensive. Breeders will sell high to help cover their costs and pay for some of the time they put in improving their breed(s).

    Many folks that know nothing or very little and put no effort in except for chores, will sell at the same price, so you need to do your homework if you are after true to trait good quality birds. Sometimes they also sell too cheaply, claiming the best, and it brings down the prices. After these past 2 springs of fad buying, there will be many people like this out there.

    Birds are more expensive in BC & AB & ON, but some of the best (and most) breeders are also in these provinces.

    My first eggs that I bought this year were $90/dozen. This was for BCM & Erminette. I bought these from https://greendaleheritagefarm.com by Chilliwack. The hatch was great and the chicks at 10 days old already seemed to have tripled in size and are so robust. I had no problems with all that hatched on their own. I didn't even see one pasty butt. If I was to sell chicks, $15 each is usually the purebred price for these. Some breeds that cost more/egg will have day old chicken prices much, much higher. Price/chick/week is now an additional $2/chick due to feed cost increases. So, a one week old BCM could cost you $17.

    Greendale has their price list online.

    These eggs, I bought from a lady by Olds, AB. http://westerdalefarms.com. The prices were $72 (BCM) & $80(C.Am)/dozen. The chicks would sell for $15 each. I could forward the price list of breeds from here if you are interested.

    Prices can vary depending on lines added and work done, sometimes it is rarity. Sometimes it depends if they sell from award winning show stock. Sometimes if they naturally lay less that drives up their price (feed more for less eggs=more difficulty in getting much for hatching).

    If you are getting eggs shipped, I don't know if it might cost less due to proximity, but both orders cost around $60 for shipping and of course, a small charge for packing. They both packed very well. There is certainly faster & better service through Purolator than Canada Post.

    There is one place over in BC that appears to have nice birds, but the prices are quite exorbitant. I can't see spending those prices when I can find great stuff elsewhere.

    If you were to get a breed or breeds, what would you be interested in? Or if you aren't as familiar with breeds, what traits would you want? I would not hesitate to help you out if you wanted to explore this more. I would find you reputable breeders and of course, stock that's worth what you pay for. I enjoy finding birds for people (obviously).

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    Well, the sticker shock isn't that bad. Even less so for chicks. I thought they might be a lot more than $15 per bird.

    We have been discussing getting birds but it hasn't gone any further than the discussion as to yay or nay. It is a big commitment. But if we were to go ahead, I would definitely go for the heritage breeds. Greendale would be easy for me to access. I will definitely contact you for assistance if we decide to go ahead. Been a long time since we have had chickens.

    Very interesting in the heritage Bronze Breast turkeys you have mentioned. I grew up on a turkey farm and even though it was mostly the large white breeds we produced, we also had Bronze Breast from time to time. I really didn't like the big white ones and thought the BB were much more intelligent. I had one that I was given to raise and I won third prize at the PNE for her in her category!

  • Tave
    Tave Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Something to consider about more expensive heritage breeds is that they cost about the same to maintain as more common breeds, but you can sell them for more. The initial investment is what hurts. After that, they are more profitable.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    OMG! $90. I must be getting old. Wait.....I am old. I'm in the "I remember when bread was a nickel" stage of my life. I envy you and all of your energy to take care of so much...with so little time.

    I love your eggs! Wish I could come visit.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Stunning stunning colors! I need to order some eggs.

    I love heritage birds. The eggs and birds cost more but its worth it both in fun and saving a breed.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited June 2021

    Well...I do have able helpers, and sometimes they do enjoy the chickens, but sometimes the birds are just work. Lol

    You would be welcome to visit if it was a possibility, oh, for sure!

    @Denise Grant Of course you need to order some eggs! Haha I keep tempting you, dangling these carrots (eggs) in front of your nose. 😉

    I agree with your assessment & @Tave's too!

    @torey You are in a very good province to get the heritage Ridley Bronze. I know of a reputable breeder there that wants to keep the breed correct. It is a specific strain developed in SK quite some time ago. It is a type of BB bird. I have read that it is difficult to get pure lines of this breed. In fact, I had a lady try to tell me Ridley are the same as any bronze & hers were bronze (after she told me they had slate/something else crossed with wild eastern too). They were just mixed turkeys. Sigh. The toms were also not very nice to kids/people...that is not a RB trait. They are supposed to be docile...so another red flag of course!

    Belated congratulations on your prize. I bet you were proud! The heritage are reported to have brains while the standard whites just have that all bred put of them.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited June 2021

    I have a few pictures of my chocolate ameraucana.

    The hatch date for most of the chicks was yesterday. We added a couple of other breeds a day late, so the hatch date is extended even through today. More chicks are still hatching. Black Copper marans, chocolate ameraucana, jersey giant & silkie are all in this bunch. The giants & silkies are pre-sold.

    Out of all of the eggs that I paid for, I got a bit over half hatched. Half hatched is considered successful.

    Anyway, here are some bearded little ones. Enjoy.


  • naomi.kohlmeier
    naomi.kohlmeier Posts: 380 ✭✭✭

    Those eggs are just beautiful! I hope they all hatch out for you.