Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Hi again I have (another) question and am hoping someone could advise as I can't find anything on google! We bought our araucana from a poultry breeder and we got told it was an araucana (a large bantam gold laced one). I have tried in vain to find a picture of her on the web (so I can learn a bit more) but I cant and I suspect she is a cross as she doesnt look completely like araucana pics I've looked at. I did ask this question but I was told she is a pure breed and also sex linked (female gold chest feathers and male silver) It doesn't matter to us as she's a lovely little hen who has got right under our skin. Has anyone ever heard of this before? Unfortunately, I cant post a pic as I've not worked out how to, but she definitely has the araucana hairdo. She is black with a few green sheened feathers, and her neck and chest are lovely copper laced coloured feathers. She weighs nearly 1kg already and is approx 17/18 weeks. She is not laying yet but is currently very interested in the nest box every morning - mainly to scatter the straw everywhere! Would be grateful for any ideas? Edited July 19, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) just so you do know, the american araucana and the english one are very different. The american has no tail feathers, not top-knot and great big ear trumpet feathers, so your would not look anything like that. I know arauacanas are available in quite a few colours, but I have never heard of laced varieties of araucanas. Also, from my understanding, there is no such thing as a pure breed sex linked chicken, as the nature of sex linking is crossing breeds with different colour genes to create day old sexable chicks. So, either she is not sex linked, or she is pure bred, she cannot be both (if I am wrong someone please tell me, or I shall feel a massive fool!) You can get some pure breed chicks which are sexable at day old, but they are know as autosexing, not sex linked, and araucanas are definitely not they, pure breed araucanas can quite notoriously difficult to sex. I would think you must have a cross breed, you can get gold laced polish birds, is their hairdo very big? Or is it small and sleek like a standard araucana? I imagine if she was an orpington or wyandotte cross, she wouldn't look much like an araucana, but I don't know, and I can't think of any other "laced" breeds. Also, if you go to a website like photobucket.com, you can upload your photos on there and get and image code, copy that into the thread and we can see a picture, I would be very intrigued.... Edited July 20, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Erm...you can get sex-linked pure breeds, although they won't all be pure colours/patterns genetically. For example you could cross buff sussex cockeral with a light sussex hen and end up with pure sussex (buff girls and impure light lads I think but its possibly the other way around), which are sex linked. However, this offspring won't then necessarily breed true. Crossing gold laced males with silver laced females is another way of getting sex linked offspring, but again the males are usually impure and therefore no good for breeding. I've never heard of laced araucanas either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 There is no such thing as a laced Araucana or a 'large bantam' one and no sex linking that would produce a colour that you describe The nearest you will get to 'sex linking' are the black/red Araucana and Cuckoo which are easy to sex Unless the breeder was clearly a knowledgable person tinkering with genetics (as some do) I would be inclined to disregard the things you have been told Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Oh I knew that about the different colour variations, I didn't realize it counted as "pure breed" if the colours were mixed, that is my own stupidity, but I see now!I was worried I might be wrong, but perhaps not woefully so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Thanks all for taking the time to respond. Really appreciate it, I think he saw me coming Just at pesky work at the moment but I shall attempt photos later. I am now very intrigued as to what she is Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Finally ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Isn't she pretty. I don't really know what she is though. It is amazing with what conviction people selling chickens can tell you that the bird in front of you is a pure breed (of the kind you are looking for). You can, by the way, get pure Silver laced Polands and pure Gold laced Polands - nothing to do with sex linking. Their hair do is quite a lot larger than that and more rounded over the face. Also the lacing covers more of their body rather than just the neck area. She could be a cross. Whatever the case she is lovely and if she has a nice, individual, personality that really is the main thing if you are not in the show or breeding world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackian Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would not care what she is ..She is beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Thankyou both very much She is such a little character, very sweet.. Yes I see what you mean, I totally believed him, but i had only just heard of the breed and was lured by the thought of blue eggs. I am really enjoying learning about different breeds and that's when I realised she want a pure araucana But now I don't care, I would just like to know what she's been crossed with, out of curiosity so I can read about whatever the other breed maybe. Whatever her egg colour, we can't wait ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Your hen is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the pics x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 ahhhhh... now she looks identical to my Araucana hybrid (confusingly called a 'black Araucana' by my local poultry centre) the shape, size, comb and colour is the same even the gold markings Being a hybrid my bird was sex linked too, she has Araucana and Cream Legbar on one parental side and Araucana and Leghorn on the other I believe so is an excellent layer of nice green eggs Think thats your answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Thanks Mrs B, only took me 3 hours to work out how to do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Redwing that's great thankyou very much! Going to look them up now! Do you think she ll come into lay soon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Araucana hybrods arent as common as the Cream Legbar based ones This is from my local poultry centre. Just to clarify these are NOT black Araucana at all its just a name that seems to have been attached to them for some reason (A bit like light Sussex hybrids being called light Sussex) The bird in this pic has more gold than our birds but it will give you the gist... http://www.bellplantation.co.uk/2012/01/happy-new-year-new-garden-shop-in-our-greenhouse-seed-potatoes-and-black-araucana-in-stock-now-2/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Wow, it always amazes me how redwing knows almost everything! What a lovely bird, the name is confusing though, as, obviously, you can get black, pure breed araucanas. When I looked at the photos I was starting to think she looked a big like an araucana that had been painted up like a copper black marans. But I am glad you seem to have got the the bottom of it. Now I just have to work out how to smuggle a "black araucana" up from Northants..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 ahhhhh... now she looks identical to my Araucana hybrid (confusingly called a 'black Araucana' by my local poultry centre) the shape, size, comb and colour is the same even the gold markings Being a hybrid my bird was sex linked too, she has Araucana and Cream Legbar on one parental side and Araucana and Leghorn on the other I believe so is an excellent layer of nice green eggs Think thats your answer I agree, it's identical to the blue egg laying hybrids that Cotswold Chickens sometimes have in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Thanks again Redwing - very helpful indeed - I've enjoyed looking the breeds up. Yes it's been nice to get to the bottom of it dance in the dark, and thanks also Dogmother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
