If you ask yourself when do Ameraucana roosters start crowing, you have come to the right place. Keep reading to learn more.
This article will answer you and discuss everything you need to know about the Ameraucana chickens.
The Ameraucana is an adorable, friendly, and social chicken breed that can be a great addition to any backyard flock.
These birds are known for their medium-sized blue eggs. They are dual-purpose chickens that are good for both meat and egg production.
When Does An Ameraucana Rooster Start Crowing?
Like roosters of other chicken breeds, an American rooster will start crowing when it reaches sexual maturity.
This can sometimes vary as flock dynamics, nutrition requirements, and the number of daylight hours can affect the age roosters mature sexually.
Most roosters begin to crow when they are four to six months old. However, young roosters exposed to good quality food and long summer days may start crowing at three months of age.
Good nutrition is an important factor in attaining sexual maturity and general growth. This means roosters with good nutrition will start crowing earlier than those with poor nutrition.
History And Background Of The Ameraucanas
The Ameraucana chicken was developed from the Easter Egger by John Blehm, Mike Gilbert, and other chicken breeders.
They isolated various physical characteristics like muffs, beards, and tails and crossbred them with other show breeds.
They were accepted and recognized as a chicken breed by the American Poultry Association in the 1980s. These chickens are popular among backyard chicken keepers because of their productivity.
Appearance And Breed Standard
The Ameraucanas are adorable medium-sized chickens. They are often confused with the Araucanas and Easter Eggers as they are genetically similar.
They have red wattles as well as a red pea comb. The wattles can be almost non-existent on female and male birds.
A muff and a beard distinguish the face. This gives them a fluffy and sweet appearance. You will have to look closely at the chicken to differentiate between the muff and beard.
They have a u-shaped body that is compact with the tail held upright. Each foot has four toes. Their legs and toes are clear without feathers.
The color of the legs usually depends on the plumage color and can be anything from black to slate blue. They also have curved beaks and large wings.
A standard Ameraucana rooster weighs about 6.5lb, while a standard hen weighs about 5.5lb. The bantam versions are tiny and weigh anywhere from 24 to 30 ounces.
Recognized Color Varieties
Here are some of the recognized color varieties.
Black
The hens and roosters of this variety have uniform black plumage throughout the body. The variety is common to both the bantam and large fowl categories.
Blue Wheaten
The Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas have complex patterns and colorings. There is also a notifiable difference between hens and roosters.
oosters have blue muffs and beards that turn black at the edges of the general area.
They also have black tails with orange wingtips, saddle, and hackles, fluffs with black lacing, and blue chests.
On the other hand, their female counterparts are simpler, with a uniform light beige plumage on their bodies.
However, they have almost black tail tips, slightly darker wingtips, and hackles. Both male and female birds have white facial feathers.
Blue
In this variety, there is a clear distinction between the hens’ and roosters’ feather patterns and color. The variety is available as a bantam and large fowl.
Roosters usually have blue muffs and beards with tails, hackles, and saddles. The fluff is also blue. Their chests are blue with black lacing.
Blue Ameraucanas have uniform blue feathering throughout their bodies. Their facial feathers are lighter gray.
Brown Red
The Brown Red Ameraucanas are very similar to the Wheaten variety. The variety is common in both large fowl and bantam.
Roosters have black chests, beards, fluff, muffs, and tails with dark-orange hackles. On the other hand, hens are almost all black, although they may have some orange throughout the hackles and head.
Silver
The Silver or Lavender Ameraucanas have a huge distinction between the hens and roosters. Hens have brownish-gray bodies, fluff, and tails with white ribs on each feather.
They have light-brown beards with black muffs. Their hackles are black laced with white.
On the other hand, Silver Ameraucana roosters have black facial feathers, fluff, chest, and tail. Their wingtips, saddle, cape, and hackles are white with streaks of black.
Other color varieties of the Ameraucanas are wheaten, white, buff, and self-blue. All of these varieties are accepted by the American Poultry Association.
Personality And Temperament
The Ameraucanas are generally docile chickens described as curious and friendly birds. They tend to avoid trouble, and you will hardly see them fighting other birds in the flock over food.
Because of their calm and friendly personality, they are good for beginners and families as they are not flighty and nervous.
While they like to interact with their keepers, you should not confuse them for cuddly lap birds.
These birds are mostly mid-level in the pecking order. Because of their docile nature, they can be victims of attack and bullying by other aggressive birds.
Therefore, you must only raise them alongside other friendly and non-aggressive chickens.
Like roosters of other chicken breeds, the Ameraucana roosters are aggressive. However, they are less aggressive than roosters of most other breeds.
You can also expect the roosters to be quieter than roosters of other breeds. Since they are quieter than most other breeds, they are ideal for an urban yard.
Egg Production
The Ameraucanas are prolific egg layers. Under good care and proper nutrition, they can lay 3 to 4 blue-shelled eggs per week. This translates to about 200 eggs a year.
Although they tend to lay eggs all year round, you can expect your hens to slow down during the winter months.
They might also start laying eggs a bit late compared to other breeds. Most Ameraucana hens start laying eggs at seven months of age.
Although you will have to wait longer before they start laying, the wait is worth it.
Their blue eggs are highly sought after by chicken enthusiasts and breeders alike.
This is one of the breeds to consider if you are looking for a chicken breed that will ensure you have plenty of colorful eggs throughout the year.
When it comes to brooding, the Ameraucana hens are not the best setters. Therefore, you will need a good quality incubator or broody hens in your flock if you want to raise Ameraucana chicks.
However, if you just want to harvest fresh eggs for consumption, there is nothing to worry about.
These birds are also a good source of chicken meat. They are average-sized chickens with a wide-body structure and prominent chests. However, they usually take much time to grow and mature.
Ameraucana Care Guide
Generally, Ameraucanas are robust birds that can tolerate and do well in a wide range of temperatures. Since they have pea combs, they will hardly suffer from frostbite.
However, like other chicken breeds, your Ameraucana chickens will need good care to live a long and more productive life.
Health Issues
Ameraucanas are healthy and vigorous chickens with minimal issues of note. They are healthy birds born without any hereditary health issues.
They have a lifespan of 7 to 8 years, although they can live longer if well cared for.
Because of their muffs and beards can be susceptible to common chicken parasites, such as mites and lice. Like other birds, internal worms can also be a problem.
Therefore, they will require regular fecal testing and treatment to keep the problems away.
Feeding
Your Ameraucana chickens will need a standard 16% chicken feed. Since they love to forage, you can allow them to free-range in the backyard.
This is important as it will lead to lower feed bills.
During the molting season, you should increase the feed protein content to 20% until your birds are feathered in again.
Your laying hens will also need extra calcium in their diet. Giving them oyster shells and other calcium treats will help form stronger eggshells.
Besides, they will need plenty of clean water.
Coop Setup
The magic rule of 4 square feet per chicken will still apply when setting up your coop. More space will allow your birds to move around freely and prevent cannibalism.
You can give them about 8 inches per bird for the roosting space.
The size of your nesting box should be 12×12 inches. If you are keeping them in a chicken run, ensure they have at least 8 square feet each. You can also add perches of different sizes in your run.
Conclusion
You are already answered if you were asking yourself when the Ameraucana roosters start to crow.
These birds will start crowing when they are four to six months old after reaching maturity. While some roosters may start crowing earlier, others may start crowing a bit late.
