THE AMERICAN ERMINETTE
Brought to Farm in 2023!
Let me first say that I am Extremely Excited to bring this breed in and be a part of its continuance and preservation!!
This breed has a very interesting story and is a one of a kind!
Check out the information below to learn more about the history, the breed, and where you can learn more!
More about our Erminettes Further Down.
THOUGHT TO OF BEEN EXTINCT
In the late 1800s there are accounts of at least 4 Breeders that created this "breed" all 4 breeders showed these birds and advertised them with a few trying to achieve APA status for the breed, But none of the breeders had birds that looked alike in type. Their only consistent characteristic was the Co-dominant color pattern, Erminette. No APA approved breeds took this color in either. Eventually the last breeders birds who resembled the Plymouth Rock body type were given to a university for testing and disbanded afterwards with no records to where they went.
A STROKE OF LUCK
Enter Ron Nelson, this man was a collector breeder of rare birds for preservation. He found a house just driving around and seen what looked to him like the Lost Erminette, he stopped and received hatching eggs. He then proceeded to clean up the breed from the offspring he hatched. This went on till his sudden death and the Erminettes went from one hand to another until the found the Sandhill Preservation Center and then to Curt Burroughs and Matt Hemmer. All these individuals and some I left out have an incredible story of how the Erminette came into their lives and what they have done for the breed!
WHERE TO LEARN MORE
This was all a very brief history, Curt Burroughs has done an incredible job in the creation of The American Erminette book that you can find the link to on The American Erminette website!
The American Erminette website also has a Proposed Standard of Perfection so that there is clarity and a consensus behind preserving this breed.
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Check it out in the link below.
@ CROSS B
It is May of 2023 and we are watching our chicks grow! They are fabulous! We are taking weight measurements as these birds age so we have Data for our Line of Erminettes. 8 Weeks & 16 Weeks are the main ages that the weight measurements will be used to make our selections. This data will be used to make sure our line is growing at a productive rate but at a correct weight for the breed as well!
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We will be utilizing the Proposed Standard of Perfection set forth on the American Erminette website (linked above). This year, as we have embarked on this incredible breed we have decided to only keep the Ermine colored chicks as the all black or all white chicks do not indicate visually their ratio of color. In the future as we learn and develop our eye for the breed we will keep both black & white birds for the flock as well
So there is information out there on the internet & forums on this color pattern called Ermine, some of it is very confusing. Some will say it is a mottling gene or a paint gene. Lets make this Simple.
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The Ermine color pattern "Er" is a heterozygous genetic trait. So when you breed an Er to an Er you get a 1:2:1 ratio.
1(Dominant White): 2(Ermine): 1(Black)
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Breeding a Dominant White to a Dominant White results in 100% Dominant White
Breeding Ermine to Ermine results in the 1:2:1 ratio mentioned above
Breeding Black to Black results in 100% Black
Breeding Dominant White to Black results in 100% Ermine
Breeding Dominant White to Ermine results in 50% Dominant White & 50% Ermine
Breeding Ermine to Black results in 50% Ermine & 50% Black
Lastly this is the Genetics involved in the American Erminette not just any black or white bird.​
Prices updated April 28th 2024)
When ordering chicks to be shipped at hatch they will be all 3 colors as our breeding pens and will start with Ermine to Ermine breeding only. They will be these prices here just below.
St. Run 0-1 Weeks $8 Each
St. Run 2-4 Weeks $12 Each
St. Run 5-6 Weeks $16 Each
Pullets 7-8 Weeks $20 Each
Pullets 9-12 Weeks $25 Each
Pullets 13-16 Weeks $30 Each
Pullets 17-20 Weeks $35 Each
Pullets 21-24 Weeks $40 Each
Pullets 7-9 Months $50 & Up
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We DO NOT raise Pullets & Cockerels for the Public. Typical we only sell Chicks under 8 Weeks of Age (if we have any still available) or Young Adults at 16 Weeks and then again at ~8 Months, then as Adults. Pricing is Indicated for all Ages for Transparency.
So you want an Erminette? Then you will want to reach out and join the waiting list! The Waiting List acts as a Notification List when there are chicks or adults available.
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When Ordering Chicks they will be straight run and all 3 colors randomly selected. We typically only ship freshly hatched chicks. We may change this in 2024.
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Please check out the Waiting List page for more details. Link provided below.
Blacks can be identified at hatch but Whites cannot be identified until 4 weeks of age. (So if you are picking up local and picking up under 4 week old chicks for below pricing it will be only black chicks.)
These Prices are for LOCAL pricing or specific requests for one of these 2 colors of the Erminette breed. When ordering chicks to be shipped at hatch it will be the Ermine Erminette pricing that is above. NOT the pricing below. Thank you.
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St. Run 0-1 Weeks $5 Each (Blacks)
St. Run 2-4 Weeks $10 Each (Blacks)
St. Run 5-6 Weeks $15 Each
Pullets 7-8 Weeks $20 Each
Pullets 9-12 Weeks $25 Each
Pullets 13-16 Weeks $30 Each
Pullets 17-20 Weeks $35 Each
Pullets 21-24 Weeks $40 Each
Pullets 7-9 Months $45 & Up
OUR BREEDING STRATEGY
Striving to be your most honest breeder.
In 2024 our Erminette flock will be selected down drastically from our 150 chick order that came from Matt Hemmer.
Our Lines come directly from Matt Hemmer, he sent us chicks from all of his different Erminette breeding pens.
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We will be doing a couple single pedigree mating of individuals that complement each other, and or to work on a specific trait. As this is an extremely rare breed, I do wish to get this bird out in our backyard flocks, homesteaders, and possibly into the hands of some more breeders to experience them and spread the word. For this we will have at least 2 small breeding pens of 2-3 hens to 1 cock.
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There is not a Perfect patterned Ermine Erminette that I have seen yet in this flock. Meaning I don't have one that is 100% white or black feather. All of them have a few feathers that have both white and black on them. This is where our single mating will come into play as we work on perfecting the pattern.
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BREEDING FOR REPEATABILITY, UNIFORMITY, AND CONSISTENCY.
Transparency
I do not plan to ever incorporate any outside blood into this original line of birds I received from Matt Hemmer in 2023.
I plan on narrowing down the genome to where the offspring are repeatable, uniform, consistent, and predictable. Then creating at minimum 3 family lines for a rotational program. We will always be working on improving this breed, but it will be done in a way as to not jeopardize the families. There may be a time where I do bring in another line of Erminettes but they will be kept as a separate family and undergo the same breeding practices I utilize in mine.
Different Breeding Practices will be utilized including: Inbreeding, Line-breeding, Backcrossing, In and In Breeding, and Rotational Breeding.
These practices when used correctly produce Great, Good, Average, Mediocre, and Bad offspring. We will be selecting for the good and great offspring and working towards just the greats and the exceptional. All others will be sold as egg layers if no determental defect or eaten on the ranch.
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Some of these practices you may not agree with and that's okay. But keep watching and tell me what you think in 10 years.
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