THANK YOU My eyes are broken today. I even did ctrl + f and still missed it....
You're fineTHANK YOU My eyes are broken today. I even did ctrl + f and still missed it....I am taking a bYC break from a VERY stressful day at work... please excuse me and my derpiness!
I couldn't find him when I did the ctrl+f for his full name. I just went through the different Smith's.
AHHHH! They are so cute!! THey look just like some of the babies Goose fathered! But their moms are EE for sure. THANK YOU so much for all of this, you did NOT make anything worse, in fact you helped tremendously. I think I might keep Goose because of the chance he might be an Ameraucana. The man I bought them from said he did have Ameraucanas, but he also had about 60 other different breeds. When I got there to pick up my 5 that he had left (4 turned out to be roosters), it was just starting to get dark... OF COURSE I had to get the grand tour and look at all his beautiful birds, and while I don't know much about breed standards, they all looked like very healthy birds of each respective breed. I did not look too close at his Ameraucanas while I was there because tbh I was hung up on his Mille Fleurs LOL. But when we went to get the babies, it had started to get dark and the 5 Ameraucanas were in a pen with some other babies about their age. It was the tail end of Fall and he did not have much left, so these were his leftovers and there were a few in there he said he was going to keep. I specifically remember him saying he thought there were some blue Ameraucanas in there (I got excited, but really all I wanted out of this excursion was blue eggs, but since I only got one hen and she lays brown eggs, that mission failed lol), so that is what I assumed Goose was. I figured I was lucky to get him. We just added 15 golden comets, 5 bantams, 5 wyandottes, and 5 cornish cross to our flock, plus the one hen hatched out a dozen babies, so that is 42 babies we have currently, just not sure that I can talk to BF into more chickens at the moment LOL. But if I ever have to opportunity to get a blue Ameraucana hen, I will definitely do so and breed them. I really am not worried about showing or anything like that, so its not of utmost importance that he be pure bred, but if there was a chance I did want to keep him around, plus he is so handsome. I'm just happy to have him so he will pass down some of his grey genes because for some reason my faves always have grey on them. I guess it depends on what his babies look like when they grow up, some of them look lighter blue like yours in the bottom pic.Hi there!!! I COMPLETELY understand the confusion you're experiencing! It took me a really long time to fully understand the differences between EEs and Ams. Especially when you have a solid colored bird, the definitions of the two can get quite blurred. Unfortunately, the colors of the feathers, legs, and skin, and the beard/muffs, combs, and earlobes are only part of the equation. The real difference, the most indiscernible to someone who isn't super knowledgeable (i.e. Me, up until a few months ago), is the bloodline. If a bird had only one Ameraucana parent, and the other was a different breed (or even a different variety of Am: like a blue mating with a wheaten or something similar) sometimes the resulting babies will be a solid standard Am color, but when bred back to a purebred Am, would not produce standard colored babies. The real test with birds of questionable lineage is to breed them to a bird you KNOW is purebred. If they breed true, that is to say, produce standard colored offspring, not just once but always, then you have a true Ameraucana. If not, it's an EE. It's not just color and body that determines purebred Am status, it also depends on where the bird comes from. Your Goose (who is a beautiful medium blue-- love it!!) may very well be a purebred Am, if the man who bred him has Ams and happened to have a crossing of the right parents in his "leftovers". If I were you, I would get a purebred hen and breed her to him and see what you get. It could be a fun little experiment (Plus, BABIES!!! heeheehee). I would also recommend Paul Smith. I live here in Arkansas, and my new babies are out of Paul Smith's lines, and they're beautiful! I will now include a pic you didn't request, just to show them off....
This is my little blue that I got. Her name is Vera
And her sister, Midge, a lighter blue:
Anyways, long story short, the only way you're gonna find out what he is (for sure) is to see if he breeds true with other Ams. If it's important for you to know, that's what I'd do. Just my two cents. Hope I helped clear things up and didn't make it worseGood luck with your gorgeous birds!!!
