Blue Ameraucana thread!

[Wishapup]

Mine looked ragged until 8 weeks. It was wacko but they had small spouts of feathers all over like they had been in a pecking war. Then slowly the white spouts of feather fell off, and we're replaced by awesome blue slate feathers

Interesting to know! I am just getting started with breeding them.

 

[Wishapup]

I have a couple of questions - my BBS Ameraucana chicks are 2 weeks old. The darkest chicks have all slate legs at this point. Other chicks have light legs with a lot of black wash/mottling. Will they turn dark?

Secondly, what is the correct skin color for Ameraucanas? I was just reading about a recessive yellow gene. Is the skin supposed to be white?

 

[mbpalmtree]

I have a question. I hatched out 3 Blue Ameraucanas , one was black, one was splash, & one was blue. Are they still all 3 considered "Blue Ameraucanas", or are they called by what their feather colors are? Such as "Black Ameraucana" &/or "Splash Ameraucana" ????

 

[elorraine52]

I have a question. I hatched out 3 Blue Ameraucanas , one was black, one was splash, & one was blue. Are they still all 3 considered "Blue Ameraucanas", or are they called by what their feather colors are? Such as "Black Ameraucana" &/or "Splash Ameraucana" ????

were the eggs from blue am's? if so, I think if you breed 2 blues together you will get 50% blue, 25% splash and 25% black. In general, they are referred to BBS am's... I do know if you breed a black to a splash you will get 100% blues....

 

[jonsccm]

were the eggs from blue am's?  if so, I think if you breed 2 blues together you will get 50% blue, 25% splash and 25% black.  In general, they are referred to BBS am's... I do know if you breed a black to a splash you will get 100% blues....

I believe that if you were to show them they only accept blue and black....

 

[Blue Hill Farm]

i would love to know what to expect regarding the plumage of blue ameraucanas ...i have some between 4 and 5 weeks old and i have raised chicks before, but not blue ameraucanas and the feathers are concerning me. are they normally so tatty? i use this term to describe the flayed, jagged and lack lustre feathering i see. they are young, but as i recalled from other breeds i have raised that the feathers should look healthier?

could it be a feed issue, because they are on a nice chick feed, lightly processed, and eat all day. quantity of food isn't an issue, lol. they get some greens too when they forage on the lawn for short excursions outside. i would love to know if this will improve as they get older or should i change something? or do they just have ratty plumage? they are pure bred blue ameraucanas. thank you!!

Well it could be dietary, I wouldn't think that's likely if they get to regularly range on the ground.

I have a strain of blue and black Ameraucanas that have been a bit tightly bred for a few generations and have this issue showing up within the line. I'm betting ours are related. The best solution I've found is to add fresh blood and select for better feather quality/width. Keep only the best, and don't be afraid to cull hard. You only have what you will tolerate after all.

My blues and blue silver splits, 4-6 wks. Feather quality is much improved, even as juveniles.
I'm excited to watch these guys grow up.

 

[Blue Hill Farm]

I have a couple of questions - my BBS Ameraucana chicks are 2 weeks old. The darkest chicks have all slate legs at this point. Other chicks have light legs with a lot of black wash/mottling. Will they turn dark?

Secondly, what is the correct skin color for Ameraucanas? I was just reading about a recessive yellow gene. Is the skin supposed to be white?

Legs should darken up with age, though the exact shade of slate varies and can be dependent on the variety.

Ameraucanas should have white skin. Not yellow.

 

[Blue Hill Farm]

I have a question. I hatched out 3 Blue Ameraucanas , one was black, one was splash, & one was blue. Are they still all 3 considered "Blue Ameraucanas", or are they called by what their feather colors are? Such as "Black Ameraucana" &/or "Splash Ameraucana" ????

You would call them by their colour. Blue Ameraucana, Splash Ameraucana, etc. Blues, blacks, and splashes can be bred together to produce all three varieties, if so desired.

 

[Wishapup]

Legs should darken up with age, though the exact shade of slate varies and can be dependent on the variety.

Ameraucanas should have white skin. Not yellow.

Thank you!

I thought I had 1 Splash, 3 Blues, and 5 Blacks, but unfortunately I guessed wrong. My grey chicks I thought were blue are turning definite black, with maybe one exception. The splash is a light blue...when it was hatched it was silvery yellow with a blue saddle. Other chicks were grey blue so I assumed it was a splash.

So 1-2 Blue, 7-8 Blacks...the breeder had mostly blacks.

 

[Blue Hill Farm]

No problem. Chick down can be tricky sometimes. Blacks can look blue, blue can appear black, but splash is always yellowish in my experience.

If you don't mind me asking, where is your stock from? I'm always on the look out for quality lines of Ameraucanas in Canada.