Ameraucana vs easter egger

I know this has been asked a million times but I honestly cannot find a definitive answer out there about how to identify an ameraucana chick versus an easter egger chick, can anyone help me with this? I have seen so much contradictory information I don't even know what to believe.

Anyone that can help would be greatly appreciated!

If you want purebred Ameraucanas, buy from a breeder. The majority of hatchery Ameraucana chicks are Easter Eggers. Sort of simplistic, but that's the way it is.

You don't really need to identify these as chicks. Breeders of pure bred poultry will sell you Ameraucanas and hatcheries will sell you mixed breed Easter Eggers. Sure, they will share some physical similarities but they are not the same.

sourland said:

If you want purebred Ameraucanas, buy from a breeder. The majority of hatchery Ameraucana chicks are Easter Eggers. Sort of simplistic, but that's the way it is.

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If it fits the breed standard, it's an ameraucana - no matter where it's parents came from. There's no such thing as purebred chickens.


The APA's standard of perfection is probably the best place to check.


An easter egger is any bird that lays a blue egg that doesn't meet a breed specification.

CrazyTalk said:

If it fits the breed standard, it's an ameraucana - no matter where it's parents came from. There's no such thing as purebred chickens.

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What is this statement based upon? 'No such thing' covers a lot of ground.

The APA, and pretty much every other body that judges chicken. If it fits the breed spec, it is the breed.

Here's the Ameracauna Breeders Club's breed specification:

http://www.ameraucana.org/standard.html




The term "purebred" is meaningless with chickens - what's important is how close the animal is to the ideal standard of the breed. Sometimes the best way to keep close to the standard is to breed with birds of the same breed - sometimes it's not. Poultry judging does not concern itself with pedigree.

Thanks. I used to breed and show light brown leghorns to the APA standards, and I thought that they were purebred.

I was not under the impression they were pure bred so I'm glad to know there isn't truly such a thing.

I also have heard that a few times that getting them from a breeder will ensure that they are in fact ameraucanas but I have also read of people who believed they were getting just that from a reputable breeder and then that was not the case.

I have seen many different variations of the standard but can't find one that's complete. I ordered the APA standard of perfection book which will hopefully be more insightful than the websites I have found.

I'm just curious as I am trying to learn and train my eye. So if anyone can help delineate between some of the common things used as identifiers to what is true that would be much appreciated.

So far I have heard the legs must be dark (slate or black for black birds)
They should have yellow bottoms of their feet
4 toes
Only specific colors
And should only actually lay blue eggs unlike the Easter eggers which can have varying egg color.

Anyone have thoughts on that?
Also, does anyone have preferences on breeders for ameraucanas ??

Thank you all so much for your responses they've been quite useful!

The whole Aracauna thing is a bit ridiculous to me too - they're not really a true breed in my mind, as they don't breed true. The gene for the tufting is fatal in a homozygous dose - which means that Aracaunas are all heterozygous for the trait - so if you breed them together you get 1/4 dead-in-shell, 1/2 Aracaunas, and 1/4 birds that don't fit the breed spec and are called easter eggers usually.

The Ameracauna was bred to remove the fatal tufting gene (and replace with beards) - it's an actual breed. They're not too difficult to tell apart - the tufting is really drastic looking - it doesn't look like bearding at all.

HoneyNestAcres said:

I know this has been asked a million times but I honestly cannot find a definitive answer out there about how to identify an ameraucana chick versus an easter egger chick, can anyone help me with this? I have seen so much contradictory information I don't even know what to believe.

Anyone that can help would be greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

To simplify things for you. To be considered a true Ameraucana it has to lay blue eggs, have a pea comb, white skin, both a beard and a muff, and slate blue (or blackish) legs. If it lays any color of egg other than blue, or if it has any type of comb other than a pea comb, or if its skin is any color other than white, or if it lacks either a muff or a beard, or if it has any color of legs other than slate blue (or blackish), it is an Easter Egger and not a true Ameraucana. I hope this helps. )