Ameraucana genetics question

[I Like Turkeys]

It's variable. I have chicks that have different tail lengths at different ages. The stages of growth are not the same between individuals unless there's a very high degree of inbreeding. Often you don't know for sure until they get their adult feathers.

Tails are something I've been focusing on with mine because I have a type I really like (more fanned and full looking, which may or may not be to standard) and one of the original roosters passed down a longer tail... offspring that take after him often look almost like little Sumatras for a short while, then it comes back towards normal as they grow into them. Ameraucana do have Sumatra blood back there, and honestly I wouldn't mind a really long tail to show up for a project

Same to that bold part lol. I feel like tails are a bit part of a bird. They look all wonky when they have short, pinched tails. In polish especially, I love longer tails, to contrast the massive crest and make the bird look more balanced. My ameraucana pulleya have very nice tail fans So far, which is awesome. The one boy I have is still growing in his tail. Hopefully it’s not too short.

 

[NagemTX]

I'm going to be working with my Ameraucana to have long tails.

 

[kurby22]

I have a couple bantams that definitely look part Sumatra with their tails. It’s really pretty His sickles are crazy long!

I love the longer tails

 

[DarJones]

Some interesting side effects from crossing Silver Laced Wyandotte with blue egg laying Brown Leghorns might be useful. I've had both red ears and white ears with chickens that visually are Silver Laced Wyandotte. I think there is an interaction with egg color as white ears correlate with sky blue eggs and red ears correlate with sandy blue eggs.

A few interesting combinations showed up such as a SLW colored hen with a full splayed set of tail feathers from Brown Leghorn genetics. If you can picture a SLW colored turkey strutting around with tail feathers expanded, that is what she looked like.

SLW should have soft pouffy tail feathers. It has taken several generations to breed out hard flat feathers from the brown leghorn side.

Egg color is very interesting given SLW lays brown eggs and pure sky blue eggs should have zero porphyrin (brown egg pigment). I found that the Brown Leghorns carry a gene for intense white eggs which when combined with the oocyanin (blue egg) gene produces sky blue eggs. What is most interesting is that the intense white gene is almost entirely dominant over brown egg. In combination, blue egg plus intense white plus porphyrin gives a blue egg with the slightest tan tint.

I've deliberately de-emphasized muffs in my chickens as I don't want them. I had a few over the years that showed slight signs of muffs. I also had a few pure white egg layers which had to be culled. One of the oddest was a rumpless hen that showed up 5 generations after the original cross. Rumpless is not present in either parent breed so I suspect it was hiding as a recessive somewhere in the Brown Leghorn line.

Ameraucanas were developed from crosses with blue egg laying chickens nearly 100 years ago. Punnett produced pure blue egg laying chickens in the 1930's. In a manner of speaking, all Ameraucanas started with birds we would call easter eggers. Generations of selecting and stabilizing produced recognized Ameraucana breeds available today.

 

[Amer]

Some interesting side effects from crossing Silver Laced Wyandotte with blue egg laying Brown Leghorns might be useful. I've had both red ears and white ears with chickens that visually are Silver Laced Wyandotte. I think there is an interaction with egg color as white ears correlate with sky blue eggs and red ears correlate with sandy blue eggs.

A few interesting combinations showed up such as a SLW colored hen with a full splayed set of tail feathers from Brown Leghorn genetics. If you can picture a SLW colored turkey strutting around with tail feathers expanded, that is what she looked like.

SLW should have soft pouffy tail feathers. It has taken several generations to breed out hard flat feathers from the brown leghorn side.

Egg color is very interesting given SLW lays brown eggs and pure sky blue eggs should have zero porphyrin (brown egg pigment). I found that the Brown Leghorns carry a gene for intense white eggs which when combined with the oocyanin (blue egg) gene produces sky blue eggs. What is most interesting is that the intense white gene is almost entirely dominant over brown egg. In combination, blue egg plus intense white plus porphyrin gives a blue egg with the slightest tan tint.

I've deliberately de-emphasized muffs in my chickens as I don't want them. I had a few over the years that showed slight signs of muffs. I also had a few pure white egg layers which had to be culled. One of the oddest was a rumpless hen that showed up 5 generations after the original cross. Rumpless is not present in either parent breed so I suspect it was hiding as a recessive somewhere in the Brown Leghorn line.

Ameraucanas were developed from crosses with blue egg laying chickens nearly 100 years ago. Punnett produced pure blue egg laying chickens in the 1930's. In a manner of speaking, all Ameraucanas started with birds we would call easter eggers. Generations of selecting and stabilizing produced recognized Ameraucana breeds available today.

It’s possible your rumpless bird was a somatic mutation (a birth defect that cannot be passed on.) A friend of mine got some d’Grubbe from her d’Anvers even though they didn’t carry the rumpless gene. Apparently these hatched from some eggs she discovered her four year old shaking.

 

[DarJones]

She was both rumpless and a white egg layer so two strikes you're out of the breeding pool.

 

[altballard]

It's variable. I have chicks that have different tail lengths at different ages. The stages of growth are not the same between individuals unless there's a very high degree of inbreeding. Often you don't know for sure until they get their adult feathers.

Tails are something I've been focusing on with mine because I have a type I really like (more fanned and full looking, which may or may not be to standard) and one of the original roosters passed down a longer tail... offspring that take after him often look almost like little Sumatras for a short while, then it comes back towards normal as they grow into them. Ameraucana do have Sumatra blood back there, and honestly I wouldn't mind a really long tail to show up for a project

I was told all 3 have the same dad. & all hatched for theses eggs I posted the pic of. Here they are at 5 weeks today and you can see the tail difference in this pic! Hubs keeps calling her a Roo... The gold-red is the only one showing Roo-ish traits SO far finger crossed its just an early developing hen! And I really don't want the long tailed chick to turn Roo! She is beautiful but she can stop there and NOT be stunning like a Roo! I'n not ready for ROOs yet! need to talk hubs into it first! lol. At least I don't have to worry about Zoning or neighbors , we're FA and they are a ways down the street!

 

[Lavender Mum]

I have a breeding flock of 5 Lavender Ameraucana hens, one Lavender Ameraucana rooster, and 2 splash Ameraucana hens. I hatched a bunch of Lavender chicks this year, and I was able to hatch out 2 Blue Ameraucana chicks by breeding the splash and Lavender together. So when the Blues get to breeding age, what happens when I breed them with the splash and lavenders? Would that make Black Ameraucanas? It would be cool to breed them and make some new colors!

Hey how much do you sell your chicks for?

 

[The Birb King]

Hey how much do you sell your chicks for?

Usually about $10 per chick. I won't have any available till next spring though

 

[NagemTX]

So, I finished out reading the breeding and genetic forum from Ameraucana Alliance and wow. I really wish the APA and ABA would be on board with what the founders of the Ameraucana wanted. They and some othere breeders of different breeds brought up accepting all the colors and patterns that have been established in chickens for all breeds. Was intresting that our founders think that way. Lol I joined the club after that.

I recommend anyone seriously into breeding Ameraucana to check that fourm out.