Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Tailfeathers]

Ameraucanas DO lay "blue" eggs but "blue" can be subjective. Some blues may be a bit greener or paler than others. Ameraucanas must meet the breed description including colours (feathers, beaks, legs, skin, ear lobes, eyes, eggs, etc.), pea comb, muffs and beard, clean legs, etc. And they must breed true. So in order to really be sure the bird in question is an Ameraucana one should know who the parents are and what hatches in addition to observing the bird in question.

One slight correction to the above and that is "eggs" should be scratched from the list with regard to "colours". Someone mentioned several pages ago that Ameraucanas can lay a white egg and that is true. I know because I have some that do and this was by design a specific purpose. To wit, egg production. It's a long story and if anyone is interested they can do a search on this thread as I wrote about it extensively.

I only breed and show the WBS variety, I keep meticulous records, linebreed, and have maintained a closed flock. So when I say I "know", I mean there is NO chance that my white egg layers are anything but true Ameraucanas.

As for green, most of us have dealt with that issue as brown egg gene modifiers are all over the Ameraucana gene pool and from what I'm read, I'm not sure anyone even knows how they work yet. If I remember right, the Buffs still have a problem with green eggs. In general, egg color is a work in progress for most of us Ameraucana breeders. Along with my birds laying white eggs, I also got the bluest egg this year that I think I've ever seen in any of my birds. So I'm pretty anxious to get back home and see who is doing what.

Since I'm not at home, I don't have access to my SOP but, again, the actually wording was posted some time back on this thread. For now I'll just say that Ameraucanas should lay a blue egg but it's not mandatory and it's not something that the bird is judged on. Since I don't have the SOP in front of me and I don't have it memorized yet, I'm not even sure if muffs and/or beard is a DQ or just a fault. Breeding true is MUCH more important. Just to drive the point home, I believe it was Walt (who's a judge) replied to someone's post saying something like, "And just how long am I required to stand by the cage and wait for the egg?"

God Bless,

 

[aoxa]

In the US they are easy enough to come by (that seller is located in CA). However, the poster is in Canada and while it is easier to transport birds or eggs across the US-Canadian border than it is to say cross the border into England or Europe, it's still full of red tape and hassles. Most breeders just don't want to deal with it, so they won't ship eggs or chicks across the border. Most likely, yes, although it depends on which type of white you are working with. Since recessive white requires two copies to result in white birds, breeding two recessive white birds together should always produce white chicks. If she's dominant white, that might throw a bit of a wrench into it though as she could have one copy of the dominant white gene and one copy of some other, unknown, color. Thus, not all of the chicks she produces would inherit the dominant white gene from her...they could also inherit whatever other color gene the dominant white is hiding. If the cockerel were also dominant white hiding one copy of some other color, then again not all of the chicks would inherit the dominant white gene from him either. If the cockerel were recessive white and the hen were dominant white with only one copy of the dominant white gene, then all of the chicks would inherit one copy of recessive white from the cockerel but since not all of the chicks would inherit the dominant white from the hen you could still end up with other colors. Short answer, there's not really any way to tell without knowing for sure what color her parents were or doing test mating with a rooster of known genetics. If the person you got her from had no white birds that could have been one of the parents, then you can be fairly certain that she is recessive white. If there were a white bird or two that could have been the parent of your bird, then it could be either recessive or dominant (ie, she could be white because the white bird was dominant white and she inherited that dominant white gene or she could be white because the white bird was either dominant or recessive white and the bird that mated with it was a colored bird that was carrying one copy of the recessive white gene).

Thank you so much for all this detail. It really helps me. He did not own any white Ameraucanas, which is why I was caught off guard when I got two chicks (thinking they would be white with markings if girls) but they both are pure white. The parents were not. I have seen all of his breeders, and they looked like classic EEs. Did I mention my BBS Ameraucana Bantams (TRUE) started laying yesterday! Two of them in one day!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Breed description and the SOP call for a "blue" egg, however, as you say, it isn't judged and can be hard to prove. But as folks are finding out the hard way, LOTS of things can be said that end up being hard to prove.

 

[chickchickchiky]

One slight correction to the above and that is "eggs" should be scratched from the list with regard to "colors". Someone mentioned several pages ago that Ameraucanas can lay a white egg and that is true. I know because I have some that do and this was by design a specific purpose. To wit, egg production. It's a long story and if anyone is interested they can do a search on this thread as I wrote about it extensively.

I only breed and show the WBS variety, I keep meticulous records, linebreed, and have maintained a closed flock. So when I say I "know", I mean there is NO chance that my white egg layers are anything but true Ameraucanas.

As for green, most of us have dealt with that issue as brown egg gene modifiers are all over the Ameraucana gene pool and from what I'm read, I'm not sure anyone even knows how they work yet. If I remember right, the Buffs still have a problem with green eggs. In general, egg color is a work in progress for most of us Ameraucana breeders. Along with my birds laying white eggs, I also got the bluest egg this year that I think I've ever seen in any of my birds. So I'm pretty anxious to get back home and see who is doing what.

Since I'm not at home, I don't have access to my SOP but, again, the actually wording was posted some time back on this thread. For now I'll just say that Ameraucanas should lay a blue egg but it's not mandatory and it's not something that the bird is judged on. Since I don't have the SOP in front of me and I don't have it memorized yet, I'm not even sure if muffs and/or beard is a DQ or just a fault. Breeding true is MUCH more important. Just to drive the point home, I believe it was Walt (who's a judge) replied to someone's post saying something like, "And just how long am I required to stand by the cage and wait for the egg?"

God Bless,

Very well said! I get it now thank you for the post. What i find intriguing is how much some EE look like Ameraucana in looks per say especially if solid colored. All i know is i have fallen in love with the breed especially the blues and look forward to working on my flock and seeing what they will produce it should be fun.

 

[jerryse]

Question.. I have two all white females. They have the wrong leg colouring, but besides that, how is their type, and how hard is it to improve the leg colour by breeding them with a proper coloured male? I was hoping to start a little project to see if I can improve on them, as Ameraucanas are very, very hard to find here. Until then, I will continue to call them EEs.

Here is one in question.

I have read the rest of the posts on this and would say your birds are recessive white.One copy of dominate white gives a white bird with some colored feathers.It is a incomplete dominate.Since you are in Canada and stock may be hard to get, go ahead with your project.Yellow in legs,skin,and beak is a recessive trait.If you can find a slate leg rooster of any color with all the desired traits cross him on these hens.Then breed the offspring together and save the whites with slate legs.Watch the beak color as that is a clue that they have yellow.White can cover any color.In the early 1970's Ralph Brazelton of Kansas had large whites with white legs.They looked like orpingtons and he was a orpington breeder.White legs will also remove yellow.My first white bantans came from Ralph.They had willow legs.I found a white rooster from Ralph with white legs at a swap meet.I used that rooster over the willow leg hens and got a slate leg rooster and white leg pullets.Used the slate leg rooster over white leg pullets to get slate leg pullets.Slate and white legs are sex linked.That is how I put slate legs on the bantam whites.Yellow being recessive will pop up from time to time but cull those.Hope this info is helpful.Good luck on your project.

 

[aoxa]

I have read the rest of the posts on this and would say your birds are recessive white.One copy of dominate white gives a white bird with some colored feathers.It is a incomplete dominate.Since you are in Canada and stock may be hard to get, go ahead with your project.Yellow in legs,skin,and beak is a recessive trait.If you can find a slate leg rooster of any color with all the desired traits cross him on these hens.Then breed the offspring together and save the whites with slate legs.Watch the beak color as that is a clue that they have yellow.White can cover any color.In the early 1970's Ralph Brazelton of Kansas had large whites with white legs.They looked like orpingtons and he was a orpington breeder.White legs will also remove yellow.My first white bantans came from Ralph.They had willow legs.I found a white rooster from Ralph with white legs at a swap meet.I used that rooster over the willow leg hens and got a slate leg rooster and white leg pullets.Used the slate leg rooster over white leg pullets to get slate leg pullets.Slate and white legs are sex linked.That is how I put slate legs on the bantam whites.Yellow being recessive will pop up from time to time but cull those.Hope this info is helpful.Good luck on your project.

Thank you thank you! I was really hoping to get some support. I know it's a long shot, but I hope to get somewhere with this.. They are really hard to find, and I really like the white.

For reference, this is my cockerel's face. You can see he has a nice comb, full beard and does not have a yellow beak.

Full body picture showing his leg colour. He is older now, but no pictures of him recently.

 

[jerryse]

Looks like you have what you need to start your project.The breed history says we used Araucana to develope the breed.At the time any blue or green egg layer was called Araucana.What most of us used are now called EE.I never owned a tufted or rumpless bird until about 3 years ago.I like to encourage new breeders as they are the future of the breed.

 

[aoxa]

Looks like you have what you need to start your project.The breed history says we used Araucana to develope the breed.At the time any blue or green egg layer was called Araucana.What most of us used are now called EE.I never owned a tufted or rumpless bird until about 3 years ago.I like to encourage new breeders as they are the future of the breed.

Thank you again. I will update as I hatch out some chicks and see if I get any whites with their father's correct legs and beak. Someone said something about her eyes being the wrong colour. I thought they were correct? Though her beak is indeed yellow :/

 

[jerryse]

The standard says reddish bay.It can be hard to tell on photos.I would go toward reddish.In the photo it seems more bay.

 

[aoxa]

The standard says reddish bay.It can be hard to tell on photos.I would go toward reddish.In the photo it seems more bay.

It is hard to tell, due to the sun washing it out a bit.. IE: Here's a recent picture and her eyes look almost black

That's how much the camera can affect the colouring. Ah well. They are reddish coloured. Not so brown.