Easter Eggers-What breeds do YOU prefer to cross your Ameraucanas with?

[TexasSam]

I have a question for those of you that breed your Ameraucanas. I have two Lavender Ameraucanas... 1 pullet, 1 rooster. I have several heavy breeds I can cross with. The goal would be to maintain a blue or green colored egg, while adding some size. I have done the Chicken Calculator, and most every color or pattern I put in gives me black pullets. I like color and patterns in my Easter Eggers, and have several black, so would prefer not to have too many more.
Does anyone have pictures or experience crossing with lavender and getting anything but solid black? My young rooster "Hop Along Val Kilmer" is a keeper, so would like to figure this out.
Thanks!

If you breed lavender with white but mainly I don't know if it's true to making a EE. If you breed lavender Ameraucana with black Ameraucana you will get black chicks lavender chicks and splash chicks.

 

[TexasSam]

I have no time to read all the pages so I'll just post my own question ... So when it comes to making "Easter Eggers", should we be using blue-gene hens with a brown-gene rooster or the other way around? I'm planning on getting an Ameraucana rooster (hopefully pure as they claim) and possibly breeding with buff and white Orpingtons. Maybe Faverolles, too. They are supposed to be PURE breed which I reeeally hope they are so I know what to expect and no 'surprise genes'.

Would this cross produce all green-laying offspring? half brown layers and half blue layers? blue, green and brown?

Sorry for hijaking but I gotta run! lol thanks in advance!!!

You should have a Ameraucana rooster and brown layers you will get different shades of green most likely. The thing about EE's is you never know what you are going to get until you get it. In other words there is no guarantee. I have had EE's lay green/blue eggs pinkish eggs and olive eggs and they all came from the same parents

 

[JoPoKa]

You should have a Ameraucana rooster and brown layers you will get different shades of green most likely. The thing about EE's is you never know what you are going to get until you get it. In other words there is no guarantee. I have had EE's lay green/blue eggs pinkish eggs and olive eggs and they all came from the same parents

REALLY?!?!?! Now that makes this so much more exciting!!! If you don't mind me being nosey, what were the parents??? ....not YOURS I mean.. the chooks

Really, I love the Orpington breed. So big and fluffy and oooooh!! I just wanna cuddle them all day long!!! I've read from mypetchicken that Ameraucana x Faverolle = Favaucauna aka Olive Eggers, so I'm just wondering if that applies to other brown egg-layers, too? Because that would be great to have such a diversity in your own back yard lol

 

[TexasSam]

REALLY?!?!?! Now that makes this so much more exciting!!! If you don't mind me being nosey, what were the parents??? ....not YOURS I mean.. the chooks

Really, I love the Orpington breed. So big and fluffy and oooooh!! I just wanna cuddle them all day long!!! I've read from mypetchicken that Ameraucana x Faverolle = Favaucauna aka Olive Eggers, so I'm just wondering if that applies to other brown egg-layers, too? Because that would be great to have such a diversity in your own back yard lol

Dad

Mom's + a barred rock which for some reason I don't have a picture of

 

[bonsaiherb]

Posted this picture of my "Ameraucana" rooster - which he sort of is not. Main issue is that he does not have a nice tight comb. "muff, beard, and legs are fine but one person got into a tizzy cause I said it was an Ameraucana. Too much to go into, but I bought him for the outside genetics to mate with my totally kosher Ameraucana hens. IMO if he is a 70- 80 percent Ameraucana I will be happy with the resulting near 90 percent chicks. Not going to be show birds and I am not pushing to make them into AMA birds.

Breeding: For EE I would want dark brown egg layers: Wellsummer or Marans or Speckled Sussex.

To continue the Ameraucana 'FEATURES' I would try for Faverolle - love the bird, but they are not the greatest egg layers and the egg is only a light brown.
Much better would be to try to find the true Araucana that I had in the 70's. Strange that I see nothing on this founder breed.

As for the atypical throwback to a previous ancestor this rooster simply affirms the issues of a recently developed breed. Given a breeding lifespan of 4-5 years, there have only been about 10 generations of Ameraucanas out there, not like Barred Rocks or Wyandotts.

For interesting plumage, I would go for the Wyandotts. like this rooster.

 

[bonsaiherb]

The issue is real, as even in buying 'purebred' stock an Ameraucana is somewhat a game of roulette. You hope, but you never are certain what you are getting until the mating produces chicks that match the standards.
Not sure what genes were used to create the bantam classification but it would further influence stray genetic influences and throwbacks.
Recognized breeds are:
Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten & White
Other colors like Lavender (loved by all), splash were originally not recognized partly because they do not meet the APA standard of breeding true. (50%) Pretty low threshold IMO. Mostly because it is a NEW breed designation and simply is not recognized YET. So, technically I could not sell a kosher Lavender Ameraucana because the APA does not recognize it.

The only thing that matters is that the Lavender must breed true, meaning its offspring will also be a Lavender Ameraucana - no mixing with Amethyst Gem - the problem as with my purchased in Rooster,
it is sometimes hard to find a good outsourced bird to mate with your own.

 

[BokBokBeginner]

If you use your AM roo with barred hens you will have sex linked EE and they may or may not be bearded. If you cross with a brown egg layer you might get green eggs. And all of those hens could produce EE without beards. I have loads of beardless EE.... I am breeding toward all having beards and muffs now. I have an AM roo over all my EE, but they are mostly Blue and Black and what I like about EE is all the unpredictable colors. Cross them with your EE.... Cross them with any, but remember most people who want EE want a blue/green egg and you might get just brown with most of those hens. It is a crap shot.....

Will this work with araucana too or just Americana?

 

[BokBokBeginner]

Try a Lavender Ameraucana and something like a Golden Campine or Golden Hamburg

Could I use Lavender Araucana too or just Ameraucana?

 

[BokBokBeginner]

Try a Lavender Ameraucana and something like a Golden Campine or Golden Hamburg

Would you use lavender araucana roo or hen please?

 

[Heathercr03]

Which color Ameraucanas do you have? I have blue, black and splash. When I had a Barred Rock rooster, I made plenty of Barred EEs. Some had beards, some did not. Some had yellow legs, some had white skin. ALL laid green eggs, some were bluish green, some a light olive green.

Now, I have a Delaware rooster over the main flock so I make Delaweggers with my Ameraucanas as well as with my Easter Egger hens. Some end up with single combs and lay tan eggs, but the pea combed ones lay nice green ones.

Here is a blue barred EE out of a Blue Ameraucana hen with a Barred Rock sire: