The Ameraucana Thread: Where everything and anything about the breed can be discussed (APA, Non-Stan

[CarlieO]

Quick question for the experienced/knowledgeable Ameraucana breeders out there!

2 months ago I hatched out 3 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas. I purchased the eggs from a breeder locally who also sells her eggs on the BST thread as purebred W/BW Ameraucanas. Now (2 months after hatching) 2 of the 3 have no trace of muffs or beards. 1 has definite muffs and beard. Is this typical? Is it something that grows in slower on cockerels vs pullets? I know for sure one of the 2 with no muff or beard is a cockerel. I thought the other 2 were pullets.

I've questioned the breeder regarding these birds before as the cockerel hatched with pink legs and his legs are still pink to this day. She told me they take a while to darken. The other 2 Ameraucanas have typical leg coloring. She swears up and down that they are from her own breeding stock of PURE Ameraucanas. I emailed her about the lack of muff/beard thing yesterday and haven't heard back so I wanted to check with you. These are supposed to be my breeders but I'm a bit unsure now.

Thanks for your input.

Cockerel:

Pullet(?) and cockerel:

Pullet(?):

 

[jerryse]

Quick question for the experienced/knowledgeable Ameraucana breeders out there!

2 months ago I hatched out 3 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas. I purchased the eggs from a breeder locally who also sells her eggs on the BST thread as purebred W/BW Ameraucanas. Now (2 months after hatching) 2 of the 3 have no trace of muffs or beards. 1 has definite muffs and beard. Is this typical? Is it something that grows in slower on cockerels vs pullets? I know for sure one of the 2 with no muff or beard is a cockerel. I thought the other 2 were pullets.

I've questioned the breeder regarding these birds before as the cockerel hatched with pink legs and his legs are still pink to this day. She told me they take a while to darken. The other 2 Ameraucanas have typical leg coloring. She swears up and down that they are from her own breeding stock of PURE Ameraucanas. I emailed her about the lack of muff/beard thing yesterday and haven't heard back so I wanted to check with you. These are supposed to be my breeders but I'm a bit unsure now.

Pictures to follow.

Thanks for your input.

They may just be going through a ugly duckling stage. I have had the same question from 1 customer last year. I never had a clean face hatch from the pen in question but she insisted they were all clean faced. I shipped them as chicks and all had beards when shipped. I assured her they all would have beards. They did grow in again as they matured. I never really take notice as they grow. I check them at hatch and some projects may produce a few in the early years.

 

[CarlieO]

They may just be going through a ugly duckling stage. I have had the same question from 1 customer last year. I never had a clean face hatch from the pen in question but she insisted they were all clean faced. I shipped them as chicks and all had beards when shipped. I assured her they all would have beards. They did grow in again as they matured. I never really take notice as they grow. I check them at hatch and some projects may produce a few in the early years.

I sure hope that's the case, lol! I hatched some Lavender and black splits (and got one pure white from them too (gah!!)) a month later and all of them have muffs, beards, and proper leg coloring. It's just so strange that these 2 older ones don't. I'll just keep an eye on their growth and see what happens. I added some pictures (not the best but I think you can see the lack of stuff) to my above post if you want a visual.

Thanks so much for your reply!!

 

[Shaffer]

CharlieO,
The general consensus is 1 in 10 will be good breeder and maybe show type. There are many recessive genes that can pop up especially when they are doubled up with a close related flock.
The muffs and beards are generally pulled by other birds sometimes especially when they are younger but old birds get this bad habit also. If chicks were born with muffs and beards then you should be OK.
I had test mated my male lavenders several years ago for many recessive traits but for a breeder to test mate 20+ females would be an never ending task which could take whole breeding season to do so and maybe even longer.
You only said you got three birds so your odds are not the best. Plus some breeders cherry pick the chicks and sell the lesser quality to others, this has happened to me even though I could tell the chicks were culls I needed them I thought and I ordered them earlier and waited for the hatch. I had to cull them all when full grown. Another season waisted so I don;t think I will be buying much any more. I just got burned by someone I thought had been honest now I know they are not, different breed suppose to be 100% imported blood.

 

[lualshannon]

Hello! I am new to Ameraucanas/ Easter Eggers. These are my first of the breeds. I was told by the breeder they are in fact true Ameracaunas, but I have to be honest, I really don't care either way. I am just happy to have the colorful characters in my backyard flock. I hope it isn't a bother if I ask for some guesses on the Splash that I have. I got the chicks straight run, and they are around ten and half weeks old. We haven't had any crows from anyone yet, but this Splash acts very much like a little cockerel. First one out in the morning, the one to lead everyone in at night, and it is always, always the first one to sound an alarm. I am relatively knew to chickens, but on the Splash, "his" hackle/neck feathers are far more thin and pointed than any of the other Blue Ameracaunas I have. There is also the fact this bird is twice the size of everyone else. I will put up a picture to show the difference. I would like some opinions on whether it is a cockerel or pullet. Am I just crazy for suspecting it is a little roo? Is it still too early to tell? I only took a few picture because it is close to 94 degrees today, and I didn't want to bother Blimpy too much. I am sorry if they are not of great quality. The comb is also a lot larger and redder than the other Ameraucanas I have. Blimpy is none to pleased with me for the photo shoot. I would love any opinions on whether you think cockerel or pullet. I thank anyone who takes the time to take a look. Thank you very. very much.

I love this photo! He is very handsome!

 

[Ivytwilight]

I love this photo! He is very handsome!

He is beautiful! The picture doesn't really do Blimpy justice. If we could keep a rooster it would surely be him. We are going to miss him terribly, but we have a literal backyard flock. Now, our neighbors loved our old hens, and the new ones too. I just do not want to push our luck with a roo. Though, technically I think we could keep one if we wanted. Either way I made sure early on to have a home lined up if I happened to have any roos.

 

[chickendriver]

Couldn't help but upload this. This is Jewels, and was named because all of her marking on her face made us think of her like a princess.

Jewels is from a hatchery, so I am not sure if she is ameraucana or EE, either way, she is a very vocal little girl!

 

[Marthab1953]

Couldn't help but upload this. This is Jewels, and was named because all of her marking on her face made us think of her like a princess.

Jewels is from a hatchery, so I am not sure if she is ameraucana or EE, either way, she is a very vocal little girl!

She is an EE but a cutie!

 

[jerryse]

You may have seen these on another thread. A pair of lavender cuckoo project chicks Leg color is fairly good. Egg color good .

 

[rbaker0345]

What color parents did you combine to get that pattern? I sometimes notice ticking or slight barring in my lavenders and I was wondering if you could use that as an advantage to create a cuckoo pattern.