Ameraucanas vs Easter Eggers

Ive been looking around and found a lot of "what is this?" post, but I can not seem to find anything that says specifically why? Well, short of green leg references. Could someone point me at a tread or website that clearly list the differences?

Sorry Im sure this topic has been gone over time and time again, but the results I get when I search are not giving me any info to help me learn how to tell the difference.

Thanks!
Kelly

http://www.ameraucana.org/ Here ya go.

In my own words, the main differences are that Ameraucanas are pure bred, only come in a certain number of specific colors, and always lay blue eggs. Easter Eggers are a mixed "breed," often with Ameraucana somewhere in their background, and don't always lay blue or green eggs.

I really like the history section on Lothiriel's link. That can clear up a lot of misconceptions on EE's, Ameraucanas and Araucanas.

The Ameraucanas and Araucanas were derived from the birds with the blue egg gene and are recognized breeds. EE is a generic name for a chicken that does not meet the breed standards for Ameraucana or Araucana but should have the blue egg gene. EE's have no physical characteristics in common, and as long as they have the blue egg gene, they cannot be disqualified as being EE's. There are no standards for EE's, unlike breeds, not leg color and not even the pea comb. You can't really define the difference in an EE and an Ameraucana. You can define what an Ameraucana is (or Araucana) and everything else with the blue egg gene is an EE.

Some people think EE's came from Ameraucanas and attach Ameraucana traits to EE's. It did not happen that way. Many hatcheries help confuse the issue by calling their EE's Ameraucanas and some hatcheires do use Ameraucanas to produce EE's, but I find hatcheries can confuse us in many different ways, not just on the EE - Ameraucana question.

Right, since Americaunas are purebred they are going to be more predictable in terms of size, personality, growth rate, appearance, etc. (assuming they are from a halfway decent source)

How Easter Eggers compare will depend on what breeds they are mixes of. An Easter Egger that is Americauna X Brahma is obviously going to be very different than an Easter Egger that is Americauna X Silkie. So the best guess you can form is reading the link above about Americaunas, IDing what breed(s) are mixed in to the Easter Eggers, and figuring on getting a blend of characteristics, where any particular bird could favor one ancestor over another.

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Except that this IS what is offered by hatcheries, is it not? Typical EE hatchery chicks have beards and green legs and pea combs because they have Ameraucana in their lineage. Or are you saying they don't? That the hatchery EE and the breeder Ameraucana have a common, bearded, slate-legged ancestor bird and then went their separate ways long ago? I guess I was under the impression that most hatcheries have mixed stock that doesn't stray all that far from the Ameraucana breed because they mix purebred stock with EEs. I have yet to see a hatchery EE that was tufted or rumpless so I'm guessing they don't use Araucanas.

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Except that this IS what is offered by hatcheries, is it not? Typical EE hatchery chicks have beards and green legs and pea combs because they have Ameraucana in their lineage. Or are you saying they don't?

As I said in my other post.

Many hatcheries help confuse the issue by calling their EE's Ameraucanas and some hatcheires do use Ameraucanas to produce EE's,


That the hatchery EE and the breeder Ameraucana have a common, bearded, slate-legged ancestor bird and then went their separate ways long ago? I guess I was under the impression that most hatcheries have mixed stock that doesn't stray all that far from the Ameraucana breed because they mix purebred stock with EEs. I have yet to see a hatchery EE that was tufted or rumpless so I'm guessing they don't use Araucanas.

You might read the "history" tab in the link in Lothiriel's post. The Ameraucana Breeders Club is saying the blue egg laying chicken came from South America and the Ameraucana was derived from that. They do not say what the characteristics were of those birds. The Araucana were first developed as a breed from that original stock. I suspect the Araucana might look a bit more like those original birds than the Ameraucana, but I don't know that for a fact.

Then, with controversy and with opposition, some people arbitrairy defined what an "Ameraucana" should look like, and someone developed it. It is not that they went their separate ways. The Ameraucana was derived from the birds that had the blue egg gene. What other breeds may have been used to develop the standard colors, patterns, and other traits, I don't know, but it is pretty commin for breeders to use other breeds ot introduce or eliminate certain traits, then backbreed to get it all sorted out.

This hen laid a lot of green eggs for me. With her yellow legs, no muffs or beard and all that, I don't think she looks much like an Ameraucana.






This is an exerpt from the History article in the link.


From the beginning, the new Club operated on a democratic basis – by majority vote – and decided to propose at first only the colors wheaten and white. Some breeders in Oregon quit when the Club refused to accept mixed colors; the other members feeling that would be counter-productive. The question of breed name, weights, shank color, etc. were all put to a VOTE, and those points that gained the majority of votes were compiled by Mike Gilbert into a proposed Standard. There was some support for the name “American Araucana”, but the name “Ameraucana” won out. A proposed Standard was developed in early 1979, and put to a vote. Mike commented on the results of the vote as follows: “Thanks to each of you who have participated in making our voting process a success … We have decided on slate colored shanks by an overwhelming margin. We have voted for red earlobes by a nearly two to one margin, we have decided on the weight category calling for 30 oz. mature cock birds, and we have chosen the name “AMERAUCANA” by a margin of nearly two to one.”

Good information everyone! You all beat me too it

It seems to be such an emotionally-charged discussion every time and maybe I'm not explaining myself well enough. My point was that people think EEs come from Ameraucanas because they quite often do. Heck, mine do. They all look superficially like Ameraucanas because they have all of the qualities except the color palette. So, if the bulk of people buy their chicks from hatcheries where they are getting Ameraucana crosses labeled as "Ameraucana" but that don't meet the breed standard and then they may (or may not) learn that their birds are actually Easter Eggers and that most Easter Eggers look exactly like theirs... What other thought progression would you expect? And why is it so horrible if people think that Easter Eggers derive from Ameraucanas and Araucanas if they usually do?

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That is the thought progression that surrounds these "breeds". The problem and confusion is that when you take Ameracuana and breed with anther breed you get EE babies. I think EE's are about the only mutt chickens with a name, obviously because of they're muffs/beard/leg or egg color etc. I own both EE's and Ameracauna and up close there is a huge difference. I love all my breeds the same, but I'm streamlining now to Ameracaunas to help keep the breed going. If you go to a chicken show every breeder is very passionate about their breed, so that is why some people get emotionally-charged.

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You are correct that most E's from hatcheries look somewhat like Ameraucanas. My point is simply that all EE's don't have to look like Ameraucanas. There are a lot of posts on this forum where people say EE's should have muffs, tufts, a pea comb, a certain color of leg, and the other traits of Ameraucanas. There are even posts where they say EE's are derived from Ameraucanas. They can be, but they don't have to be.

I'm just trying to clear up some misinformation.