all Ameraucanas or a Welsummer or two?

[blissed]

We brought home two Ameraucana chicks and one Welsummer, and lost one the first few days. Our local farm gave us a replacement, but we have no idea which breed we lost or which breed we brought home to replace our lost chick. We have at least one Ameraucana, or maybe two or maybe three. We're just beginning our chicken adventure and I can't tell the difference. Any insight from this pic? They're 4.5 months old. Thank you!

 

[venetianblinds]

I'm new to chickens also. You'll love them! My neighbour has Welsummers, Marans, EEs and Ameracaunas and those chickens look like her EEs and Ameracaunas; not her Welsummers, though the one on the right (my right looking at the screen) is somewhat similar to the Welsummers. I don't know how to tell the difference between EEs and Ameracaunas though. There are lots of knowledgeable people on this board though who likely do! Lovely looking birds!

 

[ramirezframing]

all are ee hens

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

All of the hens in the photo are Easter Egger hens. You do not have any Ameraucanas, no matter what you were told when you bought them. Ameraucanas are purebred chickens that only come in specific colors; none of your birds match those colors. EEs are mutt chickens that carry the blue egg gene, and as mutts can be any color. Your ladies are all very common EE patterns. I would expect that they will lay green eggs.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I'm new to chickens also. You'll love them! My neighbour has Welsummers, Marans, EEs and Ameracaunas and those chickens look like her EEs and Ameracaunas; not her Welsummers, though the one on the right (my right looking at the screen) is somewhat similar to the Welsummers. I don't know how to tell the difference between EEs and Ameracaunas though. There are lots of knowledgeable people on this board though who likely do! Lovely looking birds!

Thought you might find this link helpful. The FAQ discusses the difference between EEs, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas, and if you look through the photo gallery, you will see right away the difference between these birds (for example) and Ameraucanas. They also have the breed standard on the site. http://www.ameraucana.org/

 

[blissed]

Thank you! I wouldn't have guessed they might not be Ameraucanas. We brought them home from a small farm with a very good reputation with local feed stores, avian vets, and others for getting chicken newbies off to a good start, but I suspect they're only as good as the info they get from the hatchery.

Probably not such a surprise since one of our Dominique chicks turned out to be an Andalusian survivor from a batch of chicks that sadly died during shipment in a heat wave.

Much thanks for the expertise!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thank you! I wouldn't have guessed they might not be Ameraucanas. We brought them home from a small farm with a very good reputation with local feed stores, avian vets, and others for getting chicken newbies off to a good start, but I suspect they're only as good as the info they get from the hatchery.

Probably not such a surprise since one of our Dominique chicks turned out to be an Andalusian survivor from a batch of chicks that sadly died during shipment in a heat wave.

Much thanks for the expertise!

The farm might indeed have great chicks, and it might not be their fault that they sold you EEs as Ameraucanas. Most hatcheries call their EEs Ameraucanas or Araucanas. Some even call them Ameraucana/Araucanas, which is like calling a dog a Doberman/Rottweiler as if those are equivalent things and pretending it's a purebred. Or calling any protective black and tan dog a Doberman, no matter its breeding.

I personally think the hatcheries know better at this point, as some (Meyer and My Pet Chicken, there might be others) sell both EEs and Ameraucanas. And some (I'm looking at you, Murray McMurray) label their Ameraucanas as "not for show" or "not for 4-H use" which tells me that they know what they're selling. But if the farmer you got the birds from was taking the hatchery at their word, you might want to educate them. Or not--I've tried telling my local feed store owner that his Ameraucanas were EEs, but he simply didn't care. As long as he was passing along the information that the hatchery told him, he felt his due diligence was done and it wasn't his problem.

 

[venetianblinds]

Thought you might find this link helpful. The FAQ discusses the difference between EEs, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas, and if you look through the photo gallery, you will see right away the difference between these birds (for example) and Ameraucanas. They also have the breed standard on the site. http://www.ameraucana.org/

Thanks so much! I'm always interested in learning as much as I can.

 

[donrae]

You have all Easter egger hens. Welsummers are a different color and don't have the puffy cheeks, but one quick and easy way to help tell the difference--Wellies have yellow legs.

 

[blissed]

All good to know. My kids are talking about wanting to show them — just talk, I don't know if they'll want to reengage with 4H and actually do it — but it's good to know what we have. We're just as happy with EEs: they're all friendly and sweet, and the kids adore them. I will let the farm know in case they were unaware.