Ameraucana 2

[Pampered chicken girl]

CALLING ALL AMERAUCANA OWNERS!
I thought it would be a great idea to have a thread specifically for talking about Ameraucanas. So if you have a Ameraucana join in, share your stories, advice, and everything you know! We can't wait to hear from you!

 

[NNYchick]

Ameraucana are a breed of chicken recognized by APA / ABA that when breed pure by standard of perfection will breed true to standard.
An Easter Egger is a mixed breed that carries the blue egg gene. They will not meet breed standard. When bred it will not breed true. Hatcheries have muddied the waters by labeling mixed colored egg layers as Ameraucana or Americana.
You can find more information on the breed Ameraucana at the club websites AmeraucanaAlliance and Ameraucana breeders club.
Here is a post from MR Neumann club president and breeder that explains why Ameraucana breeders are so passionate about keeping Ameracauna pure and labeled correctly.
“Long before Ameraucanas existed, there were mongrel birds that laid blue eggs. In the 1970's, some of these mongrel birds were used and crossed with various show quality fowl of other breeds and Ameraucanas were intentionally created, standardized and admitted to the ABA and the APA.

This is like somebody who goes into a wild forest, carefully selects and cuts all the right trees, joins them up in a strategic way, and builds a log cabin in the forest.

But then, here comes some people who never watched the person building the cabin. They come along and say..."Hey...those logs. Those are the same as the trees. The forest is actually a log cabin too!"
No. No it's not.

Ameraucanas have the deep misfortune of being built upon a large number of dominant genes. The pea comb, the white skin, the blue eggs, the beards and muffs..and sex linked dark shanks for pullets. Folks when you cross ANY hen of ANY breed to an Ameraucana, you're gonna get an Ameraukinda that has a pea comb, beard and muffs, white skin and the hens will have slate shanks and lays blue/green eggs. No other breed is going to produce offspring so superficially similar to it when crossed with a totally different breed of chicken. And many of these birds end up being bred as Ameraucanas and they bring genetic problems back into the gene pool of standard birds. So while serious Ameraucana breeders are meticulously going through the gene pool with their net, scooping up debris, breeding to standard. People come right behind them and dump more garbage into the pool!

It is for this reason that the bar is set high for the difference between the two. If experienced breeders are telling you that your birds are Easter Eggers, they are doing so in an effort to preserve the breed and to keep the gene pool free of debris that makes more work for everybody. To newbies and inexperienced poultry keepers, this may seem "exclusive" or "snobbish" but without preserving a high standard of what is or isn't an Ameraucana, the breed would simply be overtaken by the forest from which it was originally derived. It is extremely difficult to produce standard birds out of Easter Eggers. I know this because I've done it. I've got the T-shirt. We are not trying to rain on your parade. We're trying to stop your parade from going off the road.”

 

[sourland]

The breed is Ameraucana not Ameriucana. The hen pictured is an Easter Egger.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

So are the Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers very similar, sounds like? If so, are there any characteristics that differentiate one from the other in terms of keeping as a backyard chicken? For example, egg laying frequency, weather hardiness, broodiness or not, overall health/ genetics.

Difference between Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas! With Review. (Optional)

Intro = = = = = = = = = = = 🐔❤️🐔❤️🐔❤️🐔❤️🐔❤️🐔 @TheOddOneOut is the only other person who I have seen touch on this subject. A link to her thread here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...hink-you-have-an-ameraucana-do-check.1421663/ She goes through all the basics. I wanted to go a bit...

• EmmaRainboe
• Dec 23, 2020
• 4.96 star(s) 24 ratings
• Comments: 60
• Reviews: 22
• Category: Chicken Breeds

 

[sourland]

Whoops sorry I guess I spelt it wrong she is full bred Amerucana

Not an Ameraucana as she is not any of the accepted color varieties.

 

[KarynVA]

Wow! That post and thread is awesome. What a great resource - thank you, EmmaRainboe!

 

[Dharmachick]

I sold 2 chicks yesterday but more importantly I established a new customer! I have a beautiful frizzled EE cockerel and they want chicks from him next year. I'll post a picture later, I'm too tired to chase him down and get a picture. He is an EE/Polish frizzle cross. I've usually done well with EEs and Polish so hopefully next year will be better!

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Now I want a brown red Ameraucana

Yay you will love em they are beautiful just make sure you get Ameraucana and not Americana and as you have probably already read on this thread make sure you get brown red like this pic. I now know that my girl is a EE (which are great but not when you think you have a true Ameraucana)

 

[Dharmachick]

I have one Ameraucana that I bought 6 years ago. She is still standoffish but I love the breed. I have 5 EEs, bought as EEs for the egg color. I never bred them. I'd like to start breeding them but I have so many orpingtons now.

 

[kurby22]

I have one Ameraucana that I bought 6 years ago. She is still standoffish but I love the breed. I have 5 EEs, bought as EEs for the egg color. I never bred them. I'd like to start breeding them but I have so many orpingtons now.

Three of my most recent babies to hatch are Ameraucana roo over Orpingtons! Someone around here sells them as Orpaucanas haha. Such a good combination of breeds for an EE! I'm excited to see how they mature and feather out, they are the cutest babies!