Ameraucana: chick color leads to what hen color?

[Back to the Earth]

Cloverleaf--thank you for the overview. That makes sense. Are there ANY good hatcheries out there?

 

[Back to the Earth]

Gordonburrito

Green! Mint green to be exact smile ...and with her they are bit spotty

Wow! That's pretty unique. Just like the ice cream. I thought Welsummers were one of the few breeds that had spotted eggs. Maybe she's part Welsummer? Not a common breed, so I doubt it. Very cool eggs nonetheless. Keeps life interesting.​

 

[Illia]

Nope, Easter Eggers, Olive Eggers, and Marans also have speckled eggs. Marans especially, theirs are just much, much darker than Welsummers. (well, French ones are)

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

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Well, it isn't that they are "bad" per se...they are great for someone wanting birds for laying and don't want to pay a lot. For any breed that someone would want to do serious breeding toward the Standard of Perfection, they just have to come from a private breeder. It's not just Ameraucanas, there is a HUGE difference between hatchery stock and private breeder stock in every breed I have ever seen.

 

[Back to the Earth]

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I feel very lucky then, because I have an EE and Maran. Can't wait for eggs!

 

[Back to the Earth]

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So, I noticed today my chick is starting to get those gold/tan feathers on her chest and neck. Based on the threads you all sent me I am fairly certain I will know what she will look like as a hen. That basic EE color where the body is partridge like and the neck is gold/tan.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:
Well, it isn't that they are "bad" per se...they are great for someone wanting birds for laying and don't want to pay a lot. For any breed that someone would want to do serious breeding toward the Standard of Perfection, they just have to come from a private breeder. It's not just Ameraucanas, there is a HUGE difference between hatchery stock and private breeder stock in every breed I have ever seen.

So then I don't get it, from what I read on here, Ameraucanas are the only breed that you can purchase from a hatchery as an Ameraucana but isn't recognized by breeders of the Ameraucanas to be an actual Ameraucana. So, even though the hatchery birds meet the color, muffs, color of egg standards of the breed, the private breeders automatically (and quite obstinately so) disqualify them from the breed, actually calling them a whole new breed, the Easter Egger???

I've owned these birds on and off for a good 30 years, all purchased from our independant feed stores. Back then they were called Auracanas, were rumples and had actual feathers that I believe were called tufts. They were also very hard to come by. Now, they call the Ameraucana and a new breed of there own, somewhat modified but similar from their African (if I recall correctly) upstart.

This Ameraucana vrs Easter Egger thing has been very confusing to me, somone please explain why a hatchery Ameraucana is not actually an Americauna........Now, I do see the difference between the original Auracana and the modified Ameraucana but these imposter, hatchery born Ameraucanas I have purchased from my local feed store in the last years have been some well representations of the Ameraucana when matched to the standards of the breed listed on the Ameraucanas website...but bite your tongue here (or someone will for you

) if you claim to actually have one of these birds BUT didn't buy it from a breeder.

Frankly, it sounds a little monopolizing to say only small breeders can actually breed this bird and hatcheries are pulling the wool over the eyes of want to be Ameraucana owners and if they dare to breed them.....well, they turn into another breed?????? Whalla! You now have an Easter Egger!

I have breed many animals in my lifetime, from chickens to dogs to horses and a few other things thrown in. I understand breeding to the standard and how to choose animals to breed together, to both secure something that's right and breed out something that's wrong while achieving color accepted by the breed specification. In all that I've bred, color is my most fascination but I have never seen any breed disqualified from the breed because of who bred it, like I'm seeing done to the Ameraucanas here. Very eleatist feeling.

Maybe someone could justify this for me and educate me by giving examples of other breeds that have chosen to disqualify an entire portion of an industry of breeders and why.

Until then I'll continue to call my feed store purchased and my Craigslist Roo from a breeder all Ameraucanas. And when I whatch the Kentucky Derby today and listen to the individual stories of how each horse was bred, where and by who, I will rest assured that they are all still qualifying race horses despite of where they came from.

 

[schellie69]

Okay, from what I understand hatcheries call their birds Ameraucana's then breeders got together and started breeding for certain colors, and traits when they went to the APA to get Ameraucana's registered they called them by the same name. Since the APA only recognizes certain colors and the hatcheries don't seem to be using just Ameraucana's in breeding they might put another breed in the mix for new blood lines then they are now Easter Eggers since they can lay blue, blue/green. green, pink, or brown eggs.

Auracanas are a completely different breed, and since the tuft gene causes death to chicks in the egg they are harder to breed.

Now this is my understand from all the reading I have done please no one flame me for this just what I have read and gotten from others post.

I think that Easter eggers are a great bird but they are not SQ and are not breed to to the SOP of the Ameraucana's from breeders.

 

[klf73]

the hatchery birds do NOT meet the standard and I have yet to find one that does. They need to BREED TRUE which the hatchery birds will not do. If you take one that may look like it meets the standard and breed it to that variety, at the very least you get leakage of other colors which will disqualify it as a true ameraucana. Araucana is a whole different breed which is rumpless and has tufts. The biggest reason for being EE is because the birds the hatcheries use to OUTCROSS to increase egg production, which is a whole 'nother ball of wax....
ARAUCANA TUFTS

ETA- I have a blue wheaten ameraucana roo over my free range flock. He has black, splash and w/bw hens....all TRUE ameraucana but I still tell people that get eggs that they will be easter eggers (although they will get some pure wheaten/blue wheaten)....because they are "mixed" colors. What makes mine different from the hatcheries? Nothing, because they won't breed true(except the w/bw)

 

[HighNDryFarm]

OK, that kinda answers some questions and mostly thanks for nice replies!

I was afraid it could go nasty but I really want to understand this!

About 25 years ago I had two Auracana's with feathers on their cheeks like that, my daughter called them wings on their cheeks. I had a banty roo for about a month before rehoming him and one of the girls went broody and hatched to chicks that hatched and died, never drying out. I always thought the other hens killed them but maybe it was the genetics?

So......since we know ANY breeder could be messing with the pureness of any line, it happens at all levels, then the only way is to really investigate the reputation of the breeder if your concern is to end up with an Ameraucana and not an EE.

Now my questions for my flock:
My roo came from a neighbor who's dog ran it over to our place. She got it off of Craiglist from a "breeder" but I have no idea at what level and how reliable this breeder is so I can't say for sure if he's pure Ameraucana. Here's a picture of him. Would love to hear what people think as to whether he stands up to the standards and overall conformation, ect. These aren't the best pictures, he's way more colorful, not good lighting but I can get better one's if I get some interest in the thread.

So if he covered my so called Wheaten Ameraucana's I got from our local feed store, who laid blue eggs what color eggs would the offspring lay or can we even predict?
Here's a picture of one of mine that was very good at hiding her nest. This is not one that was laying when I hatched my eggs after my flocked was all killed. She hadn't started back laying. My two darker hens were laying but the picture shows the color of eggs they all laid pretty close in color.

I also have two roo's from this combo that are beautiful. What is there prospects for someone's EE breeding. What would they potentially bring to the table?

Should I move this thread? Is it OK here? We are talking what breed????

Thanks again for the response and sharing your knowledge with me?