Ameraucana Eggs - Difference in Color

[Diannastarr]

i would love birds that lay a true blue color egg should i look into Ameraucana..?

 

[Diannastarr]

There are a few blue egg laying breeds. The Auracana, the Ameraucana (purebred), Cream Legbar and a couple of other really rare breeds from tropical places. Sometimes with a cross, especially to a white egg layer, you will also get a nice blue egg. Blue eggs vary in shades. If you would like more information on the Ameraucana they have a website. www.ameraucana.org
There is lots of info there, I am still learning more every day! They also address Auracana and Easter Eggers. And Americana spelled with an i will most likely never be a purebred. All the crosses seem to be great birds, that's what the hatcheries count on when they sell Easter Eggers by other names.

I hope this helps you?!

i had read that the Cream Legbars only lay eggs for a short time like a few years..? 2 or 3 years or so..? could that be true..?

 

[FowlStuff]

From the FAQ page of our Ameraucana.org site...
Officially, other than "blue" egg shells the club has not and probably won't try to define any other criteria of egg color. We offer the Ameraucana Egg Color Reference Chart, but it is only for referencing or comparing egg shell colors.

From the FAQ page of my FowlStuff.com site...
Egg shell color doesn’t affect the nutritional value of eggs, but blue is prettier.

Ameraucana chickens should lay eggs with very light blue shells. You will know the blue egg shell color is the proper blue when the inside and outside egg shell colors are the same.

Many varieties and strains still carry modifying (brown egg) genes that cause their eggs to appear greenish (blue + brown = green). This is a common fault that Ameraucana breeders are trying to correct thru selective breeding programs, although it is not an easy task. These brown egg genes were introduced when blue egg laying chickens were crossed with brown egg laying chickens. There is a lot about shell color that is still a mystery and some of what we think we know today may be better understood in the future, as with all genetics.

One way to better understand egg shell color is to think of the shell as if it were vinyl siding on buildings. Imagine you have two chicken coops…one with white vinyl siding and the other with light blue vinyl siding. The material for making siding (and egg shells) starts out white (the base color). If light blue is desired, then a little blue dye is mixed in before the siding is formed. Just as white siding is white on the outside, inside and throughout; blue siding will have the blue color throughout. Now you decide you want both coops to be the same color so you buy some cheap brown paint and paint both coops, but they don’t look the same color after the paint dries. The brown paint was only applied to the exterior of the siding and didn’t penetrate into the siding. It even comes off when you brush up against the painted surface. Depending on the shade of brown paint used on the white coop the exterior now looks that shade of brown. But, on the coop that was light blue the cheap paint didn’t do a good job of covering and as some of the blue vinyl color “bleeds” thru the brown paint the coop appears to be some shade of yucky green.

 

[Brawley Leigh]

What is proper spelling...Americana or Americuana or Ameraucana???

 

[Diannastarr]

not sure but it could be Ameraucana

 

[FowlStuff]

What is proper spelling...Americana or Americuana or Ameraucana???

From my FAQ page...
If they are advertised as Americana, Americauna, or Easter Egg chickens, you can be sure they are NOT really Ameraucanas. If they can't get the name right, they don't know what they have. Also beware of the fine print that says their chickens "are recommended for egg laying color and ability and not for exhibition" or “Our flock is multi-colored with a wide variety of colors and feather patterns” or “** Breeds marked this way are production strains and Should Not be used for 4-H”. Those disclaimers and similar ones mean they are selling mongrel chickens (mixed breeds), not Ameraucanas...

 

[Diannastarr]

thats exactly what i read ..! so if i was interested in this type of breed , i would go stright to the breed club and start looking around for the best ..!

 

[SteveWin]

Mine are Araucana and some lay blue some lay a gorgeous turquoise, some lay green and some lay khaki. I am working towards breeding my hens to roos from the bluest eggs so that gradually my eggs will get darker blue, especially with my khaki green egg layers.

I think most true ameraucanas overall lay a better color egg than many Araucanas. A couple of things that make the Araucana so difficult to work with are the egg color, the fertility issues with rumplessness and fluffy butts, the difficulty of getting truly nice even tufts on a bird, not to mention getting the perfect representation of the color you are working toward. Then you try to get it all in one bird. Thats a lot to overcome.

So my answer is going out and buying an Araucana is not going to guarantee you the blue eggs unless you by a hen that is already laying, and you know lays blue eggs.


Lanae

I bought my Blue Ameraucana birds from Cackle Hatchery (bought 6, straight run, ended up with 4 blue (3M,1F) and 2 black (1M,1F)) Mine are 21 weeks, so I have up to 9 weeks to go before I see eggs. Cackle says they've been selecting their breeding stock with an emphasis on blue color eggs, but for now I have no idea what I'll get from mine.

 

[Adam2073]

i would love birds that lay a true blue color egg should i look into Ameraucana..?

Prairie Bluebell Egger lays baby blue eggs. Much lighter than any other breed. I thought my Ameraucana's eggs were a nice blue till I got the Prairie Blue Bell Eggers.

 

[Adam2073]

This might be slightly off topic... But do true blue eggers also have a laying cycle like marans? They start off true-er blue but later in the season they are lighter or greener?

Thanks for letting me jump in...

DesertSkyNM

edited for better grammar

They do change throughout the season. I have both Ameraucana's and black copper Marans. The Ameraucana's start the season laying greenish blue but as the season goes on they turn more lighter blue. The Marans start dark brown and lighten up later in the season.