Ameraucana genetics question- getting a bunch of blue chicks!

[AliGrowsFood]

the rooster was given to me by a neighbor who said she ordered straight run Ameraucanas from Meyer (she got multiple roosters. ). I can’t confirm since I didn’t buy them.
I DO have a true Ameraucana hen (b/b/s, ended up black) that I did pay a lot for. Just not sure with the rooster as I did not source him directly. He replaced our rooster that began attacking people.

True Ameracaunas are like $20 per chick from a hatchery. So if you paid the normal $3-5 per chick then most likely they’re not true.

I would be weary of buying Ameracaunas from people this year because a lot of people seem to confuse them with Easter Eggers. Not sure if it’s because there’s an influx of new chicken owners or because hatcheries are selling them as Americanas which created confusion.

 

[AliGrowsFood]

Thanks for the input! Well the interesting thing is that out of the first four eggs with only one being blue egg, three babes had blue feathering so maybe the brown eggs were from my Orpington...? Doesn’t the batting show up early if you have a barred hen as the mom? Not sure, thought I read that in a batting genetics forum?

here are two of the chicks from the second round of hatching. Both blue eggs. The silvery chick is a new color for me!

He looks like a splash with red leakage. Crossed to your lavender Orp and barred Rock will give you all blue chicks, maybe with some cockerels with leakage.

 

[AliGrowsFood]

So glad this thread started. Its very confusing when buying these birds at places like TSC. They advertise them as "Americanas" and in my case, insisted they were not EE. They were a dollar each back in April.

AliGrowsFood so glad you started this conversation! You're birds are beautiful.

cuties! Theylook like my Easter Eggers but with a bit different color. Still fun birds though! And at a bargain price

 

[RiverOtter]

Ameraucanas are standardized varieties and fairly distinct.
EEs are vaguely Ameraucana-ish, but come in every possible color and combination, with or without beards and muffs, but with slate or green legs if they inherited the blue egg gene.

The blue gene is a great example for teaching Mendelian genetics and the Punnet square. If they are a variety that shows black and they inherited one blue gene, they are blue. Two and they are splash. If none, they are black. If they are a color that is dominant to black, but can still carry the black gene, they can also carry the blue gene right with it, and pop out a surprise blue when bred to something that will let the black/blue show.

Your silvery chick will likely look like the first bird in Kaesi2020s post. I've had a few like that, they turn out pretty.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Thanks for the info! I had asked if they were SURE it was a true Ameraucana and they said they got them from Meyer and that yes it is but I’m guessing maybe not hah. I think it’s cool that even some of the brown egg layer crosses with him still produced at least two blue chicks. (I have one each of a lavender Orpington, buff orp, barred rock, partridge rock, and RIR that the brown eggs could be from. Can’t te

so far no lumpy chicks so that’s a plus.
Not sure but can you give me any info on how the splash work? That’s the Bb gene right? So if he contributed a B to any cross, it’d be some form of blue in the chicks? And if a b, then it wouldn’t show blue (perhaps resulting in my brown or chipmunk chicks??)

That makes me feel better because I’d hate to eliminate a strong blue gene but my only other option is to pen him separate from the hens and I don’t want to listen to him throwing a fit constantly either.

also, how can you tell he’s anEE versus Ameraucana? For my learning

eta: or the BB/Bb maybe is just egg color genes? I might have confused myself there haha.

I think if he was bought from Meyer Hatchery and was bought as an Ameraucana , then he is a true Ameraucana, just maybe not the best. They also sell Easter Eggers.

 

[AliGrowsFood]

Ameraucanas are standardized varieties and fairly distinct.
EEs are vaguely Ameraucana-ish, but come in every possible color and combination, with or without beards and muffs, but with slate or green legs if they inherited the blue egg gene.

The blue gene is a great example for teaching Mendelian genetics and the Punnet square. If they are a variety that shows black and they inherited one blue gene, they are blue. Two and they are splash. If none, they are black. If they are a color that is dominant to black, but can still carry the black gene, they can also carry the blue gene right with it, and pop out a surprise blue when bred to something that will let the black/blue show.

Your silvery chick will likely look like the first bird in Kaesi2020s post. I've had a few like that, they turn out pretty.

great explanation! Thanks!

I feel like I’m weird in that I’m not as fussed about ultimate egg color results but just what the new chickens feathers end up haha

I’ve lovedddd all the blue and splash as well as lavender but most were unavailable for the dates I wanted to order last year (and were crazy expensive too). So I’m excited it *looks* like maybe my home combo got some blues.

I think there rest of the clutch hatched overnight but velociraptor mom won’t let me check under her to be sure. I do think I have a new yellow chick, another maybe chipmunk, and an unknown. I do see a lot of cheek muffs in the babes though!

I’ll try to update this thread as everyone grows because I think the coolest part is how they change into adult colors. I just wish I could tell my hens eggs apart. Most of the browns look very similar except the welsummer (who’s egg got stomped and didn’t hatch. Of course). My blue layers (cream leg bar, Ameraucana, and two EEs of course have almost identical eggs so that when jumbled, I can’t tell them at all apart. Go figure).

 

[AliGrowsFood]

I think if he was bought from Meyer Hatchery and was bought as an Ameraucana , then he is a true Ameraucana, just maybe not the best. They also sell Easter Eggers.

Yep, hard to say. I didn’t push too hard To confirm breed because they had a rooster and I needed a rooster but yeah, he’s definitely not winning any beauty pageants. His lumpy back is pretty bizarre. (I got one Ameraucana and two EE from Meyer and they all seem to match what was described. )

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Yep, hard to say. I didn’t push too hard To confirm breed because they had a rooster and I needed a rooster but yeah, he’s definitely not winning any beauty pageants. His lumpy back is pretty bizarre. (I got one Ameraucana and two EE from Meyer and they all seem to match what was described. )

They sell blue Ameraucanas and they do state that they can turn out splash or black also, but sounds like you have one that has a very strong blue gene to have that many blues, maybe yours is from blue+blue offspring, but I really don’t know much on color genetics. I have seen that sometimes they also breed chickens that are blue and will always breed blue chicks If bred with another chicken with blue genes.

 

[RiverOtter]

I also love blue. I especially love blue and buff combined, like my avatar hen.
It's a really fun color to work with.

And I don't care what color eggs I have either. I'm just going to crack them. My mild preference is actually for white, for when we do egg art. But the ladies - those I look at all the time!

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I also love blue. I especially love blue and buff combined, like my avatar hen.
It's a really fun color to work with.

And I don't care what color eggs I have either. I'm just going to crack them. My mild preference is actually for white, for when we do egg art. But the ladies - those I look at all the time!

I also like the blue and lavender colored chickens. I think they look so pretty with the contrast of their big red comb.