Ameraucana genetics question

[Amer]

Might your little cockerel be a silver (or heterozygous for silver and gold) birchen rooster?
Sounds like he might have a crossbred history. Silver birchen roosters look extremely similar to silver duckwings except they don’t have a silver wing triangle.

 

[NagemTX]

Are you referring to the mixing blues & lavs doesn't create a genetic mess? I'm genuinely interested to know...I don't want to be spreading false info because of what other breeders on this forum have said! I was under the impression these breeders that I took this advice from have been doing it for a long time & have built up a reputation. People were saying they purchased their ameraucanas from them specifically because they were pure lines & everyone seemed hung up on the fact that these breeders had the final word bc they knew their stuff...TIA!!

The genetic mess is only with the color. None of the other stuff is caused by the lavender gene. The other stuff is caused by poor breeding practices.

 

[Bean1028]

That is un true of that combination creating those conditions except for the muddy off color. None of the other has proven true. Those are rumors only. All those things can come from improper breeding programs. Cross beak is more so seen in chickens with beards and muffs and sometimes crested.

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[Bean1028]

I had no clue about the silver being sexlink dominant over gold, so thank you for that info! The only research into genetics/breeding I've done was the blues & lavs. I was aware that the brown red is based on the gold birchen & the silver is silver duckwing (I also thought you weren't supposed to mix the gold & silver lines...hello more confusion with our little dude), but even that is recent to me as we started off with a black flock (which we were told was blue) and our 2nd flock is random colors...so I've been trying to research what colors we can breed together & which ones to avoid. We have 5 Blacks, 1 white, 1 silver, 1 silver roo? Should I consider him an EE since his down color & feather color didn't match?

 

[Amer]

I had no clue about the silver being sexlink dominant over gold, so thank you for that info! The only research into genetics/breeding I've done was the blues & lavs. I was aware that the brown red is based on the gold birchen & the silver is silver duckwing (I also thought you weren't supposed to mix the gold & silver lines...hello more confusion with our little dude), but even that is recent to me as we started off with a black flock (which we were told was blue) and our 2nd flock is random colors...so I've been trying to research what colors we can breed together & which ones to avoid. We have 5 Blacks, 1 white, 1 silver, 1 silver roo? Should I consider him an EE since his down color & feather color didn't match?

He’s probably an EE. Sometimes people do just cross things together
Creates some impure colors which is why it’s looked down upon but there’s nothing inherently wrong with it.

 

[Bean1028]

He’s probably an EE. Sometimes people do just cross things together
Creates some impure colors which is why it’s looked down upon but there’s nothing inherently wrong with it.

Thanks for bearing with me...I'm an obvious newbie lol. We don't plan on showing our birds so any non SOP colors we would just keep or sell as EE's if/when we hatch any. We wanted to focus our efforts on breeding SOP colors with the Ameraucanas to keep them pure. I was freaked out when I thought mixing certain colors would cause physical problems.

 

[Bean1028]

Might your little cockerel be a silver (or heterozygous for silver and gold) birchen rooster?
Sounds like he might have a crossbred history. Silver birchen roosters look extremely similar to silver duckwings except they don’t have a silver wing triangle.

I do think you're probably right about silver birchen...he doesn't seem to have a silver wing triangle. He is only 8 weeks old, so it might be too early to tell...I was just surprised when he started resembling our silver hen because he was not chipmunk! I was so sure he was a brown red chick that I would've bet money on it...good thing it didn't come to that haha! Thanks again for all the great info )

 

[NagemTX]

I have the silver color now along with blue, lavender and black. I also now have silve bantam Ameraucana.

 

[Bean1028]

I have the silver color now along with blue, lavender and black. I also now have silve bantam Ameraucana.

Oh My Goodness!!!! My head literally almost exploded looking at the (assumed) OEGB bantams at Tractor Supply!! We actually ended up buying some they were so damn cute. I have been eyeing up the ameraucana bantams...I see them in our future in the next year or two!! Also in my future..."No hubby, those are just midget Ameraucanas...I'm not sure what happened!!" LOL!

 

[Bean1028]

I do think you're probably right about silver birchen...he doesn't seem to have a silver wing triangle. He is only 8 weeks old, so it might be too early to tell...I was just surprised when he started resembling our silver hen because he was not chipmunk! I was so sure he was a brown red chick that I would've bet money on it...good thing it didn't come to that haha! Thanks again for all the great info )

Here's a pic of the dude in question