Ameraucana - How/When to Detect a Pure Breed?

[ValarieF]

Ameraucanas amongst most other breeds have Orange/Dun eyes. Not an indicator of breed purity.View attachment 3290402Dun eyes can vary in shade.

Brownish Dun eyes are called Bay.

Thats an easter egger.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thats an easter egger.

Same eye color. Blue Ameraucana.

 

[ugachickenmama]

Ameraucanas amongst most other breeds have Orange/Dun eyes. Not an indicator of breed purity.View attachment 3290402Dun eyes can vary in shade.

Brownish Dun eyes are called Bay.

Thank you - I am looking for the breed purity indicators . . . sounds like I will have to wait for them to grow up a bit more before I can see them all . . .

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you - I am looking for the breed purity indicators . . . sounds like I will have to wait for them to grow up a bit more before I can see them all . . .

You're welcome.

 

[NatJ]

My question is . . . at what point/age can I determine whether the Blue Ameraucana is truly pure and whether the "maybes" (bc they are potluck and not banded when part of such assortments) are Ameraucanas?

IF they are pure, THEN my son may have an interest in showing . . . but I hesitate to get him excited without knowing now that I have read all of the drama. Hahaha.

It is quite possible for one pair of parents to produce some chicks that qualify as Ameraucanas, and some that do not. Purity matters if you are breeding them (because they produce more like themselves), but not for showing.

For purposes of showing chickens, they just have to look right.

So to find out if any of yours could be shown as Ameraucanas, you just start checking details, and see if it fits. Even if they are pure Ameraucana, from parents that meet the breed standard, it is possible for individual chicks to have some traits wrong, so you would still have to check each one.

I see people have already mentioned the color of the feet (no yellow), shank & foot feathering (not allowed) and the overall feather color (certain colors only.)

Other points include:
--comb (must have a pea comb. Some Easter Eggers have other types. I think yours are peas.)
--muff/beard (must have muff/beard. Many Easter Eggers do not. I can't tell for sure on yours, but it should be obvious by the time they grow up, and maybe much sooner than that.)
--body shape (Each breed is supposed to have a certain body shape. You can't be sure of this until they are grown up. I'm personally bad at spotting body shapes, although a few of the extreme breeds stand out even to me.)
--no crest on the head, no extra toes, no silkied feathers, no Phoenix-type long tail, etc.

I think you can show the birds even if the egg color is wrong, but of course they are supposed to lay blue eggs.

I don't know the Ameraucana standard enough to list or recognize other points, but I'm fairly sure other points do exist.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So most evident in a mix vs true Ameraucana is egg color. If it's not a blue egg, its not pure. Granted a mix could have blue too, but if it's green, white or brown, you'll know

 

[ugachickenmama]

Thats an easter egger.

I am not sure which bird you are referring to . . . I should have looked closer to realize the bird labeled "C" is an Olive Egger (aka type of EE) . . . the bird marked "A" was banded as a Blue Ameraucana . . . and I am highly suspicious that the bird marked "B" is a Splash Ameraucana. Time will tell - thanks!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I am not sure which bird you are referring to . . . I should have looked closer to realize the bird labeled "C" is an Olive Egger (aka type of EE) . . . the bird marked "A" was banded as a Blue Ameraucana . . . and I am highly suspicious that the bird marked "B" is a Splash Ameraucana. Time will tell - thanks!

They're talking to Mystery