Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[gootziecat]

I never really understood why "purebred" chickens didn't have pedigrees like other animals. It would clearly show the breeding and colors behind the bird, and even the breeder and what one might expect from that particular line/bird. If a bird was a cross between two colors, that would show on the papers. If that bird didn't meet the standard for a recognized color, it would be visual to a would-be buyer as well as the bird wouldn't be showable. Yes, there would be an unscrupulous breeder falsifying papers now and then, but we have them even without the papers. With papers, there would be little question whether the bird was a purebred Ameraucana or an EE. The way things are now, not everyone that breeds/owns purebred Ameraucanas agree on the criteria of what makes a bonafide purebred. It's no wonder the rest of the world is confused.

 

[heatherscooby77]

Yes, yes, and YES.

WHY call a non-standard colored pure Ameraucana from two Ameraucana parents an EE??! There already IS a strong definition of what an EE is [that the public somehow needs to learn better]. It is a cross of 2 breeds, one being an Ameraucana or Araucana, and the other any other bird. An EE should lay a colored egg actually too, I believe, so if it lays a brown egg it shouldn't even have this designation [EE]. Imperfect AM's are not now a MIX of two breeds just because they are not show-worthy.

An imperfect Ameraucana [poor beards/muffs, color, etc etc] is a non-breeder, pet quality animal. Or the fancy could call is a temporary new designation like posted above. PCA or something.

The point above about how are any of the breeders going to all of a sudden say that their splash "EE's" are now pure Ameraucanas is spot-on. This is only asking for more trouble for this breed.

If I bred my pure bred Labrador retriever to another pure bred labs, and they had puppies with white toes, the puppies would not somehow become another BREED. They would be poor labs with disqualifying faults.

The thing is about chickens, they are not registered. Even if they were there are a lot of dishonest people out there and you can't believe them anyway. EE is NOT a breed, its a mix. Most people think because of hatchery stock that an EE is supposed to have beards/muffs and blue/green eggs. How do you get that mostly from AM.

No, splash is not an excepted show color. But it is a genetic dilution of two other excepted colors, that will actually breed true. It is not asking for trouble for the breed at all.

In fact it will add more confusion to start labeling non-SOP birds as pet quality, because people will still breed a crap-shot animal.

BTW I have EE and love them just as much as all my purebreds.

 

[Basel]

Yes, it's all rather confusing as to what is what really, as there is no registry or parentage lineage requirements.

I guess there are lots of EEs!

 

[ashandvine]

I love this discussion. Seriously.

 

[sdsaunders]

Hi all,

I'm looking for pictures of "Buff Ameraucanas" - both rooster and hen - from the front, side, and top.

I'm developing a facebook game about raising and showing chickens and at first I'm putting pictures in the game, but eventually the chickens will be modeled and I'll be using the pictures to wrap around the 3D models so that players can pose their chickens from any angle. There are 1000s of pictures here, all of beautiful birds, but I haven't found any buffs. I have partridge ameraucanas but only hens so I can't use pictures of my birds. I don't necessarily have to use "Buff", I can change colors but I'm trying to get a variety of colors in the game when it's first released. I'm also looking for pictures of "White Silkies", "Black Brahmas", and "Dominiques". In the game the chickens are often sitting either in a nest or on a roost - so a picture from the front is especially important. Other angles are useful too as there are bunches of animations - like when you wash the chicken getting it ready to show.

Over the next year my plan is to introduce every breed/color I can find into the game and develop a database of knowledge so that not only is the game fun to play it will be a good resource for chicken people to use.

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help out with pictures.

Cheers,
Scott Saunders
Creator of "My Backyard Chicken"
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2005139542/my-backyard-chicken

 

[Cats Cradle]

I think I have figured out where some of my confusion came from. I read somewhere that an EE was a mixed breed, not purebred. After reading Christie's post I went to the Ameraucana sight and read their definition. I've quoted it below as it solved A LOT of my confusion!!!

"The Ameraucana Breeders Club defines an Easter Egg chicken or Easter Egger as any chicken that possesses the blue egg gene, but doesn’t fully meet any breed descriptions as defined in the APA and/or ABA standards. Further, even if a bird meets an Ameraucana standard breed description, but doesn’t meet a variety description or breed true at least 50% of the time it is considered an Easter Egg chicken."

Where I was getting hung up was on my interpretation that EE = Mongrel. That's NOT what it says!!! EE is any chicken that does not conform to the standard. So... a purebred Ameraucana that does not conform to the standard IS an EE. That is why my hypothetical chicken that inherited two copies of a recessive gene (giving it willow legs) even though it came from Ameraucana parents is an EE.

My mistake was I was attemping to use terms I'd learned elsewhere... Show or breeder quality, pet (non-breeder) quality, and mixed breed. Now I understand that "Ameraucana" does not mean a purebred, but rather "show or breeder quality," and EE includes BOTH what I would call pet quality AND mixed breeds (so long as it has the blue egg gene) all lumped under one designation.

I hope this helps some of the others that shared my confusion!

 

[Arctic Chick]

Great points too.

Perhaps the APA or the ABC should start a registry just as is done with dogs in the AKC, or horses, or any other animal. I have an AKC registered labrador. His parentage is confirmed and his registry as a pure bred lab is documented. Many people breed "labs" that are really some mix or so watered down that they do not conform to the standard and would never win in a show. Though they might sell them as lab puppies and often do! They never could be registered in the AKC however. And could never be sold as AKC Labrador puppies.

Perhaps the ABC should have serious breeders document their birds parentage for X number of generations and be given the classification of ABC Ameraucanas. Pure Bred. Done and clear.

I totally agree with you here! For my birds I do have written pedigrees, it is a lot of work! I like to know what genetics and from whom I got them from 5 years ago. I mean who can remember all of that? It would better all breeds in poultry and raise the price for fine quality birds.

 

[Basel]

I think I have figured out where some of my confusion came from. I read somewhere that an EE was a mixed breed, not purebred. After reading Christie's post I went to the Ameraucana sight and read their definition. I've quoted it below as it solved A LOT of my confusion!!!

"The Ameraucana Breeders Club defines an Easter Egg chicken or Easter Egger as any chicken that possesses the blue egg gene, but doesn’t fully meet any breed descriptions as defined in the APA and/or ABA standards. Further, even if a bird meets an Ameraucana standard breed description, but doesn’t meet a variety description or breed true at least 50% of the time it is considered an Easter Egg chicken."

Where I was getting hung up was on my interpretation that EE = Mongrel. That's NOT what it says!!! EE is any chicken that does not conform to the standard. So... a purebred Ameraucana that does not conform to the standard IS an EE. That is why my hypothetical chicken that inherited two copies of a recessive gene (giving it willow legs) even though it came from Ameraucana parents is an EE.

My mistake was I was attemping to use terms I'd learned elsewhere... Show or breeder quality, pet (non-breeder) quality, and mixed breed. Now I understand that "Ameraucana" does not mean a purebred, but rather "show or breeder quality," and EE includes BOTH what I would call pet quality AND mixed breeds (so long as it has the blue egg gene) all lumped under one designation.

I hope this helps some of the others that shared my confusion!

Yep. I read the same earlier. It is very confusing in that most ppl on this board state that an EE is a mix when it is not necessarily so.

 

[Basel]

I totally agree with you here! For my birds I do have written pedigrees, it is a lot of work! I like to know what genetics and from whom I got them from 5 years ago. I mean who can remember all of that? It would better all breeds in poultry and raise the price for fine quality birds.

That is great you keep pedigrees!! So funny that the world of poultry doesn't.

I have to have a multi generation pedigree on the pet rats I register to breed!!

 

[Lark Rise]

This 6 week old wheaten ameraucana pullet has a lot of black feathers in her. All the other wheaten and blue wheaten pullets I have aren't like this one. Does this mean the dark feathers will stay? If so, should I cull her?





At 3 weeks old in the pic below, she is #6