Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[Mountain Peeps]

What do you feed to get the blue pigment back? My lavender Ameraucana, who had quite a dark blue egg to begin with, laid a lot of eggs and ended up with an egg that was so pale it was almost white. She's broody now, so maybe when she goes back to laying eggs, I'll have one that has some color in it. Here's a picture of her first egg:

Well, like I said, that really blue egg only happened once. Now they look like the blue one in the pic attached. I feed them naturewise 16% layer feed.

 

[CackleJoy]

They are splash. It is my understanding if you breed splash to splash for several generations you get birds that are almost all white. Breeding back to blue gives you splashes with more color. They may look white but the genetics behave like a splash when bred to blues or blacks.

That is good to know, I will not keep a splash cockerel!

 

[CackleJoy]

Who did you get them from? What color cock bird was in the pen?

No, white should not be in the black/ blue pen. You can use black to improve your whites but usually not the other way around.

The eyes on the birds look really light too. What do the legs look like on the female?

Also, this bird is not splash it is blue:

I got the first batch as eggs from Sunnyside up micro farm in OH. They were showing their birds but I don't remember what color the cockbird was in that batch. The white from them is stark white, not a mark on her.

The second batch I bought as chicks from Papa's Poultry. They are not exhibition birds that I know of. I really only need a good cockerel as my pullets are beautiful from Sunnyside up. Out of this batch I plan to keep 2 good cockerels (no splash) and 2 good pullets. I'm selling the rest.

I have EE's so I do know what to look for in the skin of non-pure birds. These birds all have nice slate legs - some are almost black and some are a little lighter. None are green tinted. I'll try to get photos. These birds are afraid of the camera.

So a blue with markings is still a blue but a white with markings is splash? Sounds silly that I need this clarified but I just want to be sure. Is there a name for a blue with markings?

My family has never shown birds but I'd like to have good enough quality of stock that my kids can use them for showing if they want to.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I got the first batch as eggs from Sunnyside up micro farm in OH. They were showing their birds but I don't remember what color the cockbird was in that batch. The white from them is stark white, not a mark on her.

The second batch I bought as chicks from Papa's Poultry. They are not exhibition birds that I know of. I really only need a good cockerel as my pullets are beautiful from Sunnyside up. Out of this batch I plan to keep 2 good cockerels (no splash) and 2 good pullets. I'm selling the rest.

I have EE's so I do know what to look for in the skin of non-pure birds. These birds all have nice slate legs - some are almost black and some are a little lighter. None are green tinted. I'll try to get photos. These birds are afraid of the camera.

So a blue with markings is still a blue but a white with markings is splash? Sounds silly that I need this clarified but I just want to be sure. Is there a name for a blue with markings?

My family has never shown birds but I'd like to have good enough quality of stock that my kids can use them for showing if they want to.

What do you mean, a blue with white markings? I didn't see any white on the blue you called a splash. Sometimes birds will produce a non-pigmented feather that will come in white. I have a blue Cochin cockerel that seems to have some white on his foot feathers. I would just call him mismarked. It might even be a disqualification--I would have to look up the SOP to be sure.

 

[jerryse]

I got the first batch as eggs from Sunnyside up micro farm in OH. They were showing their birds but I don't remember what color the cockbird was in that batch. The white from them is stark white, not a mark on her.

The second batch I bought as chicks from Papa's Poultry. They are not exhibition birds that I know of. I really only need a good cockerel as my pullets are beautiful from Sunnyside up. Out of this batch I plan to keep 2 good cockerels (no splash) and 2 good pullets. I'm selling the rest.

I have EE's so I do know what to look for in the skin of non-pure birds. These birds all have nice slate legs - some are almost black and some are a little lighter. None are green tinted. I'll try to get photos. These birds are afraid of the camera.

So a blue with markings is still a blue but a white with markings is splash? Sounds silly that I need this clarified but I just want to be sure. Is there a name for a blue with markings?

My family has never shown birds but I'd like to have good enough quality of stock that my kids can use them for showing if they want to.

Blue sometimes have black flecks on a few feathers . I call them ink spots. Not sure if that is what you are talking about .

 

[speckledhen]

Most blues will have a feather or two that has dark ticking or even is a darker blue than the rest of the plumage. That seems fairly normal to me and you don't call it a different color. I've had blue Orpingtons, Ameraucanas and Rocks and the blues always seem to have something like that.

jajeanpierre, she didn't say blue with white markings, just blue with markings.

 

[johnderosa1]

I got the first batch as eggs from Sunnyside up micro farm in OH.  They were showing their birds but I don't remember what color the cockbird was in that batch.  The white from them is stark white, not a mark on her.

The second batch I bought as chicks from Papa's Poultry.  They are not exhibition birds that I know of.  I really only need a good cockerel as my pullets are beautiful from Sunnyside up.  Out of this batch I plan to keep 2 good cockerels (no splash) and 2 good pullets.  I'm selling the rest.  
When did you buy your chicks from"papa" ? I know he put all his ameraucanas + his easter eggers in one pen to make room for other breeds a while back ... If you got chicks from him after that they could be mixed ....,
I have EE's so I do know what to look for in the skin of non-pure birds.  These birds all have nice slate legs - some are almost black and some are a little lighter.  None are green tinted.  I'll try to get photos.  These birds are afraid of the camera.

So a blue with markings is still a blue but a white with markings is splash?  Sounds silly that I need this clarified but I just want to be sure.  Is there a name for a blue with markings?  

My family has never shown birds but I'd like to have good enough quality of stock that my kids can use them for showing if they want to.  

 

[CackleJoy]

What do you mean, a blue with white markings? I didn't see any white on the blue you called a splash. Sometimes birds will produce a non-pigmented feather that will come in white. I have a blue Cochin cockerel that seems to have some white on his foot feathers. I would just call him mismarked. It might even be a disqualification--I would have to look up to be SOP to be sure.

No, it's a blue with darker blue splashes - on the tail. I will have to get a photo for clarification. The markings are not white.

 

[CackleJoy]

Blue sometimes have black flecks on a few feathers . I call them ink spots. Not sure if that is what you are talking about .

They look exactly like ink spots! I didn't know blues had variables. How wonderful!

 

[DMRippy]

My BBS are 10 and 11 wks old. Some are obviously males. Others are just now pinking up a little and I wonder if that means they are late blooming males or if they are females. I have 2 older pullets but honestly don't remember how their combs developed.

Pardon the purple, their backs were getting plucked to bits, you are seeing remnants of blue kote. These are BBS, just not a purple rendition

The first one is a boy. The second one - also a boy?

These look a lot like my SBEL I make.