Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks you guys for all the info. I really appreciate all of your knowledge & input. I didn't buy her to show or for breeding - I just wanted a pullet that lays large blue eggs. I have several EEs but they lay green eggs.

I'm really happy you aren't disappointed. So many in your situation are terribly dissappointed.

It is my understanding that the green color comes from a light wash of brown pigment.

Except for blue and green eggs, all eggs are white. The brown color is added just before laying. It is basically painted on the surface in the egg shell gland (uterus). The depth of color is a function of a lot of things, including how long the egg stays in the egg shell gland, how large it is and how many eggs the hen has already produced. You can scratch it off, especially if the egg is still wet from just being layed.

The blue pigment, biliverdin, is added to the calcium before the shell is formed, so the color goes completely through the egg shell. The green color is a blue egg with a wash of brown pigment.

The color blue is in the eye of the beholder. I think most of the colors on the Ameraucana Breeders Club's egg-color chart look on the green side. My husband insists my bluest eggs are green, and they are very blue when compared to the chart. Your Easter Eggers' green eggs might be bluer than you think. Lots of well bred Ameraucanas produce a greenish egg.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks, so I am assuming they will probably not lay blue eggs then? Sorry, don't know much about easter eggers!

They could very well lay a beautiful blue egg. The green color comes from the addition of brown pigment on top of the blue egg.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well, that is why everyone says you need to cull and improve your stock. I only hatch the blueist eggs to keep my males from. If that is all you have is green eggs then you need to keep the best type and work on the egg color if not successful you need to get a male from someone that comes from good colored blue eggs eventually. This is an ongoing situation of breeding the best you can. Ameraucanas generally produce a good % of quality birds I have experienced. I generally say you get 10% of the hatch that have improved over the breeding pen that you use. Other breeds that I have if I get 1-5 per 100 out of the Araucanas if I am very lucky. My Orps produce quality offsprings but I have been working on them for about 8 years so they are finally producing a good % of quality birds now but in the beginning the % was close to the 10% for replacement improvement quality. The more you hatch you will see an improvement but if you only hatch 10 chicks expect only about 1 as a keeper. Good luck and have fun this is a very delightful hobby.

I spoke to a long-time breeder with many years of experience breeding a variety of breeds. He told me that in the spring he hatches out about 500 chicks of the breed he is currently working on and by October, he has culled down to at most 5 to show.

 

[draye]

JediJinx - they are beautiful birds and quite popular but no they are not ameraucanas and they won't lay blue eggs.  They often lay greenish eggs but can lay any color since they are mixes. 

I have Easter Eggers that lay blue eggs.

 

[JanetMarie]

Hello everyone! I plan to get Ameraucana hatching eggs next year. With the cold winters here in SW Michigan I believe is a good choice, with small combs and no wattles, and I love the blue eggs. Not sure if I will focus on one color only. I'm starting with Blue Wheaten, since they are so beautiful.

 

[Olive Oil]

Hello! I have lots of chickens, but am new to raising "true" Ameracaunas. Had plenty of Easter Eggers and Arakinda's that I thought were Ameracaunas and finally have some real ones in the incubator. So excited!

Question for all of you: What have you found is the best way to sex Ameracauna chicks? It is my understanding that it can be very tough. I am hatching Wheatens and BBS chicks. Thanks!

 

[magdelaine]

Hello! I have lots of chickens, but am new to raising "true" Ameracaunas. Had plenty of Easter Eggers and Arakinda's that I thought were Ameracaunas and finally have some real ones in the incubator. So excited!

Question for all of you: What have you found is the best way to sex Ameracauna chicks? It is my understanding that it can be very tough. I am hatching Wheatens and BBS chicks. Thanks!

Congrats! I love my Ameraucana girls; I think I just got lucky in that the person who raised them did not misrepresent them. They are BBFs with the Blue Copper Marans cockerel I got from her that has a really nice body type but may be under-colored as BCMs go. They all are only three months and I'm hoping to get some olive egger chicks from the three of them in the spring.

What type of Ameraucana eggs did you get? The girls are White Ams, so I'd evenutally like to pick up a White cockerel, but I'm thinking of getting some Wheaten/Blue Wheaten eggs in the spring.

As far as sexing is concerned, I understand that Ameraucanas can be sexed at about 4 weeks because the cockerel's combs will be turn pink/red before the pullets.

 

[Jennschics]

After reading a ton of threads I am now Ameraucana paranoid.

My 8 day old now (bought at 3 days) were sold to be as Black/Splash Amerauacanas. Now I know sexing is almost impossible at this stage but feel like I have at least 3 possible hens and 2 roos.


My main concern I guess is if they are Ameraucanas or is this something I have to wait to find out after they feather/lay?

Betsy


Gertrude/Gertie


Clementine


Maggie (I feel like this bad boy is a roo, he's the boss)



Ruby (this one may be a roo boss #2)

 

[Olive Oil]

After reading a ton of threads I am now Ameraucana paranoid.

My 8 day old now (bought at 3 days) were sold to be as Black/Splash Amerauacanas. Now I know sexing is almost impossible at this stage but feel like I have at least 3 possible hens and 2 roos.


My main concern I guess is if they are Ameraucanas or is this something I have to wait to find out after they feather/lay?

Betsy


Gertrude/Gertie


Clementine


Maggie (I feel like this bad boy is a roo, he's the boss)



Ruby (this one may be a roo boss #2)

You just have to consider the source from which you got them. 99.9% of feed store "Ameracaunas" or "Aracaunas" are Easter Eggers or some other mutt chicken that probably lays blue eggs. All of my foe Ameracaunas were feed store birds. When I bought this last batch I looked up a breeder on Ameracauna.org and let her know that I was looking for "true" Ameracaunas and told her about all of the EE's I had before that I thought had were Ameracauna's. Unfortunately, you may never know even after they start laying because EE's and many other chickens sold as Ameracauna's can also lay blue eggs. There are some ways you can know it's an EE for sure though. The Chicken Chick has a good article on her website about the differences http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html in short, if they lack muffs and or beard, have green or yellow legs, or lay an egg any other color than blue/bluish greenish, than they are NOT an Ameracauna. Ameracauna breeders are also very stringent about adhering to specific color patterns. Ameracauna.org shows them. Other than that, it's tough because Easter Eggers can have pretty much all of the AM traits, just not always. I found out mine were EE's for sure after attempting to get Olive Eggers by crossing my hens with a Marans roo. Some of the resulting hens lay olive, but because there can be a brown gene in there from the EE, some lay brown. I was so mad! If I had known my stuff then I would have found out sooner though, their color patterns were off and I bought them from a feed store. Yours are cute!

 

[Olive Oil]

Hello! I have lots of chickens, but am new to raising "true" Ameracaunas. Had plenty of Easter Eggers and Arakinda's that I thought were Ameracaunas and finally have some real ones in the incubator. So excited!

Question for all of you: What have you found is the best way to sex Ameracauna chicks? It is my understanding that it can be very tough. I am hatching Wheatens and BBS chicks. Thanks!

Congrats! I love my Ameraucana girls; I think I just got lucky in that the person who raised them did not misrepresent them. They are BBFs with the Blue Copper Marans cockerel I got from her that has a really nice body type but may be under-colored as BCMs go. They all are only three months and I'm hoping to get some olive egger chicks from the three of them in the spring.

What type of Ameraucana eggs did you get? The girls are White Ams, so I'd evenutally like to pick up a White cockerel, but I'm thinking of getting some Wheaten/Blue Wheaten eggs in the spring.

As far as sexing is concerned, I understand that Ameraucanas can be sexed at about 4 weeks because the cockerel's combs will be turn pink/red before the pullets.

Thanks. I'll check out those combs! Mine are Wheaten, and BBS. I understand that some of the BBS chicks will be blue, some black, and some splash. I am hoping for some blues! I love the wheatens too. The egg color is great! The Wheaten eggs are a very bright blue, and most of the BBS eggs are a blue/green. I too am using them for Olive Eggers. I'm crossing them with my Birchen Marans roo. I just love him. Got some nice OE pullets from him already, but because the mother was an Easter Egger and NOT an Ameracauna, some of the resulting hens lay brown...