Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[MorganC]

Am and Ar are two different breeds. Not necessarily one created from another. But I understand the process as many other breeds were out-crossed to get the desired effect for that breed. Period. Plain and simple.

 

[Miss Ameraucana]

That's what I thought!  
Honestly, logically, they aren't mixed, cuz they look so similar and there are only so many breeds that lay colored eggs.  
Plus Am. can lay more than just blue eggs.
So Is it safe to assume that EE are just pet quality Am?

I would say no...not according to breed standards and the Ameraucana Breeders Club. For example, I just culled 2 black Ameraucana cockerels because of leakage, they would be examples of pet quality Ameraucanas.

 

[junebuggena]

My understanding was that Ameraucana were bred from the bearded muffed tailed Araucana that became unacceptable as Araucana when the breed standard was defined in the 1976. When the standard stated they had to be tufted and rumpless a group worked on getting the tailed variety accepted as a different breed. EEs were created by hatcheries mixing Araucana with other breeds to increase productivity, not really caring about breed standards.

Araucana and Ameraucana all started from Easter Eggers. When the blue egg layers were first imported into the U.S., they were all called Araucana, and nicknamed Easter Eggers. They were pretty much the same thing we call Easter Eggers, these days. A group of breeders selectively bred for specific traits. They got their birds recognized as Araucana. All the birds that no longer met the new breed standard became known as Ameraucana.
A different group of breeders start selecting for a different set of traits. They got their birds recognized as the Ameraucana breed we know today. Hatcheries and feed stores just never bothered to rename their birds to reflect the change.
It's the Easter Egger that came first. The birds the hatcheries are selling are descended from the originally imported birds, completely unrefined.

 

[WalnutHill]

Araucana and Ameraucana all started from Easter Eggers. When the blue egg layers were first imported into the U.S., they were all called Araucana, and nicknamed Easter Eggers. They were pretty much the same thing we call Easter Eggers, these days. A group of breeders selectively bred for specific traits. They got their birds recognized as Araucana. All the birds that no longer met the new breed standard became known as Ameraucana.
A different group of breeders start selecting for a different set of traits. They got their birds recognized as the Ameraucana breed we know today. Hatcheries and feed stores just never bothered to rename their birds to reflect the change.
It's the Easter Egger that came first. The birds the hatcheries are selling are descended from the originally imported birds, completely unrefined.

More important than the "completely unrefined" is "crossed to many different breeds for better production". There are plenty of Easter Eggers that lay brown, pink, olive, green eggs reflecting the influence of other breeds.

Skin color is a basic delineation. I have many dozens of Easter Eggers. The only that have white skin are those that are Ameraucanas that came from parents that were crossed in a way that a color standard was not met. All the others have at least a slightly yellow skin color, leading to yellow or willow or green-gray shanks.

 

[lomine]

Araucana and Ameraucana all started from Easter Eggers. When the blue egg layers were first imported into the U.S., they were all called Araucana, and nicknamed Easter Eggers. They were pretty much the same thing we call Easter Eggers, these days. A group of breeders selectively bred for specific traits. They got their birds recognized as Araucana. All the birds that no longer met the new breed standard became known as Ameraucana. 
A different group of breeders start selecting for a different set of traits. They got their birds recognized as the Ameraucana breed we know today. Hatcheries and feed stores just never bothered to rename their birds to reflect the change.
It's the Easter Egger that came first. The birds the hatcheries are selling are descended from the originally imported birds, completely unrefined. 

The Ameraucana Alliance tells a different story. The Araucana was breed from two different breeds in Chile. It had both tuffed rumpless and bearded muffed tailed types. Both were imported to the U.S. Some breeders liked the rumpless and some the tailed so they bred to the standards they liked but all were called Araucana. The hatcheries were the ones to create the term EE and mixed in other breeds. If you look at the standards for Araucana in Britian you'll see they accept both types.
Though I suppose you can make the argument that the Araucana breed didn't exist in the U.S. until it was accepted in 1976.
So many different versions of the origin story plus all the misinformation from hatcheries. It's no wonder people are so confused about these three types.

 

[abbevilleoz]

I have some nice ones that are EE mixed with Cuckoo Marans. . An EE doesn't have to meet any cool standards, it's always an EE.

Hey Friday, were you able to sex link this cross?

 

[FridayYet]

Hey Friday, were you able to sex link this cross?

Actually I purchased them years ago. They're the old ladies that rule the coop these days,

My Orloff/Legbars were obvious pretty early, since the boys got the barring and the girls are brown with a few random spangles. Sill waiting on eggs from them, it should be soon! If they lay green they'll be a special kind of EE, muffed, bearded and crested with a walnut comb.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Actually I purchased them years ago. They're the old ladies that rule the coop these days,

My Orloff/Legbars were obvious pretty early, since the boys got the barring and the girls are brown with a few random spangles. Sill waiting on eggs from them, it should be soon! If they lay green they'll be a special kind of EE, muffed, bearded and crested with a walnut comb.

Well, not like anyone can say it wasn't bred to standard...

 

[pips&peeps]

Araucana and Ameraucana all started from Easter Eggers. When the blue egg layers were first imported into the U.S., they were all called Araucana, and nicknamed Easter Eggers. They were pretty much the same thing we call Easter Eggers, these days. A group of breeders selectively bred for specific traits. They got their birds recognized as Araucana. All the birds that no longer met the new breed standard became known as Ameraucana.
A different group of breeders start selecting for a different set of traits. They got their birds recognized as the Ameraucana breed we know today. Hatcheries and feed stores just never bothered to rename their birds to reflect the change.
It's the Easter Egger that came first. The birds the hatcheries are selling are descended from the originally imported birds, completely unrefined.

The archives tell a different story: http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/history.html

 

[junebuggena]

The Ameraucana Alliance tells a different story. The Araucana was breed from two different breeds in Chile. It had both tuffed rumpless and bearded muffed tailed types. Both were imported to the U.S. Some breeders liked the rumpless and some the tailed so they bred to the standards they liked but all were called Araucana. The hatcheries were the ones to create the term EE and mixed in other breeds. If you look at the standards for Araucana in Britian you'll see they accept both types.
Though I suppose you can make the argument that the Araucana breed didn't exist in the U.S. until it was accepted in 1976.
So many different versions of the origin story plus all the misinformation from hatcheries. It's no wonder people are so confused about these three types.

That was the point. They all started out with the classification of Araucana. The name Araucana encompassed both the rumpless and the tailed/muffed birds. It didn't matter if it had a tail and muffs or if it was rumpless, both were called Araucana. And they were never exclusively blue egg laying. Those birds back then, layed just about any color, just like our modern day Easter Eggers. Those Araucana had already been heavily crossbred with European and Mediterranean breeds. It's those Araucana that were the start of it all. And they were commonly called Easter Eggers, because they did lay such a variety.
Once the Araucana breed gained acceptance, the used-to-be-Araucana, were re-labeled Ameraucana. But when the Ameraucana breed was accepted and recognized, the hatcheries never bothered updating their marketing. They just kept selling the same old birds, under the old name. Now, a few decades later, there is a mess of confusion.