Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[ChocolateMouse]

Well, time to go into lockdown this weekend on my batch of new wheaten ams. This eggs were shipped kinda sub-par, like the box didn't even have fragile written on it and the eggs were just jumbled together without regard to the air cell, only 3 or so had their aircells still attached, and so far I know I have 5 live eggs out of 15 that showed up. Been incubating them very carefully keeping them more upright to help the air cells. Pretty disappointing but fingers crossed they all hatch out. I sure wish people knew how to ship eggs well.

 

[thlayli]

Thank you! Onceinabluemoon, I come across your instagram account, often, when searching for wheaten ameraucana pictures. You have a beautiful flock and gorgeous photos of them!

I have 5 wheaten (blue and splash) chicks - approximately 5 weeks now. I thought I had the following:
1. Blue wh. pullet
2. Splash wh. Pullet
3. Wheaten pullet
4. Blue wheaten cockerel
5. Wheaten cockerel

I am starting to think that (3) my wheaten pullet could be a splash wheaten cockerel. 3 has a white chest like 1 and 2 but is brighter. It does not have a comb anywhere near as developed as my wheaten cockerel (5) though. Though neither does the blue wheaten cockerel (4). I've attached some pics. I could be wrong on all of my guesses. Thoughts?

Maybe it's just the photos but your wheaten pullet looks a lot like my blue wheaten cockerels.

 

[CuzChickens]

Hello everyone,

I and a friend are having a (friendly) argument. I figured this is a good place to come for answers.

She thinks that Ameraucanas are not a pure breed, and that they are like a Golden Comet, when they are a cross of two breeds. I know that Easter Eggers are like that, but she swears that Ameraucanas are also a mix of weird crosses and basically like EEs. She thinks the only purebreed is a Auracana.

I thought that Auracana and Ameraucanas are pure breeds and EEs are the weird crosses.

Thoughts?

 

[junebuggena]

Hello everyone,

I and a friend are having a (friendly) argument. I figured this is a good place to come for answers.

She thinks that Ameraucanas are not a pure breed, and that they are like a Golden Comet, when they are a cross of two breeds. I know that Easter Eggers are like that, but she swears that Ameraucanas are also a mix of weird crosses and basically like EEs. She thinks the only purebreed is a Auracana.

I thought that Auracana and Ameraucanas are pure breeds and EEs are the weird crosses.

Thoughts?

http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/history.html
Basically, prior to the 1970s, there was no Araucana, Ameraucana, Easter Egger distinction. They were all called Araucana. Once the Ameraucana breed and the Araucana breed became recognized, the birds that didn't meet either breed standard became termed Easter Eggers. The vast majority of Easter Eggers are not random mixed breeds. They just haven't been selectively bred to meet a breed standard like the Araucana and Ameraucana have been.

 

[thlayli]

Hello everyone,

I and a friend are having a (friendly) argument. I figured this is a good place to come for answers.

She thinks that Ameraucanas are not a pure breed, and that they are like a Golden Comet, when they are a cross of two breeds. I know that Easter Eggers are like that, but she swears that Ameraucanas are also a mix of weird crosses and basically like EEs. She thinks the only purebreed is a Auracana.

I thought that Auracana and Ameraucanas are pure breeds and EEs are the weird crosses.

Thoughts?

Ameraucanas are a recognized, standardized breed of chicken. They were developed out of Araucana stock over 75 years ago, and admitted as their own breed in 1984. They have muffs and beards, and come in 8 official colors.
http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/standard.html

 

[Ravynscroft]

Hello everyone,

I and a friend are having a (friendly) argument. I figured this is a good place to come for answers.

She thinks that Ameraucanas are not a pure breed, and that they are like a Golden Comet, when they are a cross of two breeds. I know that Easter Eggers are like that, but she swears that Ameraucanas are also a mix of weird crosses and basically like EEs. She thinks the only purebreed is a Auracana.

I thought that Auracana and Ameraucanas are pure breeds and EEs are the weird crosses.

Thoughts?

Both Araucanas and Ameraucanas were bred out the same way, just for different traits... they both originally come from a base of different varieties of chickens, but now they breed true... unlike Comets, which are a specific cross of 2 different colored varieties of chickens...

'Purebreed' in chickens is not the same as in dogs, horses, etc...

 

[CuzChickens]

Thanks for the link, June.

So, originally there were Araucanas, then Ameraucanas were derived from Araucanas, and eventually they both were accepted into the APA, the EEs are basically crosses between the two and not a true breed? Is this correct? Therefor a Ameraucana is a true breed and will breed true and consistent offspring?

 

[CuzChickens]

Both Araucanas and Ameraucanas were bred out the same way, just for different traits... they both originally come from a base of different varieties of chickens, but now they breed true... unlike Comets, which are a specific cross of 2 different colored varieties of chickens...

'Purebreed' in chickens is not the same as in dogs, horses, etc...

This posted while I was writing the last post. OK, so Ameraucanas did not originally come from Auracanas, but they are still a pure breed and when you have Ameraucana cock and two hens breeding, they will produce consistent offspring, whereas a cock and two Easter Egger hens will not. Right?

 

[Ravynscroft]

This posted while I was writing the last post. OK, so Ameraucanas did not originally come from Auracanas, but they are still a pure breed and when you have Ameraucana cock and two hens breeding, they will produce consistent offspring, whereas a cock and two Easter Egger hens will not. Right?

Except the Ameraucana cockbird and hens have to be the same color variety, otherwise crossing the colors (like wheaten to silver) will result in EE offspring...

 

[junebuggena]

Thanks for the link, June.

So, originally there were Araucanas, then Ameraucanas were derived from Araucanas, and eventually they both were accepted into the APA, the EEs are basically crosses between the two and not a true breed? Is this correct? Therefor a Ameraucana is a true breed and will breed true and consistent offspring?

Not quite. They were all called Araucana. They did not all look like what we know of as an Araucana today. There was no consistency, they were basically what is considered Easter Eggers, today. The distinctions didn't even exists at all. Then a group of breeders started to selectively breed for traits seen in the Araucana breed of today. And they got those birds recognized as the Araucana breed. A different group of breeders, meanwhile, were selectively breeding for the traits seen in the Ameraucana, and got their birds recognized. But that left a large number of birds that didn't fit either standard. Easter Eggers are the origin, with the Araucana breed and the Ameraucana breed being derived from them.