Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[tgrlily]

I have a nice pair of white Ameraucanas from Pips & Peeps. I thought I had a trio, but one was a very late blooming little guy, so I rehomed him. The cockerel I kept is big & beautiful in my humble opinion. One of the whites had silvery down at hatch. I also have 3 wheaten girls from marquisella. I initially used them in a breeding project & didn't think it through totally, so I rehomed all the W/BW cockerels. Silly me!! The wheatens are now just layers unless someone local has a BW boy who wants a date with them!

My husband asked me last night what we'd get if we bred the white cockerel to the wheaten pullets. When I looked it up in the genetics calculator using recessive white, all I came up with was black. Using Dominant, I got all white. Is that right? The white lays a darker blue egg compared to the icy blue of the wheatens, so I'd be able to tell them apart to hatch separately. He's made me very curious as to the possible outcome.

Please, can someone who understands genetics & the calculator better than I do help? Lavender is easy..... this sounds tricky!

Here's my white cockerel... the pinkish hue is the reflection from the heatlamp:

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Yes, you will indeed get black (with red leakage) when crossing rec White with Wheaten. Most whites just have an extended black colored background, then the white gene. Wheatens are wheaten based, and that's all.

Since Wheaten is pretty recessive, black x wheaten = black with some red, much like a brown-red. Then there's the recessive white, which crossed out makes splits like Lavender.

But, really, I highly recommend people to NOT breed recessive traits like white into other colors. Blue Wheatens and Wheatens already have recessive white floating around, all because someone was too lazy to test-breed it out. (look for carriers of rec white, cull them out) I myself once had a fully white cockerel from a W/BW breeding I got from someone.

 

[jennifersmith326]

I have @solid white Americaunas. I was just gonna breed them two together. Will the babies all be white too?

 

[Illia]

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Nice cockerel, but I'd really look again at that back if I were you.

It looks roached, or possibly like he's got a spinal problem ? I hope it's just the photo/pose though.

 

[Goose and Fig]

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As long as thier white isn't hiding any other color- yes.

So I have a question. How come my EEs will retain their lovely blue egg color all season and my wheatens won't?

I just picked up some shipped wheaten eggs and they obviously have the same problem- some of the eggs are almost white. If I hadn't seen this happen in my own birds I probably would have pitched them. Still, if I'm short on bator space the whitish ones won't go in. I got 10 pretty (green) buff eggs too- they are all going in.

My lavenders have all of these guys beat! I might have to use my lavs to improve egg color in my wheatens!

 

[CRYSTALCREEK]

happytxchick wrote

The split that is second from left has much more black in the face & legs -- any ideas here?

Just watch that she doesn't end up with "gypsy face" where the comb takes on a black hue due to excessive pigmentation. The blacks (splits) are highly variable and even the appearance of the lighter color on the chest and head can vary from a shimmery silverish white to more of a yellow down. Perhaps someone with more genetics background can comment on this.

 

[pips&peeps]

Quote:
My whites carry the barring gene, so it is likely you will get some barred birds.

 

[tgrlily]

Wow... barred would be interesting! My husband likes to keep some chickens just for eating eggs. I think he's disappointed that we have so many black chickens right now, so I may do it just to give him some colors -- not for breeding purposes. Or would they still be white on the first cross? How do I fix that in the calculator?

I did go out & look at the white boy. I don't know what "roached" means, but it feels like it's just how his feathers are laying right there. My lavender cockerel is shorter, but his spine feels the same... his saddle feathers are less poufy. Any other opinions?

pips&peeps :

Quote:
My whites carry the barring gene, so it is likely you will get some barred birds.​

 

[pips&peeps]

I think she meant a curved spine. I think it is just the way he is standing/moving in the picture.

You would pick a recessive white cock bird and add the barring gene that is listed down on the list and put in what ever bird you plan to breed him to.

 

[tgrlily]

Ahhhh.... Nope -- he was just striking a pose!

Thanks!!

pips&peeps :

I think she meant a curved spine. I think it is just the way he is standing/moving in the picture.

You would pick a recessive white cock bird and add the barring gene that is listed down on the list and put in what ever bird you plan to breed him to.​