Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[junebuggena]

I'm just posting pictures of my chickens some people call them Easter eggers but then call theirs ameraucanas when they look the same to me they both have cheeks

Easter Eggers and true Ameraucana are not the same things. Ameraucana is a recognized breed, and has a standard that must be met in order to be called Ameraucana. Most hatcheries sell birds that they market as 'Ameraucana', but in reality, are Easter Eggers. Easter Eggers are any bird that may carry a blue eggshell gene, but don't meet any breed standard. True Ameraucana always have pea combs, muffs, beards, lay blue eggs, have white skin, and are always a specified standard color. Easter Eggers can have be any color/pattern combination, have any comb type, have any skin color, may be muffed, bearded, or clean faced, and might lay any color egg.
With a true Ameraucana, you can generally predict what chicks will look like, what kind of temperament they will have, and how well they will lay.
Easter Eggers are mixed breeds, so there is a huge range in temperament, rate of development, and production abilities, and they don't breed true.

 

[Red Banks]

I'm just posting pictures of my chickens some people call them Easter eggers but then call theirs ameraucanas when they look the same to me they both have cheeks

Your chickens are very pretty and will get prettier and prettier. An Easter Egger is a cross. What I like about them is the variance in egg color. It sure makes for a pretty group of eggs. I just helped my friend with this yesterday. She was sold an Americana, it is an EE. This is one of the most misrepresented bunch of chickens I have ever seen, there is confusion everywhere even from the people that call themselves breeders and sell. Hatcheries too! I think EEs are wonderful and they are so popular.

You have lovely birds.

 

[samouw]

I'm just posting pictures of my chickens some people call them Easter eggers but then call theirs ameraucanas when they look the same to me they both have cheeks

It is a challenge that most of us have fought at one time or another. If you are serious about learning about Ameraucana, visit the gallery of all the approved varieties at http://www.ameraucana.org/gallery.html, study the SOP, visit some shows and see what the winning birds look like. Before long, you'll be on here giving the sad news to someone that, while their birds are pretty, they aren't Ameraucana.

Just like it takes more than thorns to make a rose bush, it takes more than muffs and beard to make a true Ameraucana.

 

[mileehuffman]

What I'm trying to say is I got mine from a top breeder and they have everything and ameraucana has I've been told their Easter eggers but that's hard to believe when u have people with the same chickens and everybody says their ameraucanas but mine aren't but I see now why people call my chickens mutts but it's funny how I've already had 15 people wanting chicks from me

 

[scflock]

What I'm trying to say is I got mine from a top breeder and they have everything and ameraucana has I've been told their Easter eggers but that's hard to believe when u have people with the same chickens and everybody says their ameraucanas but mine aren't but I see now why people call my chickens mutts but it's funny how I've already had 15 people wanting chicks from me

That's what I mean. Easter Eggers are beautiful birds, and highly in demand. I love mine, but they aren't pure ameraucana. People aren't trying to be mean and call yours mutts. They are trying to help you learn.
It could be worse. I posted pics of my black copper Marans on another thread and they told me to eat them

 

[Red Banks]

What I'm trying to say is I got mine from a top breeder and they have everything and ameraucana has I've been told their Easter eggers but that's hard to believe when u have people with the same chickens and everybody says their ameraucanas but mine aren't but I see now why people call my chickens mutts but it's funny how I've already had 15 people wanting chicks from me

Most of the chicken breeds in the world started out as mutts! When you sell your birds you will know what you are talking about and you will be able help others that don't understand. To get an Olive Egger for instance you breed a dark brown egg layer with a blue egg layer. Like a Marans to a Ameraucana. It is all very interesting. I have been in chickens for a very short time. I have learned a lot from the experience of the people on this list. The Chicken Chick has a good article on the confusion between Araucana, Ameraucana and Easter Eggers.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html

We are all here to help each other.

 

[NDgoatgirlNV]

She's going to be a beautiful Easter Egger. There's nothing wrong with EEs. They are beautiful birds that lay colorful eggs, but they are not pure Ameraucana. The color is the giveaway. That's not an accepted color, and the legs are probably green. Stick around this thread and you will learn the difference. My first "americanas" looked exactly like yours. Hatcheries and ignorant or dishonest  breeders sell them as ameraucanas. Here's an ad from my local craigslist I found last night:
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/grd/5289761433.html

Oh....well, like you said....I was told by the feed store that she was an Americauna, but oh well...EE is good enough for me, I've only owned chickens of my own just this year, live and learn I suppose. Thank you for the helpful info. I won't clutter up your thread any further.

 

[scflock]

It's a good thread to be a part of, and I came to join it exactly the way you did. I bought feed store "ameraucanas". I got the same response you did when I posted pictures, and I can't lie, I was heartbroken. Same thing with my black copper marans. My first few years of keeping chickens, I didn't know the difference, either. I didn't even find BYC until this year, and I have learned more here in 10 months than in 7 years on my own. Easter Eggers are great chickens. I love mine, and sell them as fast as they hatch. The only difference is I advertise them as Easter Eggers. I advertise my ameraucanas as ameraucanas. If you aren't showing, and you only want pretty birds that come in a wide variety of colors that lay pretty eggs, then Easter Eggers can't be beat. If you want to raise a pure breed, and try breeding to improve your flock, then you need pure Ameraucanas

 

[Red Banks]

Sometimes EEs are sold under the name Americana..... as opposed to Ameraucana. Just more confusion. This is the Ameraucana's breeders cross to bear. Helping others understand the difference..... providing information and guidance. It is an even more difficult task when you have breeders misrepresenting what they have.

We all love our chickens, EE's, Ameraucanas or whatever breed or mutt they happen to be. They are like our children.....

 

[greenleaf]

Another good article on the differences between Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Easter Eggers is found on the Downloads page of the Ameraucana Alliance site. This originally appeared in Backyard Poultry Magazine in 2007.
http://AmeraucanaAlliance.org/DnLd/Ameraucanas.pdf