Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[marchick]

Pretty Splash Wheaten.

 

[abbevilleoz]

OK.  Silver blue would be similar to blue silver.  As a blue silver the silver females in the photos with him should be his mates.  Together they would produce silver and blue silver chicks, similar to wheaten crossed with blue wheaten produces chicks of both varieties.

How do you get blue silver?

 

[FowlStuff]

How do you get blue silver?

Cross a silver cock over blue hens and then breed the F1 among themselves. Hatch enough and you should have some blue silver chicks. They would be e+ (wildtype), but with blue replacing the black areas.
I'm working on lavender silvers and have had some beautiful bantams.
What many call "silver blue" I believe is more properly referred to as "blue birchen". It can be confusing for some no matter what others say.

 

[abbevilleoz]

Cross a silver cock over blue hens and then breed the F1 among themselves.   Hatch enough and you should have some blue silver chicks.  They would be e+ (wildtype), but with blue replacing the black areas. 
I'm working on lavender silvers and have had some beautiful bantams.
What many call "silver blue" I believe is more properly referred to as "blue birchen".  It can be confusing for some no matter what others say.

Do the hens maintain the birchen pattern in F1 and subsequent generations?

 

[Chicken5555]

My black Ameraucana that I got from @samouw laid her first egg this morning!!! The color is SOOOO intense. I'm surprised at the actual shade though. But the richness of this egg's color is totally awesome.

Edit to add - the egg only has a hint of green. It is definitely blue. Totally one to brag about. and Gorgeous.

 

[FowlStuff]

Do the hens maintain the birchen pattern in F1 and subsequent generations?

With blue birchen (silver blue) or blue silver the F1s from the initial cross should be mostly black...especially the pullets with more silver (white) leakage on the cockerels. After you cross them amongst themselves keep only the F2 chicks that mature into whichever variety you were trying to create. There may be lots of culls.

With lavender birchen and lavender silver there would be fewer culls and you get "true" breeding varieties. This is one of the main reasons I quit breeding blue Ameraucanas and created lavenders. Lavender breeds true...blue doesn't and I doubt anyone will achieve the desired (Standard) lacing in the "blue" sections of either blue birchen or blue silver Ameraucanas, just as you don't see laced blue wheatens.

Join the Alliance and we can guide you thru it.

 

[FreedomFarm13]

With blue birchen (silver blue) or blue silver the F1s from the initial cross should be mostly black...especially the pullets with more silver (white) leakage on the cockerels. After you cross them amongst themselves keep only the F2 chicks that mature into whichever variety you were trying to create. There may be lots of culls.

With lavender birchen and lavender silver there would be fewer culls and you get "true" breeding varieties. This is one of the main reasons I quit breeding blue Ameraucanas and created lavenders. Lavender breeds true...blue doesn't and I doubt anyone will achieve the desired (Standard) lacing in the "blue" sections of either blue birchen or blue silver Ameraucanas, just as you don't see laced blue wheatens.

Join the Alliance and we can guide you thru it.

I would love to try any of these projects!!! I'm still super new to Ams, but I love the silvers, self-blues and blues and have been thinking of trying something with them, once I get enough nice birds to undertake something so big. I love reading about all the Ameraucana projects people have...it gives me some great ideas! I'd love to do some blue silver and lavender silver birds! That'd be gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing this knowledge. It's going in my chicken notebook!!!

 

[abbevilleoz]

With blue birchen (silver blue) or blue silver the F1s from the initial cross should be mostly black...especially the pullets with more silver (white) leakage on the cockerels.  After you cross them amongst themselves keep only the F2 chicks that mature into whichever variety you were trying to create.  There may be lots of culls.

With lavender birchen and lavender silver there would be fewer culls and you get "true" breeding varieties.  This is one of the main reasons I quit breeding blue Ameraucanas and created lavenders.  Lavender breeds true...blue doesn't and I doubt anyone will achieve the desired (Standard) lacing in the "blue" sections of either blue birchen or blue silver Ameraucanas, just as you don't see laced blue wheatens. 

Join the Alliance and we can guide you thru it.

Thanks John! I'm still working on the basics but it's nice to be able to learn from you guys.

 

[Chicken5555]

My black Ameraucana that I got from @samouw laid her first egg this morning!!! The color is SOOOO intense.

She laid another egg today. Two days in a row!
The Ameraucana egg is in the middle, the other two are easter egger's for comparison.

 

[cree57i]

I would love to try any of these projects!!! I'm still super new to Ams, but I love the silvers, self-blues and blues and have been thinking of trying something with them, once I get enough nice birds to undertake something so big. I love reading about all the Ameraucana projects people have...it gives me some great ideas! I'd love to do some blue silver and lavender silver birds! That'd be gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing this knowledge. It's going in my chicken notebook!!!

My blue-silver cockerel. I think he is stunning. He will be going in with the darker silver AM pullets. The guy in the back (3rd) is a blue-silver I am not going to use who needs a new home. He is smaller that the one in the foreground. I have yet to see a blue-silver pullet in person, but hope to hatch one.