Ameraucana

[beppi17182007]

So I can't tell if my ameraucanas r laying I don't hav blue or green eggs but all my other chickens r laying and they should be laying by now ....help pls

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. My first question is, "How old are your Ameraucanas?" My second question is, "Do you have true Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers (likely the case if you were expecting some green eggs as true Ameraucanas lay only blue eggs)?" The reason for the second question is that hatcheries and feed stores frequently and incorrectly market their Easter Eggers as Ameraucanas when they are in fact hybrids and not true Ameraucanas (hence the eggs in colors other than just blue). If you have EEs, it is possible that some of them could have started laying but be laying brown eggs rather than blue or green eggs (disappointing, but it happens pretty frequently with hatchery and feed store EEs). There is a good article at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html explaining the difference between true Ameraucanas, true Araucanas, and Easter Eggers. If you are still not sure and will post a pic of your Ameraucanas, we can tell you whether or not they are true Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[N F C]

Michael O'Shay has given you a good answer. It would be nice to see a picture of your birds.

Thanks for joining us!

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

How old are the birds in question? Is it possible that they are just a little slower to start laying, are they molting, is the lack of daylight throwing them off?

I ask the questions above because:
* I do know some breeders who say that their Ameraucanas start laying a little later than some of their other breeds
* A chicken who is molting (losing feathers) is spending all their efforts on growing feathers rather than laying
* Chickens lay best with a minimum of 12-15 hours of daylight.

So, right now, we have about 9 hours of daylight where I live and my chickens are molting. Hence, I am only getting about 1 egg per day out of 11 hens. In fact, come to think of it, I have not gotten a single egg from any of my easter eggers, or Welsummers in over one month. All I am getting right now are brown eggs too.

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to BYC

 

[mymilliefleur]

Glad you joined us! X2 on @Michael OShay and @trailrider330's posts. Do you have a photo of these birds you could post? Photos always help.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[beppi17182007]

Thanks for the welcome I love this site just never subscribed i hav two ameraucanas in my flock of 8. I can take a pic later today taco and Tuesday(there names) and violent r bout 2 months younger then the rest so bout 6-7 months old and tnt (taco and Tuesday) had a hard time at first but there now they all getting only waffles is molting the rest aren't. I'm getting bout 2 to 4 eggs a day still