"Americauna" or Easter Egger or ? Gender?

[Mel281]

I was sold this bird as an "Americauna"http://www.farmgirlseggs.com/americaunas.html (see link for site and example bird). She told me she did not have Easter Eggers. I think what I have looks more like an Easter egger, but the pictures on her website look like not Easter Eggers, maybe true Ameraucaunas. Does anyone care to weigh in what I have versus what's on her website? And any thoughts on whether this is male or female?

 

[Mel281]

 

[BaileyMChicks]

That's an Easter Egger, not a true ameraucana. You can tell it's a mix because it has a single comb instead of a pea comb. Plus it doesn't look to be any of the standard colors. By the size and color of the comb I would say boy.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I can't help but wonder why you would buy from there.... The eggs aren't even blue (on the web site) and they can't even spell Ameraucana correctly. Clearly if they are breeding Ameraucana, they don't care about the standards and aren't selecting breeders accordingly. And I don't think the pics on the site look like Ameraucana either. The "young pullet" at the bottom of the page looks just like several EE I got at the feed store, who also sell as Ameraucana... but those are employees who don't know the difference. Shame on that alleged breeder!

Those are EE. And I have a hard time seeing, but if that is a pea comb (looks straight) it's big meaning cockerel. To get people's opinion on gender, the age would help.

Still a cute bird, does he have friends? And the little girl is beautiful as well!

I don't have a problem with EE, though they are often skittish. The true Ameraucana I have are far superior in personality and calmness (for the most part). I pay $2.75 from feed store and $7 from a breeder who got their stock from John Blehm blood line. If someone can't tell you which variety they are breeding (black, blue, wheaton, Lavender) it's because they are breeding EE. A true breeder will KNOW what they are focusing.

My response is because I have bought from people lying about what they had and chicks grew up to have combs not belonging to the alleged breed.

So after paying $20 each, I got some unknown barnyard mixes! Mind if I ask how much you paid? Just frustrated about liars is all...

Best wishes!

 

[junebuggena]

That chick is an Easter Egger, and with the single comb, blue/green eggs are highly unlikely.
That same place is also selling Barred Rocks using a cross bred rooster...
Definitely not a reputable breeder.

 

[Mel281]

Interesting. I never noticed the rooster was crossbred in the pictures.

 

[Mel281]

That chick is an Easter Egger, and with the single comb, blue/green eggs are highly unlikely.
That same place is also selling Barred Rocks using a cross bred rooster...
Definitely not a reputable breeder. 

I can't help but wonder why you would buy from there.... The eggs aren't even blue (on the web site) and they can't even spell Ameraucana correctly. Clearly if they are breeding Ameraucana, they don't care about the standards and aren't selecting breeders accordingly. And I don't think the pics on the site look like Ameraucana either. The "young pullet" at the bottom of the page looks just like several EE I got at the feed store, who also sell as Ameraucana... but those are employees who don't know the difference. Shame on that alleged breeder!

Those are EE. And I have a hard time seeing, but if that is a pea comb (looks straight) it's big meaning cockerel. To get people's opinion on gender, the age would help.

Still a cute bird, does he have friends? And the little girl is beautiful as well!

I don't have a problem with EE, though they are often skittish. The true Ameraucana I have are far superior in personality and calmness (for the most part). I pay $2.75 from feed store and $7 from a breeder who got their stock from John Blehm blood line. If someone can't tell you which variety they are breeding (black, blue, wheaton, Lavender) it's because they are breeding EE. A true breeder will KNOW what they are focusing.

My response is because I have bought from people lying about what they had and chicks grew up to have combs not belonging to the alleged breed. So after paying $20 each, I got some unknown barnyard mixes! Mind if I ask how much you paid? Just frustrated about liars is all...

Best wishes!

I paid six dollars. I actually did think it was an Easter egger all along, And that's actually what I wanted. Disappointing though that the comb indicates the egg colors will be brown.

I bought from them because I ordered five chicks, with the hope of having five. Last time they sent us an extra one from the hatchery. This time they did not, then one died. I needed something local being this late in the season, this looked like the best of my choices.

 

[junebuggena]

$6 bucks for an unsexed chick! You can pick them up at most feed stores for $3 for vent sexed pullets.

 

[AshlyMommaWard]

I believe her misspelling of the breed ameraucana was intentional. Americana (or any variation of the spelling) is a misleading name for Easter egger. Her "breed" description makes it clear that she's referring to Easter eggers. While I think it would be more ethical to advertise as Easter eggers or literally say "not to be confused with pure Ameraucana" on her website, she doesn't seem to be intentionally dishonest.
Your Easter egger chick however is not going to lay (if female) blue or green unfortunately, because it's got a single comb. This is a normal variant among Easter eggers. If you had expressed that you were looking for blue/green layers then she could've easily chosen pea combed chicks to give you.
Lastly, I do not consider myself an expert, but just seem to have an eye for sexing, and I'd call that chick as a cockerel. The shape of its wing, and comb development are what lead me to believe that.

 

[junebuggena]

"Americaunas are a breed developed in the 1970's" - direct quote from the site. This part is true, except for the misspelling. The Ameraucana breed was accepted by the APA in the 1970s. They fail to mention that Easter Eggers have been around for a lot longer. Easter Eggers have been in the U.S. since the early 1900s. It's just that prior to the 1970s, there were no Araucana, Ameraucana, Easter Egger distinctions made. They were all considered Araucana.
Either they are intentionally misrepresenting Easter Eggers, or they have no clue what an Ameraucana really is.