Americauna?

[Heather94]

Is this an americauna chick? I didnt think my americauna was laying yet, she's deff old enough tho. He/she is 3 days old.

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[Heather94]

 

[Mick2448]

Looks like all my Americauna chicks.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hi Heather, Welcome to BYC.

You've got a cute chick there with a wild type pattern that fits a lot of different breeds, but from what I am reading, is a mix breed. Many mix breed chicks are "chipmunk."

However, as you will soon be corrected, there is no such thing as an Americana.

There is an Ameraucana breed, but what is sold in the feed stores (and unfortunately a lot of backyard breeders) is a mixture of Ameraucana blood (somewhere back) and any other breed of chicken. This is because the Ameraucana is harder to find (in its true form), and it must meet very strict appearance and genetic rules to be classified as a pure breed Ameraucana. (Feed stores generally do not sell them).

Because Ameraucana is rarer, people mix the Ameraucana blood to get Easter Eggers which is a hybrid of Ameraucana blood over any other breed. This hybrid is often erroneously sold at feed stores as an Americana.

If the Ameraucana blood is close enough back, which should be a parent, usually the chicks will have willow green legs, beard/muff, and a pea comb.

As the Ameraucana blood draws further away (with breeding of Easter Eggers together or an Easter Egger over another breed), the chicks can look like almost anything and are known as simply being utility mix breeds....or a backyard bird.

Why do we care? Because Ameraucana blood is highly desired as it is a blue shell laying chicken. But in order to guarantee that blue shell gene, a pure Ameraucana has to be one of the parents. Any other breed can be the other parent. This produces an Easter Egger that will carry 1 of the 2 blue shell genes creating layers of blue or green eggs (sometimes pink or brown if the Ameraucana genetics were too far back).

If one of the parents is an Easter Egger and the other any other breed, the genetics are reduced to 50% likelihood of carrying the desirable blue shell gene and this is where you get "Easter Eggers" that lay brown, pink, blue or green. Continue breeding Easter Eggers and you can either refine back to 100% blue gene with careful selection or remove the blue gene completely if you don't select carefully.

That's why people care if you've got Easter Egger vs. a true Ameraucana and if the chick is an Easter Egger or Ameraucana.

For the average backyard chicken owner, it doesn't matter if all you want is an attractive bird that lays eggs and don't care about what color. Sort of like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get but generally you like the candy anyway.

It does matter if you give away or sell any chicks to someone who is expecting the characteristics of the Ameraucana...beard/muff, pea comb, slate/willow legs, and most importantly the ability to lay and breed forward blue shell genes. As stated, in order to do that reliably you need an Ameraucana as one of the parents as an Easter Egger mix will breed out that ability quickly.

So back to your little one. It has no characteristics in the photo that indicate Ameraucana blood in its background. That doesn't mean it doesn't have some somewhere, but the likelihood that it carries the blue shell gene and the characteristic markers of an Easter Egger are much slimmer.

Chickens are not like horses or dogs. You don't keep a pedigree and prove back to a particular sire or dam. You follow a breed standard within your lines. Any bird, no matter what the genetics, that doesn't follow the breed standard is immediately utility quality, especially so with Ameraucanas.

Just so you know.

Enjoy your flock and cute chicks.
LofMc

 

[donrae]

Wonderful post above

In short, nope, not an Ameraucana. I'm not thinking it's an Easter egger, either. Looks like yellow legs, clean face and straight comb.

You hatched these yourself? Did you set any colored eggs?

 

[junebuggena]

Picture of your "Ameraucana"?

 

[BurntFeather]

Lady of McCamley is exactly correct on the Easter Egger identification and explanation of breed. True Ameraucana chicks can cost $17-80 or more, as a young chick. I personally have a soft spot for Easter Eggers and keep 20-30 at a time. my favorite blood lines are the ones that look like they have puffy cheeks/chin.

Your little one does look very much like my little Easter Eggers have before they grew up on me.

 

[drumstick diva]

mixed breed

 

[Heather94]

I was told this was an ameracauna when I bought her?

 

[Heather94]