I bought Ameraucana hatching eggs that were supposed to be black and blue. Out of nine chicks, four are black. Do the other five look blue? Some of them are so light I'm wondering if they are splash.
I see only two black chicks, but yes, the rest are blue. I take that back - Two, the lighter, are quite likely splash.
Blue comes in a range of shades. That's part of the fun! Splashes, of course, will have splotches of color on them. I have found that some of my splashes are late bloomers and their spots didn't really come in until one of the later juvenile molts. You might watch the lighter two there and see if they get random darker spots.
Really, only 2 blacks? So I've got a whole rainbow of blues. I don't mind the splashes since I don't show. They are just 6 weeks old so I guess they may go through some changes. Is there a preferred shade of blue in Ameraucanas?
Hi! From what I *read*, the darker blues with defined lacing are *preferred blues*. Personally, I think the lighter blues are prettier, but that's just me. Lisa
The preferred shade is a more medium type blue, with a nice even shading. (Not an excessively dark head, no lacing) Too dark is too dark, too light is too light.