Are these Ameraucana or not?

[GA_Gypsy]

The ol' timer we bought these 2 from said they will definitely be blue egg layers, and stated he knew this because he's been in the chicken biz for 40+ years. What do you all think? The black/white has slate blue legs, and the other brown/silver girl has bright orange legs. Neither of them have combs and they both have thicker necks than my other hens do. They are only about 5 months old and I can't wait to find out what they are going to lay!

Thanks!

 

[Kevin565]

Looks more like EEs to me but I don't have any chicken experience.

 

[ccshambhala]

EE's aka Easter Eggers - which means they lay "colorful"eggs... as mixes no guarantee on blue/green - sometimes they lay brown....

 

[GA_Gypsy]

EE's can lay brown eggs too? Oh great.....just what I need! Then that would be my luck! lol

So then what about these girls makes you think they are EE's? I've seen so many different pics that I just get so confused.

 

[Kevin565]

Yes due to their mixed ancestry they can occasionally throw brown egg layers.

The leg color on the left bird was the indicator for me.

 

[bloom_ss]

Those are EE's and they will probably lay green eggs, but they could lay pink or brown eggs. Maybe you will get lucky and they will lay blue eggs, but I doubt it since they are definitely not Ameraucanas. Here is the photo chart from the Ameraucana Breeder's Club:

http://www.ameraucana.org/scrapbook.html

If the chicken in question does not look like any of these it does not meet the breed standard and therefore it is an Easter Egger, not a true Ameraucana. =) I started my flock with six EEs myself and I have been very happy with them over all. They did take a VERY long time to start laying though (at least in my opinion, but they were my first chicken experience after all). I got my first green egg from them at 27 weeks. I still have 3 from the original flock but they are molting right now so I am getting mostly brown eggs from my new pullets and only one green egg every few days. You will love them though even if they aren't true Ameraucanas...they are very friendly in my experience and have great personalities. =)

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We can tell they are EEs because of the beard and muffs, and the coloring--especially those yellow legs! As stated above, in order for them to be an Ameraucana, they would have to be a standard color and be close to the Standard of Perfection for that breed. An EE is a bird with mixed ancestry that carries the blue egg gene.

Now, it is very likely that a hatchery bird will lay minty green eggs since that color seems to be very common, and some hatchery birds lay brown, blue or pinkish cream eggs. Since you bought these from the man who bred them, however, he may indeed be right that these should lay blue eggs. I breed EEs specifically to lay large blue eggs, and I could pretty much guarantee blue eggs from a chick based on her genetics.

So, maybe the guy you bought them from is absolutely right, and he knows they will lay blue eggs. Maybe he bred some EEs that lay blue eggs to a pure Ameraucana rooster, who would be homozygous for the blue egg gene, so he's pretty darn sure. I hope so!