Breeding to the SOP - Serious discussion about Ameraucanas, including project colors such as splash,

three questions....
(1) My BBS Ameraucana hatchlings are a week old now. Most of them have yellow, willow or green looking feet and/or legs. At what age should I consider them unusable for my breeding program? It is a major disappointment because the breeder is listed on the Ameraucana Breeder's Club and my husband bought them for me as a surprise. They're the first chicks I've ever hatched too. Oh, well. Tell it to me how it is so I can make the best choice possible for the breed. Thanks.

(2) One chick has a dark comb. The darkest gypsy faced 1/2 Ameraucana pullet I have hatched with a yellow comb and hers is now black. Should this be considered a fault on my Ameraucana chick? Thanks.

(3) how much patterning is too much patterning on a blue hatchling's head? Should there be light patches on the chick's head? three of them have it.






 
Last edited:
three questions....
(1) My BBS Ameraucana hatchlings are a week old now. Most of them have yellow, willow or green looking feet and/or legs. At what age should I consider them unusable for my breeding program? It is a major disappointment because the breeder is listed on the Ameraucana Breeder's Club and my husband bought them for me as a surprise. They're the first chicks I've ever hatched too. Oh, well. Tell it to me how it is so I can make the best choice possible for the breed. Thanks.

(2) One chick has a dark comb. The darkest gypsy faced 1/2 Ameraucana pullet I have hatched with a yellow comb and hers is now black. Should this be considered a fault on my Ameraucana chick? Thanks.

(3) how much patterning is too much patterning on a blue hatchling's head? Should there be light patches on the chick's head? three of them have it.






I was told on a facebook group that sometimes white skinned chicks will hatch with yellow skin, but that it should fade to white in a few weeks. Something about the yellow color coming from them using up the nutrients in their yolk. I really hope it's true, otherwise my Blue Ameraucana I got is carrying a hidden yellow skinned gene.

The white bits on the face are normal on an E/E based chick I think.
 
I do not remember what research I read but I would agree with Saris that as the chicks get older the yellow pigment in the skin will disappear leaving the white skin. All of the yellow in a chicks body is from the egg. Chickens can not make xanthophyll pigments so they must obtain the yellow pigments from food they eat. The color of the yolk is due to the amount of xanthophyll that is put into the egg by the chicken. Eggs can vary from pale yellow to bright orange.

Do not worry about the white in the face.


(2) One chick has a dark comb. The darkest gypsy faced 1/2 Ameraucana pullet I have hatched with a yellow comb and hers is now black. Should this be considered a fault on my Ameraucana chick? Thanks.

If the chick is half ameraucana- the chick is not an ameraucana. There are some easter eggers that could be crossed with an ameraucana and the chicks would fit the standard but gypsy face and black comb- no way.
 
I do not remember what research I read but I would agree with Saris that as the chicks get older the yellow pigment in the skin will disappear leaving the white skin. All of the yellow in a chicks body is from the egg. Chickens can not make xanthophyll pigments so they must obtain the yellow pigments from food they eat. The color of the yolk is due to the amount of xanthophyll that is put into the egg by the chicken. Eggs can vary from pale yellow to bright orange.

Do not worry about the white in the face.


(2) One chick has a dark comb. The darkest gypsy faced 1/2 Ameraucana pullet I have hatched with a yellow comb and hers is now black. Should this be considered a fault on my Ameraucana chick? Thanks.

If the chick is half ameraucana- the chick is not an ameraucana. There are some easter eggers that could be crossed with an ameraucana and the chicks would fit the standard but gypsy face and black comb- no way.

Sorry I wasn't clear.... The week old chicks were from eggs I hatched from Kara Ferri's Ameraucana flock. I found her on the Ameraucana Breeder's Club's breeder registry. The six month old gypsy face pullet is from my friend's flock and completely unrelated to the chicks in any way. The chicks, as far as I know, are pure. I was concerned about the one chick having a dark comb at such a young age.
 
Last edited:
I was told on a facebook group that sometimes white skinned chicks will hatch with yellow skin, but that it should fade to white in a few weeks. Something about the yellow color coming from them using up the nutrients in their yolk. I really hope it's true, otherwise my Blue Ameraucana I got is carrying a hidden yellow skinned gene.

The white bits on the face are normal on an E/E based chick I think.

This happens frequently with wheaten/blue wheaten, but I've never seen it on blacks or blues before. Remind me, @Chicken5555 - who did you get these eggs from?
 
This happens frequently with wheaten/blue wheaten, but I've never seen it on blacks or blues before. Remind me, @Chicken5555 - who did you get these eggs from?

The eggs I hatched were from Kara Ferri's BBS Ameraucana flock. I found her on the "Real Ameraucana Marketplace" on Facebook then looked her upon the Ameraucana Breeder's Club's breeder registry. She is on the list. Here is a screenshot from the website http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/breedersdirectory.html

 
The eggs I hatched were from Kara Ferri's BBS Ameraucana flock. I found her on the "Real Ameraucana Marketplace" on Facebook then looked her upon the Ameraucana Breeder's Club's breeder registry. She is on the list. Here is a screenshot from the website http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/breedersdirectory.html


That's right - I couldn't remember where you got them. I've seen Kara's stock and would be shocked if you got EEs from her.

But...just as an fyi - there is no selection process by which someone can be added to either the Ameraucana Marketplace on FB or on the breeder's directory, except that they have to be members of the ABC for the directory.
 
That's right - I couldn't remember where you got them. I've seen Kara's stock and would be shocked if you got EEs from her.

But...just as an fyi - there is no selection process by which someone can be added to either the Ameraucana Marketplace on FB or on the breeder's directory, except that they have to be members of the ABC for the directory.

Thank you for the FYI. I'm hoping the chicks are simply going through a baby stage and will grow out of it. But if not, I'll have to let her know directly. If they end up not being true, I'm sure it was an accident. Will keep you updated.
 
I want to do a preliminary evaluation on my 18 week old Black Ameraucanas and I would love your input.

2 cockerels....
- Christmas = has red leakage, so he is automatically kicked out of the program without any other evaluation
- Maxson = lots of green sheen, good ear lobe color, prominent chest/breast, good posture and tail position, good beard and muffs although beard could be a tad bit better, comb has one more bump on one side than on the other.

3 pullets...
- Navi = sibling to Christmas, equal amounts of purple and green sheen, good ear lobe color, prominent chest/breast, good posture and tail position, good muffs and beard, perfect tight little pea comb
- pink tag = good green sheen, good ear lobe color, chest/breast less pronounced than others but not bad, good posture and tail position, small beard, good muffs, comb has one more bump on one side than the other.
- white tag = lots of green sheen, good ear lobe color, prominent chest/breast, good posture, slightly lowered tail position but still young, very good beard and muffs, mildly bent comb

If you had to pick only ONE pullet from this group to be paired with Maxson, which one would you choose? I understand they are still young, therefore this is not my final decision. I already have an idea which one that I may choose, but I want the opinions of experienced breeders. Thank you.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom